The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has called for the acceleration of industrial approvals and regulatory reforms, warning that delays in granting permits and in energy projects endanger Europe’s competitiveness in the global economy, Anadolu reports.

“In a global race, delay means lost investment. Today, it may take longer to get permission for a new factory than to build it. Energy projects can wait years for approvals, even when funding is ready. This needs to change, and we are starting to change that,” said von der Leyen during her speech at the European Industry Summit in Belgium.

The European Commission’s Wind Energy Package, for example, aims to cut permit times by two-thirds, while faster connections to the energy grid are being prioritized to solve critical obstacles for European industry.

She highlighted the wider need to simplify business operations across the EU.

“We have set a target to reduce the bureaucratic burden in this mandate by 37 billion euros, which represents 25 percent at European level. Ten omnibus packages are in the pipeline, worth 15 billion euros in red tape reduction. So far so good, but I am not satisfied with their speed,” she said. she.

“Of the ten omnibus packages we proposed last year, only three have reached their destination. For the other seven, we rely on the European Parliament and the member states to share the same sense of urgency,” she added.

Von der Leyen also criticized the so-called “gold-plating” phenomenon, the additional layers of national legislation that create barriers within the common market. She cited examples including different weight limits for trucks between Belgium and France, as well as inefficient procedures for transporting waste across borders.

“Barriers inside Europe hurt us more than tariffs from outside. That’s why we need to complete the common market if Europe wants to remain competitive in a world of giants,” she said.

She announced a new proposal aimed at creating a unified structure of European companies to simplify cross-border operations, to speed up business registration and facilitate access to financing for start-ups and growing companies.

Von der Leyen also emphasized the importance of improving access to capital, presenting plans for a deeper and more liquid European capital market, which could unlock up to 470 billion euros of investment within the “savings and investment union”.

This union aims to connect savings of EU citizens with productive investments.

“We intend to achieve this with all 27 states, but if this is not possible, at the end of this year I will propose to move forward with those who want to accelerate and strengthen cooperation. For this, at least nine member states are needed,” she added.

Source: prizrenpost