Freedom to Stay starts with conditions for businesses to grow

On 23 June 2026, the EESC Employers' Group hosted SGI Day 2026, the annual flagship event of our partner organisation SGI Europe, focused on the Freedom to Stay, in the presence of Mrs Roxana Minzatu, EU Commission Executive Vice President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs, and Preparedness.

As EESC Employers' Group President Sandra Parthie underlined in her opening remarks, the Freedom to Stay is not only a social ambition, but also part of the competitiveness agenda. Yet, a right to stay is not a reason to stay. To make it work, there must be opportunities so people and business can stay and thrive.

This reality is particularly visible for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially in regions that are already under pressure. These companies form the backbone of Europe’s economy and social fabric, they employ almost two-thirds of Europe's workforce and generate more than half of our value-added. They anchor communities, and sustain local jobs, skills and cohesion. Yet, too often, they face a paradox: they carry the full weight of European regulation while benefiting less from the opportunities of the Single Market. In such conditions, the Single Market risks being perceived not as a driver of growth, but as an additional constraint.

This is where the debate on the Freedom to Stay must shift. The challenge is not to create new layers of support, but to remove the obstacles that hold businesses back. Complex procedures, heavy administrative requirements and limited access to finance or practical guidance continue to limit the capacity of SMEs to grow, invest and operate across borders. This concern is consistent with the Employers’ Group’s long-standing call to reduce regulatory burden and make the Single Market work better in practice. 

The broader issue is the state of the Single Market itself. A fully functioning Single Market should allow companies to operate across borders under equal conditions, access customers across the EU and rely on mutual recognition of qualifications and rules. When this works, businesses do not need to relocate to grow. Regions that were once seen as peripheral can become viable bases for investment. In that sense, removing barriers does not only strengthen competitiveness but also supports cohesion by making it possible to build opportunities locally.

At the same time, the Freedom to Stay must go hand in hand with the Freedom to Move. A Single Market that enables the free movement of goods, services and capital, but fails to ensure real labour mobility, remains incomplete. Making mobility work in practice, for example through better recognition of qualifications, is essential. The objective is not to keep people in place, but to ensure they have a genuine choice: to stay because opportunities exist, or to move because they can.

The Freedom to Stay can help preserve this virtuous circle, but only if it is rooted in real economic opportunity. For the Employers’ Group, this means focusing on what matters most: empowering SMEs and ensuring that businesses are free to stay, grow and invest in Europe under fair and predictable conditions.