00:00Only Europe as a whole can compete with the other superpowers in the world.
00:04The clock is ticking. If we do not give some hope for the future,
00:06the political world in Europe will suffer.
00:14Welcome to The Big Question, the series from Euronews
00:18where we speak to leaders in business.
00:21And today I'm joined by the new president of Business Europe,
00:25Maciej Witutski. Very nice to have you on the show.
00:28Thank you very much. Thank 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
01:08and this is pushing the energy transformation
01:11because we understood that we cannot rely on the fossil fuels.
01:14So this is pushing the further transformation towards the electricity.
01:18I 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
01:26will claim that there's no global warming.
01:28So we have to save the planet.
01:29And at the same time, we will not save it if we have no 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,
01:41is the single market because it's where the companies see
01:44that we have barriers which are 30 years old
01:47and where we should act rapidly to prove also to the Europeans
01:50that the actions are taking place,
01:52that we are not only talking in the medias
01:54or 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
02:04where we know the solutions.
02:06So, well, the single market, we knew it from the 80s.
02:08We never did it to the end.
02:10But now with all the external pressures,
02:12the challenges, U.S., China, deglobalization,
02:17somehow the pressure is very big on us businesses,
02:19it used to be, but also the political world.
02:21So it's an interesting period where we do not complain anymore.
02:25We have the plans and our main role now is push the implementation,
02:28push the timing because the clock is ticking,
02:31the economical one, but also the social one.
02:33If we do not give some hope for the future,
02:35also the political world in Europe will suffer.
02:44So, from what you have experienced so far,
02:47do you think political leaders are lacking the will
02:50or are their hands tied, yet they want to push forward competitiveness?
02:54I would start by the fact that I was campaigning for the last 12 months.
02:57And what I can say for sure,
02:59that the business environment is definitely,
03:02I would say, federalist in the sense of
03:04only Europe as a whole can compete with the other superpowers in the world.
03:09So business leaders and the business communities,
03:11members of Business Europe clearly understand
03:13that Belgium alone, France alone, Germany alone, Poland alone,
03:17cannot stand up to China, India, Indonesia tomorrow.
03:20So we will be pushing and maybe supporting also the politicians to say,
03:24we have to communicate to 450 million Europeans
03:27to tell them, those are the projects, those are the benefits of the union.
03:30And by the way, we have no alternatives.
03:32If our common project is not achieved and is not successful,
03:36then what do we do?
03:37We build walls around countries again.
03:38We'll try to compete from Warsaw against Beijing,
03:42economically, obviously, or from Paris against Washington.
03:45It will never work.
03:45I think we should support politicians in this project,
03:48but also put pressure on them because the 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,
03:57are 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
04:12because even the mainstream, let's call it this way, politicians,
04:16they have been complaining so much for, I would say,
04:18not necessarily founded reasons about Brussels,
04:21that 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
04:30because this is how we can regain the place, which is ours,
04:34because we have the resources, we have capital in Europe,
04:37we have human capital in Europe, we have companies and businesses,
04:39maybe not as sexy as the top technological leaders from the US,
04:45but with a big potential of growth and unique technologies
04:49as comparable to the digital ones from the US.
04:52And Europe wants to reduce, of course, its dependence on China,
04:56but China, of course, remains one of its biggest trading partners.
04:59Is it a realistic strategy or are businesses being asked to balance
05:03competing political and 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,
05:13the interests are a bit different between countries,
05:15and then to negotiate with China a new framework
05:19because we have been very open, very dynamic in 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
05:32because we need investments,
05:33and not only because we need investment as cash,
05:35but we need also some of the Chinese modern technologies to come to Europe,
05:39but at our conditions,
05:41as China has been doing with Shenzhen 30 years ago,
05:44we need our own Shenzhen in Poland, in Germany, in Spain,
05:47where 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 their overall capacity of production,
05:59if suddenly we will kind of block on both sides,
06:02it 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
06:11that you think Europe should be developing stronger ties with?
06:15Well, first of all, it's to keep the transatlantic ties.
06:17It's not only in our interest to have access
06:19to the spaceships and to the new technologies.
06:22We are also the largest single partner,
06:24as Europe, of the United States.
06:26So if we have those discussions about digital sovereignty,
06:29it's not only worrying for us
06:30that we don't have some of those tools,
06:32but it's also worrying the American giants,
06:34because 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,
06:44because I think last year it was more the question of trust
06:47between both parties,
06:48but we need the United States,
06:50and it goes hopefully in a good direction.
06:51And then we very much support all those free trade agreements
06:55which 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
07:07could do immediately to make things better for businesses in Europe
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,
07:25but also it's important for the citizens of Europe
07:27that they see the change.
07:28If we speak about 20 new great initiatives,
07:30but 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
07:37which are already here in the Commission
07:40or in the Parliament, like 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,
07:47thank you for joining us on The Big Question.
07:49Thank you very much.
07:49Thank you.
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