Event recap: Putting SGIs at the heart of the Green Single Market and European competitiveness

On Monday 17 June 2024, SGI Europe organised the event ‘The Green Single Market as a Lever for Sustainable Competitiveness’. The event looked ahead to new EU political cycle and the central role that SGIs play in the new priorities: the development of a Green Single Market and an increased European economic competitiveness.

Pascal Bolo, President of SGI Europe, opened the event with a speech highlighting that strong SGIs are indispensable for the EU’s social, territorial and economic cohesion. He also stressed SGI’s importance in developing a green and competitive single market. In that context, he stated SGI Europe’s strong support for the Letta Report’s call for creating an Action Plan for SGIs.

Milena Angelova, Vice-President of SGI Europe, continued by drawing attention to the fact that the EU risks falling behind other global regions without sufficient investment in its economy. She highlighted that SGIs provide the foundations of a stronger economy and should, therefore, be at the centre of the new European Commission’s plans.

Opening the first panel, Yvon Slingenberg, Director for Strategy, Analysis and Planning at DG CLIMA, then took the floor as representative of the Commission. She reminded the audience of the Commission’s ambition to make the green transition just and fair and stressed that SGIs play an important role in ensuring success in that regard. The ensuing discussion tackled the role of SGIs in the Green Single Market. Ingbert Liebing, Vice-President of SGI Europe, began by calling for more transparency and fairness in public funding, stressing that public support for SGIs should not be limited to covering for market failures. Alberto Mazzola, Executive Director of CER, agreed that public finance is required, particularly to strengthen critical infrastructures such as railways, while highlighting the need to stimulate private investment by strengthening capital markets. EDF’s Head of EU Affairs, Marion Labatut, focused on the need for strong European energy grids and markets. Andre Sobczak, Secretary General of Eurocities, stated his willingness for Eurocities to work more closely with SGI Europe on strengthening cities and SGIs in the coming years.

The second panel discussion was introduced by Jakub Boratynski, Director for Networks and Governance in DG GROW of the European Commission. He highlighted the fact that strong SGI’s represent a competitive advantage for the EU vis-a-vis the US, for example through their provision of accessible education which creates a skilled workforce. Daniel Wisniewski, Secretary General of EFEE, argued that competitiveness is about boosting creativity, for which investment in education is crucial. Christelle Defaye-Geneste, Chair of PostEurop’s European Union Affairs Committee, further built on the way that SGIs are crucial to the creation of a competitive European economy as a whole by providing several key figures: postal services only represent around 1% of GDP, but without them, GDP would drop by 9.3%. Dr Arnt Baer, head of public affairs at Gelsenwasser, argued that SGIs are not only central to a competitive economy, but also to a strong European democracy, because fundamental services are at the heart of what people appreciate in a well-functioning democratic society. Finally, Filippo Brandolini, Vice-President of SGI Europe, completed the discussion by indicating what SGIs need to fully fulfil their potential as the foundation of competitiveness: not only investment but also stability and predictability in terms of legislation.