Estonian minister in Brussels: EU regulatory space undermining economy's competitiveness

TALLINN - In a meeting in Brussels with Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice-president of the new European Commission, Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Erkki Keldo said that the EU's regulatory framework is hindering economic competitiveness.

Keldo noted that the competitiveness of the EU economy suffers from high energy prices and labor shortages, which is why efforts must be made to accelerate the growth of competitiveness. The minister emphasized the need to simplify the EU's regulatory framework and reduce administrative burdens.

"It is no secret that the European Union's regulatory framework has become too complex and burdensome for our businesses and is significantly hindering economic competitiveness. Therefore, I emphasized to the new vice-president how important it is for Estonia for this issue to be addressed, and shared our experience in implementing real-time economy solutions and reducing the reporting burden on businesses," Keldo said in a press release. "We will continue to cooperate with the Commission on this issue and share information about the progress made in Estonia."

"Europe's economic performance is starting to lag behind the rest of the world, and to reverse this trend we need to raise the EU's productivity. To do this, we need to increase investment in new technologies, promote the digitalization of businesses and develop clean and innovative industry," Keldo said.

According to the Estonian minister, the development of the defense industry will make a significant contribution to increasing the competitiveness of the EU in the coming years.

"The EU has a choice to make when it comes to defense policy, and space policy that is closely related to it: either we significantly increase investment and develop new technologies, or we focus on regulation, which would hamper the competitiveness of our companies. This is especially true in a global market, where preference is given to not regulating," Keldo said.

In a meeting with Andrius Kubilius, the future commissioner for defense and space, the challenges, policy making and opportunities in the field of space were discussed. Keldo introduced Estonia's growing aerospace sector. In addition, Keldo and Kubilius talked about the availability of capital, which is key to empowering the defense industry.

"In Estonia, we have already created a 100 million euro defense fund, which will be launched in the new year, but the European Investment Bank should also expand funding opportunities," the minister noted.

In the second half last week, Keldo attended a meeting of the ministers for the internal market and industry of the EU Competitiveness Council in Brussels, where the presidency's conclusions on the future of Europe's competitiveness were adopted, building on the recommendations of the Mario Draghi report published in the autumn. In addition, the minister met with Dombrovskis on the simplification of the EU's regulatory environment and with Kubilius on the development of the space sector.