On the occasion of the Fifth Trilateral Business Forumwhich took place in Berlin on 28 and 29 September, the Presidents of BDI Siegfried Russwurm, Confindustria Carlo Bonomi e MEDEF Patrick Martin signed a joint declaration in which they reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen European sovereignty and competitiveness.

The industrialists from Italy, Germany and France, on the basis of the discussions held during the Forum, call on the EU Commission and their respective national governments to "strengthen Europe's competitiveness and unity" by making "broader efforts" inter alia in pursuing "greater strategic autonomy", financing the "green transition" and creating "a business-friendly regulatory framework".

The declaration consists of four points:

– strengthen Europe's economic security

– strengthening industrial policy for greater strategic autonomy and economic security

– improving competitiveness through a business-friendly regulatory framework

- aface the next EU policy cycle with due realism

Confindustria, Bdi and Medef in calling on the EU Commission and the respective national governments to "strengthen Europe's competitiveness and unity" emphasise that "the strategic autonomy and economic security of our countries must be addressed with determination". According to the industrialists, 'much more needs to be done. In the future, the central role that industry plays for the EU economy must be fully recognised. An ambitious European industrial strategy is the main way to sustain high living standards in the double transition path'. And they add that it is essential "to adopt specific action plans and policy measures, based on proper risk assessments. In general, all relevant European policies must undergo thorough competitiveness checks'.

In addition, Confindustria, Bdi and Medef point out that "more financial efforts will be required to meet the competitive challenges of a successful green transition". According to them, 'the policy approaches in the Green Deal business plan, the Zero Emission Industry Act, REPower EU, the Critical Materials Act and numerous other measures must be accompanied and supported by adequate financial resources'. In the Joint Declaration they therefore state that 'the promotion of investments within the framework of the new CHIPS Act must be properly implemented. In the current revision of the medium-term financial framework, additional funding for strategic investments should be agreed upon and cuts to existing programmes should be avoided'.

Industrialists from Italy, Germany and France finally call for 'improving competitiveness through a business-friendly regulatory framework', because investments are restricted by too many regulations. "In recent years," the statement reads, "investment opportunities for companies in our countries have been severely limited by a large number of new regulations and increasingly burdensome administrative procedures, as opposed to the need for a growth-friendly regulatory framework. In five years, the European Union has imposed 5,422 pages of additional texts and 850 new obligations on European companies. Administrative complexity continues to grow in the EU, making the EU's investment climate much less favourable than our global competitors and significantly increasing compliance costs for companies'.

Please read the joint declaration in English and the Italian translation attached.

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