Speech Schulz at Business Europe - European Business Summit - "What’s next for Europe?”

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me first thank BusinessEurope, especially its Director General Markus Beyrer, and the Director General of the European Business Summit Arnaud Thysen, for the invitation and for organising this timely conference on the future of Europe.

Europe today is one of the richest regions in the world. Our citizens enjoy one of the highest standards of living. They also benefit from what is possibly the world’s highest level of protection of fundamental rights. Our businesses, for their part, can conduct their activities in an environment of legal certainty, with an impressive pool of highly educated people to stay on the forefront in their sector.

In many respects we are leaders. We must never forget this and we should continue to be proud of this.

And yet, despite these achievements, today we are worried. We are worried that we will lose what we have. That we will fall behind. There can be no beating around the bush: Today Europe is in a crisis. When historians look back at these years they will agree that this was a decisive moment for the future of our project. Hence the very relevant question: where is Europe going? Will Europe be able to overcome its current turmoil? What is next for Europe?

Much coverage has been given to the various ‘fires’ threatening us. Over the next months, we will continue to try to find solutions to manage the refugee and migration crisis at our borders and within our Member States, work will continue to help the economic recovery and further Eurozone i governance. And, in about three weeks’ time, our friends in the UK will vote to stay in or to leave the European Union.

These issues are what I call an “imposed crisis” agenda. We have to deal with them, but we have not actively put them on our agenda. Even worse, the challenge of managing this agenda is seriously testing our capacity as European leaders.

Yet, today I want to tell you that I am convinced that these crises, despite the difficulties they create, have also helped us become more aware of the strength and importance of the EU i. The adversity brought by these crises has helped us rediscover our conviction in the EU, and helped us actively build our agenda.

What has the UK referendum debate helped us realise?

First, it has contributed like no other exercise to underline the EU’s importance in geopolitics. It has attracted attention, and it has provoked the US President, Barack Obama i, to say: “the European Union does not moderate British influence, it magnifies it.”

The EU is the strong and common voice its Member States need in a globalised world of rising superpowers. It is the voice they need to make a difference.

Second, it has concretely brought out the economic benefits associated with EU membership. These last months the wealth of studies quantifying the economic benefits of EU membership has been impressive: the EU is clearly a crucial means to promote the prosperity of its Members.

Third, it has shown that the EU has the necessary flexibility.

Faced with the threat by Brexiteers that the EU will drag countries into a superstate I ask: When has the UK been forced into integration which its government was not willing to sign up for? Was it with Schengen? Was it with cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs? Was it with the creation of the Euro i? Was it with the further plans for Eurozone governance? The EU has a track-record of being a flexible partnership, a partnership that respects the position of its members.

Last, and maybe this is the biggest change evoked through the Brexit debate: pro-Europeans in the UK are now more vocal. They express their arguments in public, and engage a necessary debate with the UK citizens.

Irrespective of the outcome of the referendum - and I do wish that the UK stays in - this debate will have actually helped make us aware of our strengths.

What has the Refugee and migration crisis helped us realise?

This crisis has turned into one of the deepest challenges for the EU since its coming into existence. Faced with human tragedy I am sad to say that many EU member states have not covered themselves in honour.

This need not have been a crisis if we had all pulled in the same direction. But there is still hope.

This solidarity crisis has forced us to push ahead with the long-overdue reform of our asylum, migration, and border policy.

The European Parliament is currently discussing the proposed “fairness mechanism”, a solidarity mechanism for the distribution of refugees coming to the EU. We have made clear that shared responsibility, solidarity, and quicker asylum procedures are a priority. Since Tuesday we also are negotiating with our counterparts in the Council of Ministers on the establishment of a European border and coastguard.

Furthermore, we must continue to work on legal migration and on cooperation with countries of origin and transit, and I am looking forward to the Commission proposals expected next week.

All this will not be easy because a number of governments still choose to use this crisis as a political football to score cheap points. But the sheer obligation to find answers to a crisis that shames us and paralyses us will push us to act in the right way, and the right way is European solidarity.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I think I speak for many here when I say that this “imposed crisis” agenda has worn us down. But the frustration that such an imposed agenda breeds should encourage us all the more to pursue an ACTIVE agenda for Europe. While addressing the here and now, we have to look beyond. We have to invest more of our energy into building the framework for a prosperous European future. If we develop our own agenda that empowers us, it gives us perspective. In short, it gives us a positive energy.

