calls on EU institutions and Member States to integrate cooperative business education into entrepreneurship and vocational training, while promoting cooperative opportunities through programmes such as Erasmus+ and raising awareness among financial institutions and industry associations;
urges the creation of targeted incentives, such as tax breaks, grants and low-interest financing, to support industrial cooperatives in adopting circular practices, investing in shared industrial parks and eco-industrial zones, and developing knowledge-sharing platforms; and
stresses that the cooperative model delivers unique added value for Europe’s competitiveness by safeguarding jobs, fostering innovation, ensuring equitable wealth distribution and strengthening regional resilience, and should therefore be fully recognised in EU cohesion, industrial and transition policies.
stresses the central role of enforcement in reducing the fragmentation of the Single Market and calls on the Commission to implement a clear and coordinated approach between preventive, collaborative and remedial tools. It also stresses the primary obligation of Member States to implement EU law in due time and correctly;
considers that the adequate implementation of EU law should be integrated into all steps of the legislative process, and legislation should include clauses dedicated to enforcement. Gold-plating, i.e. adding to EU legislation supplementary national requirements, should be avoided. The EESC asks for active engagement from the co-legislators in this regard, as well as the Member States;
asks the Commission to update the Communication on enforcement of EU law to strengthen and simplify the enforcement tools and accelerate the handling of infringement procedures, while increasing their transparency.
stresses the need to provide for oversight mechanisms regarding the application at national level of the proposed adaptations to the regulatory framework;
recommends that general transfer licences be prioritised and used systematically for all projects financed or coordinated at EU level, and that this system be extended and harmonised across the national systems;
recommends that the possibility for Member States to authorise national exemptions for chemical substances ‘in the interests of defence’ be subject to appropriate environmental verification and compatibility procedures.
underlines the need for additional efforts to promote entrepreneurship and business development more broadly, including the incorporation of a scaling-up perspective in all business-related policy and regulatory initiatives;
stresses the importance of the better regulation principle, guided by thorough impact assessments that cover entire value chains and all stages of the legislative process; it calls for proper implementation and follow-up of an innovation stress test and a competitiveness check;
calls for a thorough review to identify and remove both legislative and non-legislative obstacles that hinder entrepreneurs from seizing a second chance after business failure.
welcomes the European Commission’s efforts to simplify legislation and reduce specific administrative burdens but, at the same time, it also expresses concerns regarding the consultation process, the limited debate on the proposed changes and the lack of impact assessments;
invites the Commission to comprehensively map the EU business landscape by company size and according to specific Member States’ characteristics with the aim to ensuring more appropriate thresholds and scope of the Small Mid-Caps (SMC) category;
encourages the Commission to present further targeted GDPR simplification measures, having many companies still facing disproportionate compliance requirements such as extensive record-keeping.
underlines that AI should remain a complementary tool rather than a substitute, with ultimate decision-making in sensitive areas such as health, law, or taxation staying under human control to safeguard professional autonomy and accountability;
stresses that technology can ease administrative burdens and routine tasks, enabling professionals to focus on higher-value, human-centric services, which improves efficiency and the quality of services delivered to citizens and enterprises;
insists that ethical and professional standards must apply to the use of AI, ensuring transparency in AI-driven decisions, avoiding bias and discrimination, and respecting privacy, data protection, and intellectual property rights.
reiterates that the strengthening of the EU’s defensive capacities must be implemented in accordance with its fundamental values, with a focus on the well-being of citizens;
believes that the EU should adopt a common defence policy as part of a shared foreign and security policy, and build a strong European defence pillar, going beyond national models;
stresses the urgent need to promote a common European industrial policy that enhances industrial competitiveness while respecting the principles of transparency, efficiency and sustainability. It also calls for specific common funding instruments to be adopted.
stresses the urgent need to take a comprehensive, preventive approach based on fundamental human rights to the commercial determinants of health, which are defined as strategies of private actors that negatively influence health and democratic checks and balances;
calls on the EU and its Member States to adopt ambitious policies and strategic funding – including under the next Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028-2034 – to make health a central pillar of European resilience, particularly with a view to prevention;
encourages the establishment of a balanced regulatory framework that allows businesses to transition towards models that respect public health, by including the precautionary principle, transparency and due diligence clauses in public policies.
Supporting the revival of securitisation to channel financing to households, SMEs and the EU’s strategic objectives, with stronger ESG disclosure requirements and transparent monitoring of whether ‘freed-up’ capital boosts lending.
Preserving safeguards and international standards to protect financial stability, avoiding excessive risk-taking, and discouraging relocation of securitisation processes to unregulated jurisdictions or aggressive tax regimes.
Strengthening supervision and fine-tuning technical aspects (calibration, definitions, retention rules), while introducing measures to preserve lender–borrower relationships and transparency throughout the securitisation process.
Expanding the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to 2% of EU GDP and mobilising all available instruments (RRF, InvestEU, EIB, ESM) to close the EU’s investment deficit in green, digital, social and strategic sectors.
Developing a moderately expansionary monetary policy once inflation is under control and strengthening the role of euro as a global reserve currency by introducing the digital euro, using the stock of EU debt and completing the capital markets and banking union.
Ensuring permanent and structured involvement of social partners and civil society organisations in the European Semester, while protecting sustainable finance rules, social spending and cohesion against excessive fiscal consolidation or defence-driven imbalances.
