13 March 2026
On 9 March 2026, SGI Europe participated in the Macroeconomic Dialogue at Political Level (MEDPOL) together with the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the Eurogroup, the Cyprus Presidency of the Council and European social partners. The meeting brought together Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos, Eurogroup President Kyriákos Pierrakákis, and Cyprus Minister of Finance Mákis Keravnós to discuss the current economic outlook and the implications of artificial intelligence for Europe’s labour market.
In a context marked by renewed geopolitical uncertainty and moderate economic growth, SGI Europe emphasised the importance of strengthening Europe’s economic resilience through sustained investment in essential infrastructure and services of general interest.
Speaking during the exchange, Valeria Ronzitti, General Secretary of SGI Europe, highlighted that while inflation has eased, the European economy continues to face a fragile environment and investment levels remain insufficient to modernise infrastructure, reinforce strategic autonomy and support the twin green and digital transitions.
SGI Europe also underlined the growing role of artificial intelligence in improving productivity and reliability across essential services. AI is already used in several safety-critical applications, including predictive maintenance of energy grids, optimisation of rail traffic, early-detection systems in healthcare, and leak detection in water networks.
At the same time, SGI Europe stressed that the deployment of AI must be accompanied by strong cybersecurity safeguards, technological autonomy, environmental sustainability and territorial cohesion.
Referring to the concept developed in the Letta Report, SGI Europe recalled that a well-functioning Single Market must guarantee the “freedom to stay” – ensuring that citizens and businesses can thrive in their own regions through access to modern infrastructure and high-quality SGIs across the European Union.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 10th March, the European Commission published its EU Energy Package, which includes the Clean Energy Investment Strategy, the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Strategy, and the EU Citizen Energy Package. This three-folded framework aims to secure Europe’s strategic autonomy while providing immediate relief to households.
The initiative is a massive financial mobilisation towards affordability. In partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Commission aims to invest €75 billion over the next three years. This includes a €500 million Strategic Infrastructure Investment Fund to de-risk private capital for grid modernisation. Furthermore, the Commission proposed a budget surge for 2028–2034, adding to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) energy budget to €29.91 billion.
The package also focuses on further deploying nuclear policy strategies. The SMR Strategy targets the deployment of the first operational reactors by the early 2030s, supported by a potential additional €200 million in InvestEU investment. Simultaneously, the Citizens' Energy Package addresses the energy poverty agenda through an investment plan for 30 million Europeans, streamlining supplier switching and fostering a tenfold increase in renewable energy communities.
In Strasbourg this week, Commissioner Dan Jørgensen defended these measures as the only sustainable solution to price volatility. However, he faced sharp criticism. The Greens opposed the move towards greater nuclear subsidies, while the MEPs of the EPP demanded urgent reform of the carbon pricing (ETS) to protect industrial competitiveness.
The European Industrial Alliance on SMRs will now focus on scaling the supply chain, while the Commission and the EIB finalise the operational details of the €75 billion pipeline. Meanwhile, the European Parliament begins negotiations on the Citizens’ Package to ensure these investments translate into tangible savings.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
SGI Europe welcomes the publication of the European Commission’s Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2030, which sets out a comprehensive framework to advance equality between women and men across the European Union. Building on the Women’s Rights Roadmap, the strategy addresses key priorities such as labour market participation, gender-based violence, work-life balance and equal representation in decision-making, while strengthening gender mainstreaming across EU policies.
SGI Europe welcomes the strategy’s focus on structural barriers that affect the balanced participation of women and men in the labour market, including access to care services and persistent gender segregation across sectors and occupations.
We particularly welcome the commitment to promoting more men in Health Education Administration and Literacy (HEAL), alongside ongoing initiatives to promote women in STEM fields. SGI Europe members recognise the value of achieving a more gender-balanced workforce, in both male- and female-dominated sectors, and are actively working to address these imbalances through targeted recruitment strategies, career development initiatives, and actions to promote more gender-balanced leadership and workforce participation. Examples of such initiatives are highlighted in the SGI Europe Opinion on Gender Equality post-2025.
The strategy also confirms the Commission’s intention to support the effective implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive, which aims to strengthen the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. While SGI Europe broadly supports this objective, several practical challenges remain in implementing the Directive. SGI Europe therefore regrets that calls from several stakeholders for a limited adjustment to the implementation timeline have not been considered. These concerns relate primarily to the practical application of several core provisions of the Directive. In particular, the requirement to identify “categories of workers” performing equal work or work of equal value requires employers to review job classification systems and adapt payroll and HR processes.
Finally, SGI Europe welcomes the emphasis on strengthening data collection and supporting gender equality through EU funding instruments. Reliable gender-disaggregated data and targeted funding can play an important role in supporting effective policies and monitoring progress towards gender equality objectives across Europe.
SGI Europe remains committed to contributing to the implementation of the Gender Equality Strategy and to promoting gender equality in Europe.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On Tuesday, 10 March 2026, the Plenary of the European Parliament adopted an own-initiative report assessing the EU's regulatory fitness, the application of the Better Law-Making agenda in 2023 and 2024, and the implementation of the subsidiarity and proportionality principles.
Adopted with 493 votes in favour, 92 against, and 44 abstentions, the report stresses that EU legislation must remain clear, proportionate, and evidence-based to deliver tangible benefits for citizens and businesses while supporting the Union’s long-term political ambitions and objectives.
MEPs underline that better lawmaking is a shared responsibility among all EU institutions and Member States. They stress the importance of robust impact assessments, stakeholder consultations and ex-post evaluations throughout the legislative cycle. In that sense, the Parliament regrets that the European Commission increasingly fails to conduct impact assessments.
The report also highlights the role of national parliaments as “natural guardians” of the subsidiarity principle, encouraging their earlier and more structured involvement in EU policymaking, including the possible introduction of a “green card” mechanism that would allow national parliaments to make collective suggestions for Commission initiatives.
Reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens is another key priority in the report. In particular, the Parliament considers the current “one in, one out” approach insufficient and calls for new, efficient mechanisms for removing outdated or redundant measures.
Finally, the text underlines the potential of digital tools and artificial intelligence to improve the legislative process, from impact forecasting to monitoring implementation, while stressing the need to ensure respect for fundamental rights.
Contact: Raquel Carro-Andollo
On Friday 13 March 2026, SGI Europe General Secretariat organised an onboarding session for its newly formed Ukrainian section.
At the basis of the section is the Ukrainian Association of Critical Infrastructures Operators (UACIO), a sector-wide non-governmental organisation in Ukraine that brings together critical infrastructure operators across multiple sectors, including district heating, water supply, electricity, gas, and other essential services.
This was the opportunity for us to introduce our new colleagues to how SGI Europe works. We started with a quick overview of SGI Europe's transversal priorities, including an introduction to EU-funded projects in which SGI Europe is involved, both as a partner and as a leading organisation.
Next, we discussed the various issues that SGI Europe members are working on within the different boards and task forces. We began with the Sustainability Board and its task forces, particularly those focusing on energy and water, two areas of high interest to members of the Ukrainian section. We then moved on to discuss key issues related to the Internal Market Board, including files on public procurement, competition policy, and simplification. We concluded the presentation by introducing the Social Affairs Board's activities linked to SGI Europe's EU Social partners status.
SGI Europe is happy to welcome this new Ukrainian section, which will bring its on-the-ground expertise and be able to develop best practices for exchanging ideas with its counterparts across Europe.
Contact: Benoit Cassorla
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