The President of the European Council António Costa presented yesterday before the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) the most ambitious framework for European competitiveness to date – an agenda that directly impacts the daily lives of small and medium-sized enterprises, including those in Croatia.
Costa clearly outlined three pillars on which the new European strategy rests: competitiveness, sovereignty, and trade. His message to entrepreneurs is concrete: the EU needs fewer bureaucratic barriers between national markets, easier business scaling, and faster qualification licensing across the EU.
What does this mean in practice?
Speaking about competitiveness, Costa particularly emphasized the need for the so-called 28th regime – a legal framework that would allow European entrepreneurs, including Croatian ones, to more easily establish and scale companies without navigating through 27 different national legislations. Additionally, he announced further strengthening of mutual recognition of qualifications, which is relevant for all those in Croatia who struggle to find skilled personnel.
On the sovereignty front, Costa announced the introduction of ‘European preference’ for strategic sectors and technologies – which could open new opportunities for domestic companies in energy, technology, and the defense industry, sectors in which Croatia has ambitions.
Regarding trade, Costa specifically highlighted the recently concluded trade agreements with Mercosur and India, which together cover a goods exchange worth over 200 billion euros. For Croatian exporters, this also represents easier access to vast markets, but there is another side to the coin: the agreement with Mercosur opens the European market to cheap South American beef, pork, and poultry, which directly affects Croatian farmers. The Croatian Agricultural Chamber, along with numerous other European agricultural organizations, has been warning for years that European farmers must meet strict environmental and animal welfare standards, while imported competition from Brazil or Argentina is not subject to these rules.
Dependence on imported energy
Costa did not hide that Europe pays a high price for its dependence on energy and strategic raw materials. Croatia has developed its own LNG capacities in recent years and positioned itself as an energy hub for Southeast Europe, but this potential has not yet been fully utilized at either the European level or within the domestic business community.
Interestingly, the President of the European Council dedicated a significant part of his speech to the housing crisis, describing it as one of the main causes of citizens’ distrust in democratic EU institutions. For Croatian circumstances, this topic is not abstract: young people are finding it increasingly difficult to acquire real estate, which significantly affects their quality of life.
