Good evening, as the President of the Eurogroup said we started with an update on the economic outlook with some good news. As you know the euro area economy posted better-than-expected growth of 0.3% in the first quarter of the year – after a very difficult 2023.
Inflation remains on a downward path and our labour market remains remarkably strong: in 2023, the euro area economy created more than two million jobs.
At the same time, we continue to navigate dangerous waters, with two wars not far from home.
It is against this backdrop that I will present this Wednesday the Commission's Spring Economic Forecast.
As Paschal said, we also continued our regular discussions on competitiveness in the euro area, focusing this time on how to close the innovation gap with our key global competitors. To have a sense of the scale of the challenge it is sufficient to look at indicators of R&D spending, one percent less than the United States' GDP share. In terms of patent applications in key technologies and the number of successful start-ups.
Strengthening competitiveness through innovation and knowledge advancement is vital not just to accelerate productivity growth, but also for us to succeed in key sectors for the green and digital transition.
Among the policy actions that the Commission recommends in its note: removing barriers within the single market, fostering equity and venture capital markets – one of the main goals of the Capital Markets Union – and strengthening education governance.
The EU's role is also crucial in fostering mobility, enhancing qualifications recognition, and providing financial support for skills development.
Finally, this evening we will discuss the next steps for deepening the Capital Markets Union and as always, let me commend Paschal for his commitment to drive this work forward.
We have seen encouraging commitments to step up our efforts, most recently by the European Council. We now need these political declarations to be matched by concrete actions on the ground.
Because the CMU – or a 'Savings and Investment Union' as it has been referred to by Enrico Letta and Christian Noyer in their recent reports – is an essential project for Europe to be able to compete globally.
