At a recent Leaders’ retreat on competitiveness, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola addressed European leaders, highlighting what she described as “a narrow window of opportunity” to advance the continent’s interests.
“What the pandemic did for our response to health, and Ukraine did for our response to defence – now is the time to do for European competitiveness,” Metsola said.
In her remarks, President Metsola outlined four main priorities:
First, she called for completing the Single Market. “Fragmentation means we are allowing ourselves to be squeezed from our East and our West. At the speed with which things are moving, we need to act – now,” she stated. She emphasized the need for pragmatic approaches that yield concrete results: “If we can go forward together let’s do it, but we cannot be stuck. The way forward needs to be defined by pragmatic realism that delivers tangible results.”
Second, Metsola urged further reduction of regulatory burdens. She pointed out recent efforts by Parliament in simplifying policies: “Parliament has done a lot in the last year on simplification. We have eased requirements in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, reduced red-tape in the Common Agricultural Policy and in InvestEU. We have narrowed the scope of the CSRD and CSDDD… Regarding proposals to revise rules on digital, environmental, automotive and food sectors, work in committees is moving fast. Now we also need to see examples of national rules that stunt growth. Ultimately, good intentions must translate into urgent tangible outcomes for businesses and families.”
Thirdly, she stressed reinforcing public and private funding—especially within energy sectors—without risking financial instability or excessive budgetary pressure: “Our task is to find ways to inject more capital into high potential sectors without causing instability and weighing down our budgets. Europe does not suffer from a lack of savings. It suffers from a lack of turning those savings into investment.” Metsola also highlighted investment needs for electricity infrastructure: “build a genuine Energy Union – one that guarantees stable supply for our industries, at affordable prices for our people. As we enter the Age of Electricity – investment in energy supply and delivery is crucial. Energy is the new gold and the global rush for it is the same.”
Lastly, Metsola advocated pursuing an ambitious free trade agenda globally with partners such as India and Mercosur countries while continuing work towards finalizing an EU-US trade agreement: “The trade agreement with India was exactly the right message, the right tone, and the right deal. We know that strategic autonomy is not about isolation – it is about influence.” She added: “Where possible we should buy European. But where not, we shouldn’t sacrifice our industries that depend on external resources under the illusion of self-reliance. Openness must remain at the core of our European model.” On ongoing negotiations with other trading partners she noted: “In this spirit, Parliament cleared agricultural safeguards for EU-Mercosur agreement… Now we are finalising our work on EU-US trade agreement… The vote in committee will take place on 24th then we’ll go plenary in March… We recognise urgency to get this trade deal done – just as we recognise need for it grounded in mutual trust understanding respect… Open but never naive.”
President Metsola concluded by stressing both urgency and realism as key principles guiding Europe’s next steps.
