CCIR and Eurochambers : the business community considers that Europe must look to the future

  The business community considers that Europe must look to the future, even if it still has to manage the impact of the last eighteen months, says a joint message about a new perspective on business of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR )chairman, Mihai Daraban and chairman of Eurochambers, Christoph Leitl.According to the quoted source, the single market must be at the centre of the political programme of the European Union. The temporary measures for the reduction of the pandemics effects brought to the collective memory the coming back to long-forgotten boundaries, but they also offered a clear image of what has been done over the last thirty years since accession.‘Even so, the single market stays incomplete, and the present issues even before the crisis must be resolved. The chambers of commerce continue to plead for a better implementation of the existing norms so that enterprises and consumers benefit from the largest commercial market in the world. The pandemics showed the social and economic importance of digitization. Enterprises and governments must invest smartly in digital instruments’ the message says.According to the two officials, technological development, research and innovation must be the priority. Europe must improve its digital competences to get developed. The chambers of commerce play an important role in education, training and re-training bringing the European work force towards digital transition. Similarly, the European Commission plays an important role through the promotion of Artificial Intelligence to have a more efficient estimate of competences.According to the representatives of the two institutions, the recovery plan NextGenerationEU and the Mechanism for Recovery and Resilience can offer real opportunities for companies, in the effort to increase sustainability, with impact on the whole economy, if they are correctly implemented. The involvement of the main actors in the domain is essential to put into practice these financial instruments of the EU, as a support to viable projects.The public authorities must collaborate with the Chambers of Commerce as regards drafting and implementation of their plans to insure that necessary reforms be transposed in practice and that millions of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will benefit from available funds.The two officials say that SMEs are an important part of the European economy and are essential for economic recovery. The political decision factors must be aware of this: SMEs should be taken into consideration, systematically, by the law makers as part of the solution. This applies to the new industrial strategy of the Commission to stimulate the ecological and digital transition of Europe; SMEs must be in the centre of industrial transformation, thus reflecting on the significant contribution to innovation and competitiveness.‘As a conclusion, the European Union should not forget the place it holds in the world. It is possible that the pandemics have determined us to concentrate on matters closer to home, but Europe is a continent fundamentally oriented to the outside. We have to be open and aware of our role as leaders in ensuring free international commerce, fair and favourable to inclusion. We have to build with the extended commercial network of the European Union as a basis so that companies be more resilient, to diversify the supply chains and build international opportunities. Taking into consideration that 85% of the future economic growth comes from outside the European Union, an ambitious commercial agenda is vital for competitiveness and prosperity of Europe. The chambers of commerce are ready to share their important experience’ the message says.‘We expect that the chair von der Leyen sends a positive and realist message on 15th September to millions of companies on the continent which share the same conviction and are ready to contribute to the economic recovery of Europe’ the two officials say.