Setting out a New Vision for the Future of Europe

Dear Stefano, President Rompuy, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a real pleasure to be with you today!

I am very happy to see the business side taking a pro-active approach towards the Conference on the Future of Europe. Europe's future can only be shaped successfully, if entrepreneurial mindset is added to the recipe. It's in the hands of employers, businesses and their representatives to make this happen!

The autumn 2021 Economic Forecast of the Commission showed that the European economy bounces back from the pandemic recession faster than expected.  However, we must not forget that these forecasts greatly depend on the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the EESC, this week we have started a campaign to support EU institutions and national governments to increase vaccination rates. We cannot afford lockdowns becoming the new normal!

Vaccination is the best weapon to fight the pandemic and I would like to invite you, to share this message in your respective networks. The pandemic is far from being over. We face economic risks and the pick-up in inflation, driven also by the surge in energy prices.

European entrepreneurs and SMEs are still struggling to survive. Estimates show that in 2020 the number of SMEs fell by 1.3% with over 90% of SMEs reporting a fall in turnover. European SMEs lost 1.5 million jobs to the crisis.

The biggest challenge now is to ensure a balanced recovery throughout Europe while laying down a path towards a resilient and sustainable future. The EESC will remain vigilant in monitoring the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility and NextGenerationEU. The support must be timely, effective and fair – it must reach those truly in need. Investments must be leading to structural reforms.

To make Europe fit for the future, we cannot just go back to pre-crises status quo. We have to support Europe's businesses to get ready for the digital and green transition and build realistic transition paths.

In these stormy times, working towards the economic recovery of Europe by ensuring that Europe becomes the most attractive place to start, run and grow a business should be high on our agenda.

It is clear that there is much to do and Europe needs to use this crisis as an opportunity to re-define itself and determine its future. The Conference on the Future of Europe provides this opportunity.

We need to make sure that this whole exercise is not an empty one. We must go beyond the Brussels bubble, listen to our people and businesses, and get them involved.

To be credible, people's ideas and requests need to receive a follow up from the EU decision makers and be turned into concrete action. That is why I proposed the creation of a dashboard, to show, in all transparency, what are the proposals and what is the follow up that is given by EU institutions. And if no action is taken after some ideas, we should be able to see the reasons therefore.

Together, we can establish a new narrative for Europe!

I fully support and would like to congratulate you on the timely adoption of Employers' Group manifesto 'Making the European Union Capable of Action' on the Conference on the Future of Europe.

To mention just some key elements, also the EESC is supporting in our Resolution on the Future of Europe to make Europe a truly great place to be and prosper, to enhance Europe’s preparedness and response capacity for the future; and to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy & global competitiveness while remaining open to international trade.

I am looking forward to working with you together to achieve our common goals!