THIS WEEK offers a weekly snapshot of the key developments in Brussels and across Europe over the next seven days, published every Monday morning.
EU leaders are meeting at Belgium’s Alden Biesen castle on Thursday (12 February) to discuss Europe’s lagging economy ahead of next month’s EU summit.
Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta will also attend. The Italian economists had previously said some €800bn annually is needed to compete with the US and China, spanning investments in everything from digital, energy, and defence.
European Council president António Costa is expected to steer the discussion towards how the EU can turn US and China pressure into a much-needed push for internal reforms. This includes unlocking the full potential of the single market via the “28th regime”, a proposal to have one common EU law for businesses.
“In the current geopolitical environment, strengthening our single market is, more than ever, an urgent strategic imperative,” Costa said in his invitation letter to EU leaders.
The talks will also focus on reducing risk dependencies in supply chains, pushing for further simplification, tackling unfair competition with China, and removing internal barriers that stifle European companies.
The recent push for the so-called “European preference” is also expected to be at the core of talks.
The meeting will gauge whether member states are willing to back the reforms. Some leaders, including EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen, are expected to attend the European Industry Summit, which will take place for the third time in Antwerp on Wednesday (11 February).