On competitiveness, President Metsola said: “We need to resist the temptation to fall back on what is comfortable simply because the next steps seem too difficult.” She added that this applies to simplification at all levels, including in fields such as financial services. She also underlined that “we need to be ready to think differently and come up with out of the box solutions, while respecting the European Parliament’s prerogatives.” Metsola called for urgent action on Europe’s Savings and Investments Union and “revising regulatory requirements that are no longer driving investment the way they should”. She stressed that for Members of the European Parliament, “competitiveness today is as much about security as it is about growth”, and that “Europe needs the economic force that commands the role we must play”.
Referring to the ‘One Europe, One Market’, President Metsola called for “the full involvement of the European Parliament” and stressed that what was needed are “actions with fixed timelines and targets for deliver.” She stressed however that Parliament “will not and never be a rubber-stamp.”
On energy, she highlighted that Europe is diversifying its energy mix and this is already beginning to pay off. However, she argued that “this does not mean we are immune to price shocks” and reminded that instability elsewhere can still affect us at home, adding that “this is why our focus on storage, grids, and reducing external demand is precisely the right approach”.
Finally, on geopolitical developments, President Metsola said that “we should never lose sight of the people suffering – including the more than 90 million Iranians who have been fighting for freedom from an oppressive regime for decades”, while also stressing that “the attacks against the Gulf countries are condemnable and must immediately stop”, and reiterating once more her unwavering solidarity with the people of Cyprus, which she said “stand on Europe’s frontline.” She added that, in this context, “we will not lose sight of Russia’s continued illegal war of aggression in Ukraine.”
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