Roadmap to Strengthening the EU’s Competitiveness

On 24 March 2026, the German Economic Council of the CDU hosted a high-level discussion on
how Europe can strengthen its competitiveness in an increasingly volatile
geopolitical and geo-economic environment. The event, Roadmap to
Strengthening the EU’s Competitiveness, took place at the Bundesverband
deutscher Banken e. V. in Brussels and featured Michael Hager, Head of Cabinet
to EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, as keynote speaker and discussion
partner. The event was moderated by Dr. Detlef Fechtner, Head Reporter of the Börsen-Zeitung.

 

In her opening remarks, Astrid Hamker, President of the Wirtschaftsrat der CDU e.V.,
stressed that Europe is facing a profound political and economic turning point.
In a world shaped by geopolitical rivalry, technological competition and
growing uncertainty, Europe’s strategic autonomy begins with economic strength.
Yet Europe has fallen behind: growth is too weak, investment too limited,
innovation insufficient, and the regulatory environment too often undermines
the continent’s own competitiveness. Ms Hamker underlined that Europe already
has the necessary analysis. What is lacking now is the political will and the
practical determination to act on it.
 

In agreement with Ms Hamker’s argument, Michael Hager emphasized the urgency of
moving from analysis to action in his keynote speech. Hager described
simplification as one of the defining political tasks of 2026 and argued that
the first Omnibus had already demonstrated that meaningful regulatory rollback
is possible. At the same time, he acknowledged that resistance to
simplification remains strong.. Simplification, he argued, must therefore
become a central political priority.

A key focus of Hager’s remarks was the internal market. He argued that Europe cannot hope
to remain globally competitive while continuing to tolerate barriers within its
own borders, whether in services, capital, energy, data or professional
qualifications. In this context, he stressed the need for a renewed political
push to tackle fragmentation more decisively and to pursue infringement
procedures more consistently.
 

Another major theme of the discussion was financial regulation and Europe’s ability to
mobilise capital. Hager argued that Europe must get capital flowing again. This
requires not only deeper market integration, but also simplification in
financial regulation and supervision.

Hager also addressed Europe’s technological and industrial potential. On innovation and AI
in particular, he argued that Europe possesses major strengths, but too often
fails to translate them into economic dynamism because fragmentation,
overregulation and institutional risk aversion hold companies back.

Following the keynote, Michael Hager engaged in an in-depth exchange with Dr. Detlef
Fechtner and the audience. The discussion covered a broad range of issues,
including the future of the Omnibus packages, the need for a mindset shift
inside the European institutions and the role of business in identifying
unnecessary burdens., A recurring message throughout the discussion was that
Europe must move beyond cautious incrementalism and pursue a more determined,
faster and more execution-oriented approach to competitiveness policy.
 

The event concluded with Astrid Hamker, who thanked Michael Hager and Dr. Detlef Fechtnerfor the open and forward-looking discussion. She reiterated that Europe alreadyknows what needs to be done to restore its competitiveness. The decisivechallenge now is implementation: completing the Single Market, reducingunnecessary regulatory burdens, mobilising capital more effectively, andcreating the conditions for private-sector dynamism in a more competitiveglobal environment.

(©Eric Berghen)