Val Duchesse Summit: Economic and social progress go hand in hand

“We are fully committed to improving the dialogue between EU leaders and social partners as well as among the social partners” – underlined BusinessEurope President Fredrik Persson and Director General Markus J. Beyrer representing European companies of all sizes at the summit. “For us, social partnership has to be an economic and social partnership. Social progress can only be built on competitiveness and growth”, said Persson. Unfortunately, the latest GDP data confirmed that Europe’s economy is stagnating and lagging behind our key competitors. In 2023, EU GDP grew by only 0.5%, compared with 3.1% growth

in the USA. It is crucial that employers, workers and policymakers join forces to improve the situation. Europe’s social agenda has to be part of a master plan to stop Europe’s deindustrialisation. We need to urgently address skills shortages as well as key factors that create investment leakage: high energy costs, excessive regulation and lengthy permitting procedures. Persson also stressed BusinessEurope’s commitment to work constructively with the EU institutions and with European trade unions in order to put Europe back in the top spot to work, live and do business.

TTC in Washington DC: Creating a transatlantic marketplace for sustainable goods

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“The WTO needs to demonstrate that it can respond to the most pressing challenges of our time, from climate change and pandemic to industrial subsidies and food security.”

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