Belgian Presidency: Strengthening EU Competitiveness for SMEs and Trade Agreements - Austrian Chamber of Commerce Updates

2023-12-30 08:42:53

Business expects the Belgian Presidency to bring about improvements for SMEs, reductions in bureaucracy and the will to quickly launch new trade agreements

Vienna (OTS) – Mariana Kühnel, Deputy Secretary General of the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKÖ), emphasizes that in view of the challenges ahead, there should be no hesitation when it comes to strengthening European competitiveness. The open commitment of Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to the long-term strengthening of EU competitiveness, which he made in the run-up to Belgium taking over the EU Council Presidency, is therefore to be welcomed. “This commitment to competitiveness is important; words must be followed by actions,” said Kühnel.

Kühnel: “The trend reversal in reporting obligations is long overdue!”

In the run-up to the Belgian Council Presidency, the Austrian Chamber of Commerce held numerous discussions with ministries, employers’ associations and think tanks in order to position and discuss their key positions on competitiveness. The EU’s international competitiveness must be the top priority of the Belgian Council Presidency in the first half of 2024. “For example, more needs to be done for small and medium-sized businesses. This requires, among other things, an urgent review of the EU’s current SME strategy. We are also still waiting for the SME representative. “It takes more speed to ignite the turbo,” says Kühnel.

The repeatedly announced reduction in bureaucracy is still a long time coming. Companies are currently confronted with more rather than fewer reporting obligations. Companies expect the Belgian Presidency to bring about a long overdue reversal of the trend; the ‘minus 25 percent’ should not be diluted. Kühnel is also pushing for the rapid conclusion of outstanding international trade agreements. “Better and more diverse access to important raw materials and new sales markets is more important than ever for our industry, especially in these geopolitically uncertain times.”

With the EU elections looming on the horizon from June 6th to 9th, 2024 (June 9th in Austria), the Commission and Parliament in practice only have two and a half months to find agreements that will be formally decided before the election date can. “The Commission and Parliament must now quickly set the course for the future of European competitiveness. Under no circumstances should these decisions, which are important for millions of companies and the EU as an economic bloc, be postponed until after the election. Because that would damage the European business location as a whole,” concluded Kühnel. (PWK488/AM)