On 18 February, ALDE Party President Svenja Hahn MEP chaired a meeting between Ministers from our political family in Brussels ahead of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) of the EU.
Ministers agreed the EU must urgently reduce administrative burdens, streamline regulations, and support SMEs through a well-functioning Single Market, improved access to funding, and reduced regulatory barriers.
Ministers agreed that the upcoming Omnibus proposals of the Commission are a perfect opportunity to finally alleviate the overburden on EU companies in the global competition.
Our political family will work to ensure these proposals are approved swiftly through our representatives in the European Parliament and Council.
Moreover, they warned the EU to be ready to retaliate against unfair US tariffs by using all instruments necessary to defend the EU’s interests, but called to engage bilaterally with the new US administration to avoid an unnecessary tariff war.
Participants also exchanged views on items on the Council agenda, including the Competitiveness Compass initiative unveiled earlier in February.
Participants included:
- Stephanie Lose, Denmark’s Minister for Economic Affairs (Venstre, DK)
- Éric Lombard, France’s Minister of the Economy, Finances and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty (Independent, FR)
- Eelco Heinen, the Netherlands’ Minister of Finance (VVD, NL)
- Svenja Hahn MEP, ALDE Party President (FDP, DE)
- Joao Cotrim de Figueiredo MEP, Renew Europe Vice-President (Iniciativa Liberal, PT)
Click here for all the pictures from the meeting.