Additional considerations on the Euro area economic policy 2025

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)'s ECO section has adopted an own-initiative opinion on Additional considerations on the Euro area economic policy 2025. The Committee warns that the EU’s economic performance has fallen behind global competitors, particularly the US and China, due to slow growth, high inflation and structural weaknesses. It stresses the need for stronger investment, deeper integration of the Single Market, and a renewed EU role in global trade to safeguard competitiveness and resilience.

Key points

In the opinion, ECO recommends:

• Boosting investment in strategically important industries, innovation and integrated capital markets, while ensuring fair mobility, social and environmental standards, as well as a competitive services sector.
• Creating fiscal space through the newly revised EU fiscal rules and an EU investment capacity to finance growth-enhancing projects, while building buffers in times of recovery.
• Strengthening the EU’s global economic position by pursuing bilateral trade agreements, reforming the WTO, and adopting a coordinated strategy to close gaps in productivity, research, investment and competitiveness.

Additional information

EESC section: Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO)

Opinion type: Own-initiative opinion

Rapporteur: Juraj ŠIPKO (GR III, Slovakia)

Reference: ECO/673-EESC-2025

Date of adoption by section: 5/9/2025

Date of adoption in plenary: 17-18/09/2025

Contact

Thomas Kersten

Press Officer

Email: thomas.kersten@eesc.europa.eu

Omar Bello

Policy Officer

Email: eco@eesc.europa.eu