Publicat pe 15/10/2014

One week after the publication of the 2014 Enlargement strategy by the European Commission, the business community highlighted, at a conference held by EUROCHAMBRES in Brussels today, that EU enlargement can contribute to economic growth and job creation in both the European Union and the candidate/potential candidate countries.

While President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker affirms that there will be no new enlargement during the five years of his Commission, the business world stressed that keeping the momentum of enlargement going, and helping candidates and potential candidates undertake important reforms, remains a crucial task.

1. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Deputy President of EUROCHAMBRES, stressed: “For the second year in a row competitiveness and economic governance are at the heart of the EU’s Enlargement strategy. So here we are, the main actors of economic growth, offering our contribution to making the enlargement a successful process.”

“It is the combination of concrete actions of cooperation among business communities and the development of a stable and transparent investment policy that will pave the way for a sustainable and dynamic economic development in the candidate and potential candidate countries.”

• Concretely, this is what the business community can bring to EU Enlargement:
• Enhancement of the economic regional cooperation in the Western Balkans;
• Fight against corruption;
• Better communication on the mutual economic benefits of enlargement;
• Improvement of the Customs Union between the EU and Turkey.

“Solid relations between the EU and the candidate/potential candidate countries can provide an anchor against weak growth and rising unemployment, with improved living standards in the acceding countries and new export and investment opportunities for the 28 established members,” concluded Arnaldo Abruzzini, Secretary General of EUROCHAMBRES.