Large family businesses ask the EU for smart integration
"Europe has not grasped the seriousness of the situation. It is in a worse position today than it was a year ago. Our growth model is crumbling. Our future is at stake. We must achieve results in months, not years'. It was an Italian, Mario Draghi, who made this brutally honest assessment of European policy last week. The Italian economy at least still shows growth. But in the rest of Europe, the players are waiting, appearing discouraged at first glance. The so-called tariff agreement with Donald Trump reinforces this paralysis.
To be fair, Ursula von der Leyen put cutting red tape at the top of the agenda. The Commission must promote a huge cultural change. The same officials who drew up and defended the labyrinthine rules on sustainability reports and supply chains are now charged with dismantling the complexity they created. This would be quite a feat, if the apparatus were not so busy paralysing itself.
The much-vaunted 'omnibus laws', which many companies desperately hope will provide relief, still await approval by the European Parliament and the Council. It is precisely at this critical juncture that the risk of further delays looms largest.
This impression was also shared by large family businesses from across Europe, who met with senior EU officials and politicians at the European Family Business Forum in Brussels. These entrepreneurs seemed to be burning with passion for Europe, yet they appeared frustrated. "Accelerate! Listen to us! We need growth! Give us a level playing field with our competitors!" This was the message.
However, they are not entirely pessimistic. Of course they complain, and rightly so: the EU often underestimates the role of family businesses as the backbone and growth engine of the economy. But although there is much to criticise about Brussels bureaucracy, family businesses across Europe maintain a fundamentally positive view of the EU as both a market and a destination for investment.
