Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The Brussels summit, which brought together EU leaders, concluded late Thursday evening. At the closing press conference, the heads of federal institutions spoke. António Costa, President of the European Council, said, "A fruitful European summit. We had very useful discussions with President Volodymyr Zelensky and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The President of the European Commission presented the leaders with the so-called 'White Paper' on defense.
But today's discussions, Thursday, focused primarily on our economic agenda—because it is the foundation of Europe's prosperity and the well-being of our citizens. All member states, without exception, agree on the need to accelerate our economic agenda. That's what the European Council did today, by taking important decisions in three key areas: reducing unnecessary bureaucracy; making energy more accessible to citizens and businesses; and transforming savings into productive investments.
Today, we agreed on clear objectives, clear tasks, and clear timetables. By reducing bureaucracy by 25% for all companies and 35% for SMEs, we will make it easier for all companies in our sector. Economically. Through measures to reduce energy prices, we help companies become more competitive. And by integrating our financial markets, companies and citizens will have access to the financing they need for innovative businesses. Business as usual is no longer an option. Even today, around €300 billion of EU household savings flow from EU markets annually. That €300 billion goes unfunded for EU businesses.
So, today we have made progress on simplification, energy costs, and private investment. Our objectives are clear: creating more jobs, more high-quality jobs; strengthening key industries, such as the automotive, steel, and metals sectors; and ensuring that Europe remains a continent of innovation and technological dynamism.
We also reminded today that all these efforts must be pursued in line with the climate goals we agreed upon together. Because competitiveness and sustainability are perfectly compatible when implemented correctly. A sustainable economy is also a socially just economy, one that leaves no one behind. That's why today we have reaffirmed our European social model and the importance of the European pillar of social rights. In short: prosperity - sustainability - justice. In all these areas, there are challenges, but also many opportunities. In all these areas, Europe is making decisions and moving forward. For her part, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during the closing press conference of the discussions,I think it was a very productive meeting. We actually discussed competitiveness, and I presented our "Competitiveness Compass" with the "Clean Industry Deal," and we discussed three main cross-cutting topics. The first was energy, the second was simplification—the famous "buses"—and the third was the "Savings and Investment Union." I think it was a very interesting discussion, because it was clear, looking at energy prices, that the main solution to lower energy prices is to move more towards low-carbon energies, namely nuclear and renewable energy, because the fossil fuels we import are the drivers of prices. The second point, "buses," is a strong support, not just for having one, but for having an entire fleet of buses.
I would like to briefly touch on the third element, the "Savings and Investment Union." What's interesting here is that we, in Europe, are world leaders in savings. €1.4 trillion is saved annually, most of it in bank accounts, while American households, for example, save $800 billion. It's not just the European market that benefits from its status as the global savings leader; other markets, particularly the US, are also benefiting. Why? Because the European capital market remains fragmented, complex, and slow. The Savings and Investment Union aims to provide citizens with a higher and better return on their money, as well as enable startups and companies to access much-needed capital. Capital will be directed where the feasibility study exists. In other words, we need to ensure that this fragmented market transforms into a single savings and investment union with uniform rules, so that you have a single entry point everywhere. This makes the allocation of funds here in the EU interesting, and this was one of the main points of our discussion.
In fact, as I mentioned, there is another point. We haven't just discussed overlapping topics, but are now systematically addressing sector by sector. We started with the Clean Industry Agreement, namely energy-intensive industries and clean technology. We conducted a strategic dialogue with the automotive industry through an action plan, as well as with the steel industry, and now we are pursuing the chemical industry. The principle here is that we are fully committed to our goals, such as achieving climate neutrality by 2050, but we accompany the sector on its journey towards these goals to see where we can support, adapt, be flexible, and improve. This is a huge transformation that the sectors are undergoing, and so this is a journey we are taking together.
We also presented the White Paper on the Future of European Defense, and it was very good to have both discussions, because competitiveness and defense are two sides of the same coin. If there were doubts about this reality until a few weeks ago, there is no longer any doubt today. Progress here is no longer a "desirable," but the discussions clearly demonstrated that progress here is an "absolute necessity." Two weeks ago, we reached a historic agreement at the European Council to increase our defense capacity and defense spending, and to do so together, and today we presented the 2030 Readiness Plan. In other words, we agreed on how to spend.
First, we are activating the "national exemption" clause because Member States are willing to increase investment in their security. This activation allows Member States to increase their defense spending without triggering excessive deficit measures. The second step is our proposal for a new instrument, which we call SAFE, meaning "Security Action for Europe." Here, of course, joint procurement and cooperation are the name of the game.
So, we want to spend more together, we want to spend better, and we want to spend more at the European level. It's about financing these joint procurements from European industry with up to €150 billion in loans to member states, available for these defense investments. A final note on this topic: since Ukraine's security is also the EU's security, Ukraine and its outstanding defense industry will be able to participate in joint procurements within the SAFE program. And since Ukraine's security is not only the EU's security, but the security of all of Europe, we will also make it possible for partner countries to join the SAFE program. Finally, as you know, we will unleash the power of the EU budget, so that those who wish can voluntarily use the flexibility of their cohesion funds for defense investment. And, as I just explained, yesterday we adopted the Savings and Investment Union scheme, which completes the cycle. We have not only discussed the Savings and Investment Union from a competitiveness perspective, but we have also discussed it here from a defense perspective.