Europe is losing its share of the global economy, and unstable regulations and high energy prices are among the main reasons, participants said during the Polish-French Economic Forum organised by the French-Polish Chamber of Commerce at the European Economic Congress in Katowice. According to the debate participants, industry is suffering the most, despite being a key part of the EU economy. Without predictable regulations, investment in energy and support for innovation, the EU may struggle to maintain its competitiveness on the global market.
“A panel was held during the European Economic Congress in Katowice as part of the Polish-French Economic Forum, where we discussed a strong Europe, how to build its competitiveness and how to strengthen its position on international markets,” Joanna Czynsz-Piechowiak, President of Saint-Gobain Group in Poland and Ukraine and Vice-President of the French-Polish Chamber of Commerce, told Newseria.
According to data from the International Monetary Fund, the European Union’s economy accounted for almost 29% of global GDP in 1992, compared with 17.5% in 2024. The United States overtook the EU in 2010, and that situation has continued to this day.
The need to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness against other global players has been discussed for many months. A diagnosis was provided in a report published by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who identified a number of barriers holding back the Union’s competitiveness. One of them is excessive regulation. This issue was also raised by participants in the debate during the Polish-French Economic Forum.
“The need to create regulations that can be financially assessed before they enter into force, so that we know their impact on business, came through very strongly,” Czynsz-Piechowiak emphasised.
During the debate, Tadeusz Nowicki, Vice-Chairman of the General Council of the Lewiatan Confederation, confirmed that the main problem from the perspective of lawmaking for entrepreneurs is that no one currently calculates the economic effects of a given regulation before it is introduced. In his opinion, regulations proposed at EU or national level should be based on much more reliable assessments of their consequences.
“We talked a great deal about the need for legal predictability. Today, industry suffers most from the fact that regulations come into force suddenly, are sometimes inconsistent or do not address the issues most important to business. This makes it very difficult for us to predict their impact. And when industry invests, it does not invest for one, two or five years, but for 15, 20 or more,” said Czynsz-Piechowiak.
Simplifying the law is the aim of the “omnibus” packages being prepared by the European Commission, which are proposals to reduce regulatory burdens in various areas of the economy. Last year, 10 such packages were proposed, covering areas such as sustainability and non-financial reporting, agriculture, the internal market, digital regulations and the defence industry. Business representatives emphasise that the key issue is not so much reducing regulation as ensuring its consistency and predictability.
“The need for cooperation between business and government, especially the Ministry of Development and Technology, also came through very clearly. It is only through this channel that industry can communicate all the difficulties and challenges it currently faces. The ministry, in turn, can help us by passing this information on. As an advocate for our industry in the European Union, it can influence changes in the law,” the expert said.
“In our opinion, regulations are important. Their purpose is not to close the doors of our market, but to ensure that everyone operates on it according to the same rules. Competitors are therefore very welcome, because competition makes business more interesting, increases growth potential and brings new ideas to the market. That is the ideal situation. But let us all play by the same rules,” said Yann Barou, Member of the Management Board of Somfy Group and Vice-President for Expansion in Emerging Markets.
For several years, the European Union has been reforming key trade regulations, including those concerning anti-coercion protection, foreign direct investment, safeguard measures and trade defence instruments, including anti-dumping measures. EU legislative initiatives are intended to protect European producers and businesses from the negative effects of unfair trade practices by entities from outside the Union.
“We are not in favour of a world in which barriers are immovable and we talk only among European players. We oppose that. We support fair competition,” Barou said. “The high requirements resulting from regulations raise standards for everyone and push us forward, but let us make sure there are no free riders — external entities that do not follow the rules and then operate at significantly lower costs because they did not have to make the same investments. That is unfair competition.”
The inequalities concern, among other things, obligations to reduce CO2 emissions, which are more restrictive in the EU than among its global trading partners. As a result, companies in the Union invest in adapting their production to new EU requirements, while incurring higher costs and losing competitiveness. During the debate, Michał Baranowski, Deputy Minister of Development and Technology, stressed that the European Union’s climate policy must not lead to deindustrialisation and requires adjustments. He mentioned, among other things, planned changes to the ETS and the CBAM mechanism.
“The tension lies in how to combine the strengths of Europe, France and Poland — and we have many of them — and how to join forces to build common champions capable of competing with strong global rivals,” emphasised Valéry Gaucherand, President of the Management Board of L’Oréal Poland and the Baltic States and President of the CCIFP.
During the debate, Agnieszka Olszewska, President of the Public Procurement Office, highlighted the importance of public procurement and the criteria included in it in building competitive advantages.
In order to combine climate ambitions with strengthening the power and resilience of EU companies, the European Commission proposed the Clean Industrial Deal and the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act as part of the Competitiveness Compass. The tools prepared by the Commission are intended to help manufacturers move towards clean production and clean technologies, stimulate production and strengthen EU economic growth. In addition, the European Commission adopted an action plan for affordable energy, aimed among other things at accelerating the deployment of clean energy and electrification, improving energy efficiency and reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels.
Industry accounts for 20% of the European Union’s economy, provides 35 million jobs and is responsible for 80% of EU goods exports.
“Industrial investment in Europe must be protected, and the conditions for it must be created in such a way that production remains in Europe. This again comes down to competitiveness. What is needed to maintain strong industrial investment in Europe? One important issue is energy prices and access to green energy,” Gaucherand said.
“Legal predictability is extremely important, as are energy prices and energy stability. We therefore certainly need new investment in grid infrastructure,” said Czynsz-Piechowiak.
According to MEP Adam Jarubas, who participated in the debate, the efforts of both the EU and Member States in the area of energy transition are insufficient. He stressed that the target energy mix should be based on nuclear power, renewable energy sources and energy storage. According to Council of the EU data, in 2024, 48% of the energy produced in the Union came from renewable sources. Fossil fuels accounted for almost 29%, while nuclear energy accounted for more than 23%.
“We are facing two challenges today. The first is to find alternative sources of energy, because we need energy to power our development. That is an absolute necessity. However, we must also invest resources in reducing energy consumption in order to improve our efficiency in this area,” explained the Somfy Group board member.
“The fundamental issue for Europe today is how to maintain competitiveness based on trends, innovation, research potential and a labour market with qualified specialists, while also ensuring freedom of action and a reasonable regulatory simplification agenda that allows companies to develop entrepreneurship,” explained the President of L’Oréal Poland and the Baltic States.
In the next EU budget for 2028–2034, the European Commission wants to allocate EUR 451 billion to competitiveness and research. The Horizon Europe framework programme for research and innovation, worth EUR 175 billion and closely linked to the European Competitiveness Fund, is to continue being used to finance world-class innovation.
The Polish-French Economic Forum, organised by the French-Polish Chamber of Commerce, was held during the European Economic Congress in Katowice. It provided an opportunity to discuss the future of relations between Poland and France, as well as a more competitive European Union. The debates held as part of the event brought together business leaders, public administration representatives, experts and members of the innovation community.
