Warsaw Extraordinary Group meeting: Time to unlock a security-driven competitiveness

On 15 and 16 May 2025, the EESC Employers' Group will hold an Extraordinary Group meeting in Warsaw (Poland) with a focus on EU strategic autonomy and competitiveness.

In recent years, our businesses have operated in less stable, less predictable and less safe global environment. Yet, global economic integration has never been deeper. This paradox is particularly evident in the complex interplay between the EU, US, and China.

The EU finds itself navigating between the US, which under Trump has adopted a drastic protectionist stance, and China that has been expanding its global economic influence through initiatives like the Belt and Road. The EU, meanwhile, seeks to maintain open trade relations while protecting its strategic interests and fundamental values. This has led to a delicate balancing act, with the EU working to reform the WTO, negotiate bilateral trade agreements, and develop tools to fight unfair trade practices and foreign subsidies.

In this context, economic flows and security have become increasingly intertwined. This is why the EU is eying several measures to protect its markets and economies and recently launched the Competitiveness Compass, based on three business imperatives: innovation, decarbonisation and security.

For the EESC Employers' Group, comprehensive security encompasses several dimensions: defence capacity, civil and societal preparedness, external border security, health and environmental security. But also safeguarding food security and the role of producers. Furthermore, economic security is a crucial aspect of overall security, addressing risks related to trade and investment, energy, raw materials and infrastructure, technology – from AI to space, clean tech to biotech – and intellectual property rights, as well as business freedom.

Since the beginning of 2025 the Commission has proposed several initiatives, not least a simplification of the regulatory framework to free people and businesses from unnecessary burdens and overly complex rules to unleash opportunities, innovation and growth for a secure, prosperous EU.

The goal of the Extraordinary Employers' Group meeting in Warsaw, co-organised with Polish employers' organisations (BCC, Lewiatan, Pracodawcy RP, ZRP, ZPP) and the Polish Ministry of Development et Technologies, is to discuss some of these foreseen initiatives and measures. The event will seek to align the vision with tangible actions, with the aim to improve competitiveness and resilience, strengthening the EU open strategic autonomy.

The event will comprise one high-level opening session and two experts' panels.

The firs panel will focus on "Strengthening EU open strategic autonomy". To reduce excessive dependencies and increase security, the EU seeks to diversify its sources of critical raw materials and reduce reliance on third countries. The Competitiveness Compass calls for the creation of strategic trade alliances, with a focus on new partnerships in clean trade and investment, which will secure the global supply of raw materials and clean energy. Within the internal market, public procurement rules will be reviewed, enabling the introduction of European preferences in public contracts for critical sectors and technologies, ensuring that EU companies are the main beneficiaries.

The second panel will focus on "Dismantling barriers to unlock competitiveness". To ensure a business-friendly environment we need a shift towards cutting through regulatory deadweight, develop the attractiveness of the EU as capital destination to improve the access to finance and cheap and sustainable energy. Furthermore, the next EU budget will be crucial in making sure that the EU finances a market-driven, innovation-led approach to achieve the green and digital transition.

A key question will be: how can the upcoming Competitiveness Fund, aimed to replace the various existing financial instruments, support projects and reforms for Europe’s competitiveness?