3
rd
March 2020
Strengthening the economic base of the EU
Key messages for preparation of the March European Council
The March European Council is expected to
“hold
an overall discussion on strengthening the
economic base of the EU, on the basis of a comprehensive contribution by the Commission.”
The EU needs to focus on improving its competitiveness, productivity and enabling value creation in
all economic activities and strategic value chains that are crucial for sustainable growth and well-
being. This requires strong political will and consistent cooperation from all institutions and the
Member States.
The following key messages provides a joint contribution from
Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia,
Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden
in preparation of the upcoming European Council:
To lead the transition to a competitive, fair, climate-neutral and digital economy European
businesses and industries as well as consumers must be able to maximise the opportunities
offered by the Single Market.
Strengthening and deepening the Single Market in all its
dimensions is a precondition for industrial competitiveness and the success of the EU’s
new Growth Strategy,
launched by the Green Deal.
A fair, open and competitive home market needs to remain a starting point for
promoting the level playing field globally as well as within the EU.
This goes hand in hand
with maintaining a strict and independent competition policy fit for the digital and climate
transitions. To avoid distortions in the Single Market and to ensure a global level playing
field, operators from third countries must compete under similar conditions and rules as their
European counterparts. Moreover, the EU should maintain and develop the rule-based
multilateral trading system that promotes open, fair and sustainable international trade.
The
EU’s
role as a global leader will require continuous upgrading of its competences and
performance. This calls for
consistent and fit for the future regulatory framework and
policies that foster innovation and R&D, investment, competitive sustainability, skills
and quality of jobs as well as reaffirms trust of business and consumer in digital
development at the same time.
This way the EU will be able to set global standards and
successfully meet the green, digital and technological transformation.
As data is a key asset in future technologies and in the digital economy and society as a whole,
the EU needs to apply an ambitious, European values-based policy that fosters sharing,
use and reuse of data
while ensuring interoperability and high level of data protection and