European solidarity is the only way forward

Debate with Christoph Leitl, President of Eurochambres

The European Union faces a number of internal and external challenges and the only possible response is to show solidarity and to stand  by one another – underlined Christoph Leitl, President of Eurochambres in the debate with the Members of the Employers' Group. In his view, global powers – such as the US and China – try more and more to exploit Europe's weaknesses. The only way to defend our European interests is to remain united.

Mr Leitl recalled that diversity in unity had always been the EU's strength. Unfortunately, we face deterioration of European solidarity with deepening divisions between north and south, and between east and west. "We need to stand together and show respect for people with different origins. We need to respect different traditions and ways of life – Mr Leitl said.

He underlined that the EESC, as an institutionalised forum for social dialogue, has currently an even more important role to play. It should work more energetically to encourage people to organise themselves, to act in favour of European integration.

EuroChambres consists of 47 national bodies and goes beyond the scope of the EU. According to Mr Leitl, this should be a common approach for business – a business location "Europe", including countries from outside the EU –  is beneficial for both sides. It gives best practices for non-EU countries and helps to prepare for closer integration with the EU. The EuroChambres structure, with 1700 regional chambers of commerce, provides useful feedback also on regional perspectives.

Reforms of education systems and addressing the skills gap are among the EuroChambres priorities. In this field, there is a possibility for close cooperation between the chambers and the EESC Employers' Group. Another crucial challenge ahead of us is that of fighting bureaucracy. According to Mr Leitl, democracy is in danger, partially because of red tape. The employers must speak out, give practical experiences on the ground and make concrete proposals as to what specifically could be done to reduce bureaucracy. We should be allies in our future work defending Europe.

We are honoured and privileged to host you at our meeting. We very much value cooperation with EuroChambres – said Jacek Krawczyk, President of the Employers' Group. He reaffirmed that variety is an asset of the EU. Only by accepting differences, can we integrate even further. This is especially important for business: while we constantly try to optimise its operations to maintain competitiveness, we must remember that there is no one-fits-all approach. The goal is the same, but the means to reach it are different. To defend our competitiveness we have to defend our capacity to maintain our positions – Mr Krawczyk added.

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