‘We are doomed’: Why failing to deliver a single market is not an option for Europe | BusinessEurope

Name: ‘We are doomed’: Why failing to deliver a single market is not an option for Europe | BusinessEurope
Uploaded: 2026-07-13T04:09:06+00:00
Duration: 480 s

00:00 - 00:14

Speaker 3

Only Europe as a whole can compete with the other superpowers in the world. The clock is ticking. If we do not give some hope for the future, the political world in Europe will suffer.

00:14 - 00:29

Speaker 1

Welcome to The Big Question, the series from Euronews where we speak to leaders in business. And today, I'm joined by the new President of BusinessEurope, Maciej Witucki. Very nice to have you on the show.

00:29 - 00:30

Thank you very much. Thank you for having me.

00:30 - 00:57

Speaker 1

Now, you are new to this job and there are a lot of challenges ahead, and you represent 25 million companies across 36 countries. What's the one thing that keeps coming up time and time again that is most important to businesses at the moment in Europe that they want to see a change in policy here in Brussels or where they want to see change happen?

00:57 - 01:57

Speaker 3

I think the number one, the closest to the companies, is still an energy, because we have been having crisis after crisis, the Russian invasion on Ukraine, the Hormuz currently, the, I would say, positive collateral damage of Hormuz, and this is pushing the energy transformation, because we understood that we cannot rely on the fossil fuels. So, this is pushing the further transformation towards the electricity. I think that we have been concentrating on the decarbonisation of the economy, which is important, because nobody, after the heat of the last weeks, will claim that there's no global warming, so we have to save the planet. And at the same time, we will not save it if we have no industries, no revenues, no taxes to pay for it. But this is the number one.

The number two, more intellectual, but with a huge reserve of potential, is the single market, because it's where the companies see that we have barriers which are 30 years old, and where we should act rapidly to prove also to the Europeans that the actions are taking place, that we are not only talking on the media, so at the meetings of the Council of or the Commission.

01:57 - 02:01

Speaker 1

What will it really take to strengthen the single market, in your view?

02:01 - 02:44

Speaker 3

I think that now we are at a very specific stage where we know the solutions. So, well, with the single market, we knew it from the '80s, we never did it to the end, but now with all the external pressures, the challenges, US, China, deglobalisation, somehow the pressure is very big on us businesses, used to be, but also the political world. So, it's an interesting period where we do not complain anymore. We have the plans, and our main role now is to push the implementation, push the timing, because the clock is ticking, the economical one, but also the social one, where if we do not give some hope for the future, also the political world in Europe will suffer.

02:44 - 02:55

Speaker 1

So, from what you have experienced so far, do you think political leaders are lacking the will, or are their hands tied, yet they want to push forward competitiveness?

02:55 - 03:32

Speaker 3

I will start by the fact that I was campaigning for last 12 months, and what I can say for sure that the business environment is definitely, I would say, federalist, in the sense of only Europe as a whole can compete with the other superpowers in the world. So, business leaders and the business communities, members of BusinessEurope, clearly understand that Belgium alone, France alone, Germany alone, Poland alone cannot stand up to China, India, Indonesia tomorrow. So, we will be pushing and maybe supporting also the politicians to say, "We have to communicate to 450 million Europeans to tell them those are the projects, those are the benefits of the Union." And by the way, we have no alternatives.

03:32 - 03:54

Maciej Witucki

If our common project is not achieved and is not successful, then what do we do? We build walls around countries again, we'll try to compete from Warsaw against Beijing, economically obviously, or from Paris against Washington, it will never work. I think we should support politicians in this project, but also put pressure on them because the time is short. We need the results rapidly to convince Europeans about the project.

03:54 - 03:59

Speaker 2

Indeed, and do you think that national interests, though, are almost impossible to overcome?

03:59 - 04:52

Maciej Witucki

I don't think so, because if it's the case we are doomed and I'm a natural born optimist. That was always the strength of my region of Europe. There's no plan B, number one. Number two, the those solutions, they have to be explained, because even the mainstream, let's call it this way, politicians, they have been complaining so much for I would say not necessarily founded reasons about Brussels. Then they themselves they have been participating in the construction of many negative stereotypes.

Now we have to step back and to, again, push the European project, because this is how we can regain the place which is ours, because we have the resources, we have capital in Europe, we have human capital in Europe, we have companies and businesses, maybe not as sexy as the top technological leaders from the US, but with a big potential of growth, and unique technologies as comparable to the digital ones from the US.

04:52 - 05:08

Angela Barnes

And Europe wants to reduce, of course, its dependence on China. The China, of course, remains one of its biggest trading partners. Is it a realistic strategy, or are businesses being asked to balance competing political and commercial interests too much, would you say?

05:08 - 06:04

Maciej Witucki

So, we have to act together as Europe. So first of all, find a consensus between ourselves. The interests are a bit different between countries. And then, to negotiate with China, a new framework, because we have been very open, very dynamic in moving industries there, and now we are too dependent. Obviously, we will not decouple.

So, some industries should come back to Europe for security reasons. We also expect Chinese to invest in Europe, because we need investments and not only because we need investment as cash, but we need also that some of the Chinese modern technologies to come to Europe, but at our conditions, as China have been doing with Shenzhen 30 years ago. We need our own Shenzhens in Poland, in Germany, in Spain, where the new technologies will come with our social and IP protection, and value protection conditions. So, there is a deal for both parts and China needs us, because their overcapacity of production, if suddenly we will kind of block on the both sides, it will be harmful for both sides, as well.

06:04 - 06:15

Angela Barnes

And of course, Europe does need to diversify, of course, though, as well as you said needs China. But are there other partners of interest that you think Europe should be developing stronger ties with?

06:15 - 07:04

Maciej Witucki

Well, first of all, is to keep the transatlantic ties. It's not only in our interest to have access to the spaceships and to the new technologies. We are also a largest single partner, as Europe, of the United States. So, if we have those discussions about digital sovereignty, it's not only worrying for us that we don't have some of those tools, but it's also worrying the American giants, because if suddenly we push the 100% sovereignty, they will lose the enormous European market. It's a tough discussion how to now rebuild the trust, because I think last year it was more the question of trust between both parties.

But we need the United States and it goes hopefully in the good direction. And then, we very much support all those free trade agreements which are being signed, the one with Mercosur, India, Indonesia, Australia. So, this is a good way of getting Europe more open to other markets.

07:04 - 07:14

Angela Barnes

If there was one thing that politicians here in Brussels could do immediately to make things better for businesses in Europe and for people to do business in Europe, what would it be?

07:14 - 07:42

Maciej Witucki

I think today, stay focused on what is already in the pipeline, so not look for any silver bullets. We have ready plans about the single market, just implement. It's important for businesses, but also it's important for the citizens of Europe that they see the change. If we speak about 20 new great initiatives, but we don't see one or two or three of them implemented, we may lack of time to reform Europe. So, there's the urgency of delivering on the pipelines which are already here, in the Commission or in the Parliament, like the omnibuses.

07:42 - 07:49

Angela Barnes

Maciej, it has been a pleasure to have you with us on The Big Question. President of BusinessEurope and your new job, thank you for joining us on The Big Question.

07:49 - 07:49

Thank you very much.

07:49 - 07:49

Thank you.