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,
00:25Maciej Fitutsky.
00:27Very 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.
01:08This is pushing the energy transformation because we understood
01:12that 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.
01:29At the same time, we will not save it if we have no industries, no revenues, no taxes to pay
01:35for.
01:35But this is the number one.
01:37The number two, more intellectual, but with a huge reserve of potential, is the single market.
01:42Yes.
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
01:50that the actions are taking place, that 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 where we know the solutions.
02:06So, well, wait, 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, 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.
02:25We have the plans and our main role now is 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 would 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, federalist
03:03in the sense of only Europe as a whole can compete with the other superpowers in the world.
03:08So, 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, 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 to tell them, those are the projects,
03:28those 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, then what do we do?
03:37We build walls around countries again, we'll try to compete from Warsaw against Beijing,
03:42economically, obviously, or from Paris against Washington, it 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,
04:14let's call it this way, politicians, they have been complaining so much for, I would
04:18say, not necessarily founded reasons about Brussels, that they themselves, they have been
04:22participating in 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
04:31can regain the place, which is ours, because we have the resources, we have capital in Europe,
04:37we have human capital in Europe, we have companies and businesses, maybe not as sexy as the top
04:43technological leaders from the US, but 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, but China, of course,
04:57remains one of its biggest trading partners.
04:59Is it a realistic strategy or are businesses being asked to balance competing political and
05:05commercial interests too much, would you say?
05:08So we have to act together as Europe, so first of all, find a consensus between ourselves,
05:13the interests are a bit different between countries, and then to negotiate with China
05:18a new framework, because we have been very open, very dynamic in moving industries there,
05:22now we are too dependent.
05:23Obviously, we will not decouple, so 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 that some of the Chinese modern technologies
05:38to come 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, and China needs us, because their overcapacity 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, of course, though, as well as you said, needs
06:08China, but are there other partners of interest that you think Europe should be developing stronger
06:14ties with?
06:15Well, first of all, is 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
06:31have some of those tools, but it's also worrying the American giants, because if suddenly we push
06:36the 100 percent sovereignty, they 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
06:45the question of 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, the
06:57one 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
07:09better for businesses in Europe and for people to do business in Europe, what would it be?
07:14I think today stay focused on what is already in the pipeline, so don't look for any silver
07:19bullets.
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
07:27see 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
07:40the Parliament like the omnibuses.
07:41Pat Shea, 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.
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