European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told EU leaders that Europe needs to be “an economic force” if it is to “speak language of power”, as she addressed competitiveness, energy and geopolitical developments at a European Council meeting.
Metsola urged leaders to “resist the temptation to fall back on what is comfortable simply because the next steps seem too difficult.”
She said the message applied to “simplification at all levels”, including in areas such as financial services, and called for urgent action on Europe’s Savings and Investments Union, a proposal intended to channel more private savings into investment, the parliamentary press service informed on Thursday.
Metsola also called for “revising regulatory requirements that are no longer driving investment the way they should”, and told leaders that “competitiveness today is as much about security as it is about growth.”
Energy and geopolitical issues
On the EU’s energy position, Metsola said Europe is diversifying its energy mix and that this is “already beginning to pay off”, while warning that the bloc is not “immune to price shocks”, the European Parliament noted.
She stated the EU’s focus on “storage, grids, and reducing external demand” was “precisely the right approach.”
Turning to geopolitical developments, Metsola said EU leaders should not “lose sight of the people suffering”, including “more than 90 million Iranians” who she said “have been fighting for freedom from an oppressive regime for decades.”
She also said “the attacks against the Gulf countries are condemnable and must immediately stop”, reiterated solidarity with the people of Cyprus, and said the EU “will not lose sight of Russia’s continued illegal war of aggression in Ukraine.”
