Edoardo Munari

We need a more competitive, cohesive and secure Europe as soon as possible: this is the urgent demand that emerges from the joint declaration of Confindustria and CEOE, signed today in Madrid at CEOE headquarters by the Presidents Emanuele Orsini e Antonio Garamendiat the end of their 3rd bilateral meeting. The business organisations of Italy and Spain ask the European institutions to move from words to deeds, pursuing a true European industrial policy that, also by means of common debt instruments, is able to finance large projects of strategic interest that will act as a driving force for private investment.

To this end, it is necessary clear and urgent action allowing adapting climate targets to reality of European industry, reduce energy prices and ensure that the technological neutrality is at the centre of European policies.

In particular, Confindustria and CEOE call for decisive action in these areas:

• Single Marketthe real engine of European growth. The barriers that still exist must be torn down as soon as possible, to eliminate those 'internal tariffs', as Mario Draghi called them, that still stand in the way of their completion and full potential.
• The new European Competitiveness Fund envisaged in the next Multiannual Financial Framework goes in the right direction, but the two organisations reiterate the need to safeguard the multi-level cohesion policy.
• Alongside this, companies in Italy and Spain strongly place the housing issue as a pillar of social and economic resilience.
• In the current geopolitical context, security and defence are crucial: investments are needed in modernising critical infrastructure, developing a truly integrated European defence industry and reducing external dependencies in strategic technologies.
• Finally, ua more decisive trade agenda. The agreements with Mercosur and Mexico should be ratified quickly, the agreement with Indonesia should be fully implemented, negotiations with Australia and India should be concluded, and relations with the Mediterranean and Latin America should be strengthened.

The two organisations emphasise that only rapid and coordinated action by the European institutions, in close dialogue with the private sector, can ensure growth, resilience and true global leadership of the Union.

"With our Spanish colleagues we have reached an agreement to insist on three strategic priorities as the guiding principle for a more cohesive and competitive Europe: technological neutrality, the cost of energy and the urgent need to correct the green deal. We are convinced pro-Europeans, albeit with some misgivings about the slowness of the Union's measures and responses to what is happening around us. This is precisely why we continue to reiterate the need for a big reaction from Europe: there is no more time to lose. We need to bring industry and enterprise back to the centre, in our countries and at European level, strengthening the Mediterranean axis that will be fundamental for the future of the European industrial system,' said the President of Confindustria Emanuele Orsini.

"Businesses have a lot to say in the current European context, in which it is imperative to safeguard the competitiveness of our companies and the continental economy. In this sense, this bilateral meeting is important because it allows us to drive the spirit of Europe together. We have also shared with Confindustria the commitment to promote the European Single Market as a central axis to ensure its prosperity, the development of the next Multiannual Financial Framework and the essential strengthening of defence and security,' stressed the CEOE president. Antonio Garamendi.

The full joint statement is available on this page in Italian and English.