(AGENPARL) – Tue 06 May 2025 Next EU budget must kickstart Europe’s competitiveness
(Brussels, 6 May 2025)
As discussions on the seventh Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034 get underway, EU leaders should place revitalising European competitiveness at the very heart of the next EU budget.
BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer said:
“The next EU budget can provide a much-needed kickstart to Europe’s competitiveness, but only if it is resource-efficient and strategic in where it channels funds.
EU additional investment needs were estimated in the Draghi Report at €750-800 billion annually. To close this gap, InvestEU should be extended or replaced under the umbrella of a newly created Competitiveness Fund to continue leveraging private investment, while improving accessibility, efficiency, and alignment with the EU’s key challenges.
Crucially, securing these additional resources must not come from more business taxation. With the EU’s average corporate tax burden already high by global standards, any further increases would risk stifling growth, undermining productivity and innovation, and ultimately reducing tax revenue due to lower economic output. Instead, by incentivising private-sector-driven investment and reducing the public-sector share of financing, the next MFF can achieve more with every euro spent.
Finally, in the next MFF, programmes and funds should be better structured, have clearer and more measurable objectives, and include conditionality mechanisms. Reducing administrative red tape will make EU funds more accessible, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises that are the backbone of Europe’s economy.”
To read our full paper on the seventh MFF, click here.
ENDS
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