00:00Only Europe as a whole can compete with the other superpowers in the world.
00:04The clock is ticking.
00:04If we do not give some hope for the future,
00:06the political world in Europe will suffer.
00:14Welcome to The Big Question,
00:16the series from Euronews where we speak to leaders in business.
00:21And today I'm joined by the new president of Business Europe,
00:26Maciej Vitutsky.
00:27Very nice to have you on the show.
00:29Thank you very much.
00:29Thank you for having me.
00:30Now, you're new to this job and there are a lot of challenges ahead.
00:36And you represent 25 million companies across 36 countries.
00:40What's the one thing that keeps coming up time and time again
00:45that is most important to businesses at the moment in Europe
00:49that they want to see a change in policy here in Brussels
00:54or where they want to see change happen?
00:56I think the number one, the closest to the companies is still energy
01:00because we have been having crisis after crisis.
01:02The Russian invasion on Ukraine, the Ormuz currently.
01:06I would say positive collateral damage of Ormuz.
01:08This is pushing the energy transformation because we understood that we cannot rely on the fossil fuels.
01:14So this is pushing the further transformation towards the electricity.
01:17I think that we have been concentrating on the decarbonation of the economy,
01:23which is important because nobody after the hits of the last weeks will claim that there's no global warming.
01:28So we have to save the planet, but at the same time, we will not save it if we have
01:32no industries,
01:32no revenues, no taxes to pay for us.
01:36But this is the number one.
01:38The number two, more intellectual, but with a huge reserve of potential, is the single market.
01:42Because it's where the companies see that we have barriers, which are 30 years old,
01:47and why we should act rapidly to prove also to the Europeans that the actions are taking place,
01:52that we are not only talking in the medias or in the meetings of the Council or the Commission.
01:57What will it really take to strengthen the single market, in your view?
02:01I think that now we're at the very specific stage where we know the solutions.
02:06So, well, the single market, we knew it from the 80s.
02:09We never did it to the end.
02:10But now with all the external pressures, the challenges, US, China, deglobalization,
02:17somehow the pressure is very big on us businesses, it used to be, but also the political world.
02:21So it's an interesting period where we do not complain anymore.
02:24We have the plans and our main role now is to push the implementation, push the timing,
02:29because the clock is ticking, the economical one, but also the social one.
02:33If we do not give some hope for the future, also the political world in Europe will suffer.
02:44So, from what you have experienced so far, do you think political leaders are lacking the will
02:50or are their hands tied, yet they want to push forward competitiveness?
02:54I will start by the fact that I was campaigning for the last 12 months.
02:57And what I can say for sure, that the business environment is definitely, I would say,
03:03federalist in the sense of only Europe as a whole can compete with the other superpowers
03:08in the world.
03:09So business leaders and the business communities, members of Business Europe, clearly understand
03:13that Belgium alone, France alone, Germany alone, Poland alone cannot stand up to China,
03:19India, Indonesia tomorrow.
03:20So we will be pushing and maybe supporting also the politicians to say, we have to communicate
03:25to 450 million Europeans to tell them, those are the projects, those are the benefits of
03:29the union.
03:30And by the way, we have no alternatives.
03:32If our common project is not achieved and is not successful, then what do we do?
03:37We build walls around countries again.
03:38We'll try to compete from Warsaw against Beijing, economically, obviously, or from Paris against
03:44Washington.
03:45It will never work.
03:45I think we should support politicians in this project, but also put pressure on them because
03:49the time is short.
03:51We need the results rapidly to convince Europeans about the project.
03:54Indeed.
03:54And do you think that national interests, though, are almost impossible to overcome?
03:59I don't think so, because if it's the case, we are doomed.
04:02And I'm a natural-born optimist.
04:04That was always the strength of my region of Europe.
04:07There's no plan B, number one.
04:09Number two, those solutions, they have to be explained because even the mainstream, let's
04:14call it this way, politicians, they have been complaining so much for, I would say,
04:18not necessarily founded reasons about Brussels, that themselves they have been participating
04:23in the construction of many negative stereotypes.
04:25Now we have to step back and to, again, push the European project because this is how we can
04:32regain the place which is ours because we have the resources.
04:35We have capital in Europe, we have human capital in Europe, we have companies and businesses
04:39maybe not as sexy as the top technological leaders from the US, but with a big potential
04:46of growth and unique technologies as comparable to the digital ones from the US.
04:52And Europe wants to reduce, of course, its dependence on China, but China, of course, remains
04:57one of its biggest trading partners.
04:59Is it a realistic strategy or are businesses being asked to balance competing political
05:05and commercial interests too much, would you say?
05:08So we have to act together as Europe.
05:10So first of all, find a consensus between ourselves, the interests are a bit different
05:14between countries.
05:15And then to negotiate with China a new framework because we have been very open, very dynamic
05:21in moving industries there.
05:22Now we are too dependent.
05:23Obviously, we will not decouple.
05:25So some industries should come back to Europe for security reasons.
05:28We also expect Chinese to invest in Europe because we need investments and not only because
05:34we need investment as cash, but we need also some of the Chinese modern technologies to
05:39come to Europe, but at our conditions, as China had been doing with Shenzhen 30 years ago.
05:44We need our own Shenzhen in Poland, in Germany, in Spain, where the new technologies will come
05:49with our social and IP protection and value protection conditions.
05:54So there is a deal for both parts.
05:56And China needs us because they're over capacity of production.
05:59If suddenly we will kind of block on both sides, it will be harmful for both sides as well.
06:04Of course, Europe does need to diversify.
06:06Of course, though, as well as you said, needs China.
06:08But are there other partners of interest that you think Europe should be developing stronger ties with?
06:14Well, first of all, it's to keep the transatlantic ties.
06:17It's not only in our interest to have access to the spaceships and to the new technologies.
06:22We are also the largest single partner as Europe of the United States.
06:26So if we have those discussions about digital sovereignty, it's not only worrying for us that we don't have some
06:32of those tools,
06:32but it's also worrying the American giants, because if suddenly we push the 100% sovereignty,
06:37they would lose an enormous European market.
06:40It's a tough discussion how to now rebuild the trust, because I think last year it was more the question
06:46of trust between both parties.
06:48But we need the United States, and it goes hopefully in a good direction.
06:51And then we very much support all those free trade agreements which are being signed,
06:56the one with Mercosur, India, Indonesia, Australia.
07:00So this is a good way of getting Europe more open to other markets.
07:04If there was one thing that politicians here in Brussels could do immediately to make things better for businesses in
07:11Europe
07:11and for people to do business in Europe, what would it be?
07:14I think today stay focused on what is already in the pipeline.
07:18So don't look for any silver bullets.
07:20We have already plans about the single market.
07:22Just implement.
07:23It's important for businesses, but also it's important for the citizens of Europe that they see the change.
07:28If we speak about 20 new great initiatives, but we don't see one or two or three of them implemented,
07:33we may lack of time to reform Europe.
07:35So there's the urgency of delivering on the pipelines which are already here in the Commission or in the Parliament,
07:41like the omnibuses.
07:42Patshe, it has been a pleasure to have you with us on The Big Question.
07:45President of Business Europe and your new job, thank you for joining us on The Big Question.
07:49Thank you very much.
07:49Thank you.
07:50Thank you.
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