Faced with French bosses "disappointed lovers of Europe", Ursula von der Leyen defends a Union "that produces, invests and protects"
The President of the European Commission, responding on 27 August to attacks by Patrick Martin, the head of the Medef, during the Rencontre des entrepreneurs de France, reiterated her desire to lighten European regulations and tackle imbalances with China, while recalling decarbonisation targets.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has defended the European Union as an entity that "produces, invests and protects". She made the comments in response to criticism from Patrick Martin, head of the French business lobby Medef, on August 27. Von der Leyen emphasized her desire to simplify European regulations and address imbalances with China, while also pursuing decarbonization goals, according to Le Monde Economie.
Von der Leyen also spoke about the EU's next seven-year budget, stating that it should finance the bloc's independence from foreign powers. She called for a bigger investment program to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains and critical raw materials, American technology, and imported fossil fuels, as reported by Politico EU. The European Commission has proposed a budget of almost €2 trillion, but some countries, led by Germany, are seeking cuts of several hundred billion euros.
The budget will determine the amount of money available for von der Leyen's economic agenda, including investment in strategic industries, energy, and artificial intelligence. These sectors are crucial to reducing Europe's dependence on external factors. Von der Leyen mentioned that over €450 billion from the European Competitiveness Fund and the Horizon Europe program will support research, innovation, and industrial production.
Brief written by urgent.news from Le Monde Economie, Politico EU — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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