Janos Boka attributed this success partly to cooperation with the preceding Belgian and Spanish presidencies, and partly to initiating contact with the Polish-Danish-Cypriot trio that will follow Hungary’s EU presidency. He added that the initiatives launched could continue, as it is impossible to accomplish everything within six months.
The minister reminded listeners that the Letta Declaration on the future of the competitive market and the Draghi Report on the EU's competitiveness have highlighted the European Union’s severe competitiveness crisis.
The EU has lost ground in international markets. Its share in the global production of total income had reduced, and it's engaged in trade wars. It also sought to implement European green policies without an accompanying European industrial strategy,
– Mr. Boka explained.
These processes, ongoing for more than a decade, have led to the EU losing growth opportunities, unsustainable jobs, and uncompetitive wages. Addressing this requires EU leaders to acknowledge that the issue must be tackled at the highest political level, focusing the EU institutions’ attention on this area over the next five years, he emphasized.
The minister described the adoption of the Budapest Declaration—a consensus political statement by the EU’s heads of state and government outlining concrete tasks for the EU institutions—as a major political achievement.
For instance, in the next six months, the EU must reduce reporting obligations and overregulation that weigh on the shoulders of economic players by 25%. Steps must also be taken to lower the high energy prices that hinder competitiveness within the EU,
– he noted.
Mr. Boka also underlined the importance of completing the single market, creating a banking and capital markets union, developing a new trade policy, and ensuring that competitiveness remains a cross-cutting priority in all areas. "This is the greatest achievement of the Hungarian presidency, which will define the operations of EU institutions in the coming years," the mininster summarized.