Third meeting of the informal working group on European competitiveness

In view of the European Council meeting to be held on 18 and 19 June, and considering the latest developments in the Middle East, President of the Council of Ministers Giorgia Meloni, German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever today hosted a video conference meeting of the informal working group on European competitiveness, launched during the leaders' retreat at Alden Biesen on 12 February.

In addition to Italy, Germany and Belgium, the video conference was attended by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the leaders of Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden.

The discussion first focused on the implementation of the Conclusions from March's European Council meeting regarding competitiveness, starting with energy price reductions and administrative simplification.

President Meloni thanked the European Commission President for providing an initial, concrete response to the letter Italy sent on 17 May, with the possibility to allocate up to 0.6% of GDP over three years to investments and special measures regarding energy, within the framework of the existing National Escape Clause (NEC). President Meloni then went on to stress the need for extraordinary efforts, at both national and European level, to counter the short and medium-term effects of the energy crisis.

Lastly, President Meloni focused on the need for the planned ETS Directive review proposal, expected by July this year, to concentrate on mitigating its impact on energy prices, on reducing rate volatility, and on eliminating the asymmetric effects on Member States.