Confindustria-Medef-Bdi: EU must be united and work towards shared solutions

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Introduce new common financial instruments to anticipate future crises, institute low-cost, short-term measures to contain gas and electricity prices for businesses, reduce Europe’s dependence on imported “critical raw materials” and avoid shortages supplies, initiate a regulatory truce to relaunch Europe’s competitiveness and design a fiscal policy that will boost public investment. These are the main guidelines on which the Joint Declaration signed today by Confindustria, Medef and Bdi, on the occasion of the fourth Trilateral Business Forum, is articulated.

Avoid ideological approaches in order not to undermine competitiveness

The Confindustrie of Italy, France and Germany, the main manufacturing countries of Europe, meeting today and tomorrow in Rome, invite their governments and all the competent institutions at European level, to pay the utmost attention to the critical issues that European industry is facing especially small and medium-sized ones. Forecasts for 2023 point to low or negative growth and the high rate of inflation is making its effects felt. “For this reason it is necessary to act with a great sense of responsibility, gradually and proportionately, avoiding ideological approaches that risk undermining the competitiveness of entire industrial chains”.

Green transition, proceed with correct timing and methods

The green transition, they point out, «is an unavoidable process in which industry actively participates but it is necessary to proceed in the correct times and ways or we run the risk of losing production capacity. Already agreed targets cannot be constantly changed, as is happening with the revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. Anticipating future crises must be one of the cornerstones of European action. For this reason, it is essential to introduce financing instruments dedicated exclusively to dealing with any new emergencies”.

Contain spiraling energy prices

The European Union, we read, “must adopt immediate and shared solutions to contain the vertiginous increase in energy prices, while ensuring that European climate policies do not jeopardize the productive fabric and employment”. Furthermore, it is crucial to reduce our dependence on imported raw materials. “For this reason, we hope that the next EU proposal relating to “critical raw materials” will be based on an in-depth analysis of the present and future needs of these materials and their impact on the industrial sector, in order to avoid any shortages and minimize the negative effects due to their increasing costs. Finally, “we support a reform of European economic governance that encourages public investment. We want a united and supportive Europe, capable of working towards shared solutions in the interest of all its member states», they conclude.