What’s next for Europe? Please allow me to present to you some ideas which are at the heart of the European Parliament’s agenda to actively build this future:

First, the deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union. The Five Presidents’ Report already sets out the roadmap for this. We have already taken numerous steps which were considered unthinkable some years ago. Think of the different pillars of the Banking Union we have erected: the Single Supervisory Mechanism, the Single Resolution Mechanism. Now we must continue implementing this ambitious roadmap, using the momentum the economic crisis has given us.

Second, the shaping of crucial international agreements. What is often forgotten is that the European Parliament is a key actor in this. We have shown in the past that we do not shy away from rejecting agreements that are not in the interest of European citizens.

Therefore, it is all the more important for us Europeans to be more united at the international level. “Together we are stronger” does not resonate more loudly than when sitting at the international table.

Essential issues for our businesses and citizens such as trade, energy, and climate change are highly dependent on our performance on the international scene.

Third, promoting innovation. Research and innovation is key for our competitiveness, our economic growth and the creation of jobs. It is essential for addressing important challenges, such as public health, our food production, climate change, security, mobility and energy supply.

Europe is known for its creativity, and for its quality products which are successful all over the world. Our economies will not be able to compete on the global low-cost-labour market. The European Parliament has always been a strong supporter of research initiatives and of ensuring that the Horizon 2020 programme is properly funded.

Fourth, scaling up investments. One year ago the European Parliament came up with a constructive proposal to enable the European Fund for Strategic Investment through the EU budget. This financial reshuffling will generate more than 300 billion Euros of investment over the next three years through leveraged finance and loan-guarantees.

The European Investment Bank (EIB i) is supposed to disburse 20 billion Euros per year over three years. Of these 20 billion Euros for the first year, only 11 have been effectively disbursed as of last month. It is normal that such a new initiative needs a certain time to kick off. Yet, we do not have any time to waste.

You, as the business community, have to take ownership of the plan, and come up with ambitious projects that will help the EU achieve the objective I have just mentioned. We owe this to the citizens, and in particular to the youngest among us. Youth unemployment is still above 40% in four Member States.

I have called for a front-loading of the Youth Employment Initiative, and I call for a front-loading of the much-needed investments in entrepreneurs, SMEs, and innovation.

Fifth, achieving better lawmaking. The agenda for better lawmaking can either be a technocratic exercise or can make the EU system more understandable. I want it to be the second. Harmonising legislation among Member States creates a level playing-field for businesses and in particular for SMEs. The Single Market must be based on a single set of rules to set high environmental, social and health standards. Rules that are smart and proportionate. From my time as a mayor I remember very well what overregulation means.

However, surprisingly it is often the Member States that are the root cause of this.

When Member States start to “goldplate” European legislation, sometimes six pages of text can turn into ninety-six pages. The European Parliament takes very seriously the need to look closely at the impact of our legislation on businesses, in particular SMEs.

We have therefore invested in a strong impact assessment capacity in our own house, providing elected Members with better information on the costs and benefits of legislation in preparation, and also - IMPORTANTLY - on the costs of not acting at European level. All this makes the legislation passed through our house more robust, practical, and useful for European citizens and businesses.

Last but not least, prioritising the digital agenda. The economic potential of the interconnected digital world is enormous and is rightly one of the key European priorities.

President Juncker last year pointed out that a digital internal market can generate 250 billion Euros in additional growth and hundreds of thousands of new, skilled jobs until 2020.

Despite this enormous potential, legislation on regulating the internet and the sharing economy continues to be fragmented between Member States.

As President Toomas Hendrik Ilves stated in his address to the European Parliament “Europe stands to become a second tier player, with not only the U.S. but also India and China taking leading positions, if we do not keep up. [...] we are losing out to the absence of a single market and losing our best and brightest to where opportunities for them are greater”. The European Parliament is a strong supporter of the digital single market, of removing barriers between Member States and facilitating access for European businesses, in particular SMEs and start-ups.

Ladies and Gentlemen, dear business leaders,

You see that at the political level the European Parliament is trying to lay the foundation for the future, while dealing with the challenges of the present.

But today we live in a world in which action is taken on many levels. While sometimes our hands are tied due to political opposition, other outside actors can play their part in advocating an active European agenda.

You as business leaders can help to bring back this entrepreneurial spirit to build the Europe we want.

I call on you all to invest your energy in the defence of the project that has brought so many advantages to all of us.

I call on the business community to play its part in making the EU a reality and in demonstrating what it brings to its citizens.

What’s next for Europe?

I think this should be up to us!