European Council President António Costa has called on EU leaders to complete outstanding reforms to the bloc’s single market and agree a new long-term budget by the end of this year, in a speech at the Cernobbio Forum in Italy.
Speaking at the “Intelligence on the World, Europe, and Italy” event on Saturday on the shores of Lake Como, Costa said the EU’s single market represents 450 million consumers and 32 million companies, supporting around 56 million jobs through trade within the union, according to his office.
He also said the EU has the “world’s most extensive network of trade agreements”, covering 84 countries, and is adopting or ratifying agreements with another 25 countries.
Costa told the forum that the next round of EU enlargement would include Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans, describing it as the bloc’s “greatest geopolitical investment.”
Plan to deliver 42 measures by end of 2027
Costa declared that EU leaders have advanced a strategic action plan since the beginning of 2026 to improve economic performance, including completing the single market, reducing “unnecessary bureaucracy”, ensuring affordable energy, strengthening industrial capacity, cutting dependencies and mobilising investment.
He said the “One Europe, One Market” agenda includes 42 measures to be delivered by the end of 2027, with quarterly progress reviews published online and updates presented at the start of European Council meetings.
On energy, Costa said electricity is cheaper in parts of Europe where “clean homegrown and secure” sources set the price more often, and higher where imported natural gas is needed instead.
He also called for deeper and more integrated capital markets so “innovative companies can find funding at every stage of development”, and said a “Savings and Investment Union” was needed to turn European savings into investment.
Costa stated that the EU’s next long-term budget — for 2028 – 2034 — should prioritise competitiveness, industrial transformation, defence, security and “strategic resilience”, while continuing to support cohesion and agricultural policies.
He said most EU spending is financed through national contributions and these should be kept “within reasonable limits”, adding that an agreement must be reached before the end of this year to avoid interruptions to EU funding in 2028.
