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aced with new geopolitical realities, and economic and demographic challenges, we, the Leaders of the European Union, are determined to ensure our common economic prosperity, boost our competitiveness, making the EU the first climate-neutral continent in the world and ensuring the EU’s sovereignty, security, resilience and global influence. Based on the work started in Versailles, and pursued further in Granada, Brussels and in the Strategic Agenda, we will make the Union more competitive, productive, innovative and sustainable, building on economic, social and territorial cohesion, and ensuring convergence and a level playing field both within the Union and globally.
We welcome the reports ‘Much more than a market’ by Enrico Letta and ‘The future of European competitiveness’ by Mario Draghi that identify critical challenges and make future-oriented recommendations. They provide a solid foundation on which we will ambitiously advance our work. We seize their wake-up call. It is imperative that we urgently close the innovation and productivity gap, both with our global competitors and within the EU. We will work in unity and solidarity for the benefit of all EU citizens, businesses and Member States.
To boost our competitiveness, all instruments and policies must be harnessed in a comprehensive and coherent manner at both EU and Member State level. Business as usual is no longer an option. Today, we stress the pressing need for decisive action to meet these challenges and call for determined and collective efforts on the following competitiveness drivers, building on the April 2024 European Council conclusions:
1. Intensifying our efforts to ensure a fully functioning Single Market and unlock its full potential as a key driver for innovation, investment, convergence, growth, connectivity and economic resilience. To this end, we invite the Commission to present, by June 2025, a new and comprehensive horizontal strategy on the deepening of the Single Market, including a roadmap with clear timelines and milestones.
2. Taking decisive steps towards a Savings and Investments Union by 2026, and making urgent progress on the Capital Markets Union. This will create truly integrated European capital markets which are accessible to all citizens and businesses, in particular to SMEs and start-ups. This should allow our innovative companies to scale up. Furthermore, greater equity investment would contribute to securing EU competitiveness in critical technologies. Further progress is also needed to complete the Banking Union....
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