19 May 2023
The next European elections will be held from 6-9 June 2024. On Wednesday 17 May 2023, the COREPER (Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union) signed off on the decision on the dates of the upcoming EU election, which will be held from 6 to 9 June 2024. On this occasion, the 705 seats of the European Parliament will be filled for the mandate 2024-2029. The outcomes of the EU elections will also be crucial for the election of the future President of the European Commission and the composition of the whole college of Commissioners.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
On Monday 15 May, the European Commission published its spring economic forecast. It details the factors at the origin of the resilience of the EU economy, highlighting that the management of the energy crisis, the coordination of fiscal policies and the impact of the RRF have all contributed to a much better-than-expected scenario.
It further explains that GDP grew by 0.3% in the EU in the first quarter of this year, and growth this year is set to reach 1% in the EU and 1.1% in the euro area. Other key points in the forecast indicate that private consumption is set to increase moderately this year while inflation keeps eroding the purchasing power. Despite the expected economic slowdown, the labour market should remain strong as unemployment rates keep hitting record lows while the participation and employment rates stay at a record high. Continued labour market tightness, labour hoarding due to skills shortages and the strong performance of the service sector are expected to keep the unemployment rate stable for 2023 and 2024.
Nominal wage growth picked up in 2022, and more substantial wage increases are expected this year due to significant increases in minimum wages in several Member States. The Commission still expects wage growth to fall short of inflation again this year, while a significant recovery of real wages is expected to occur in 2024.
Finally, the Commission projects growth to gain strength in 2024. Moderated inflation, continued employment expansion and strong wage growth are projected to boost households' real disposable incomes, leading to a rebound in private consumption. Investment is expected to be supported by the RRF, despite the delayed impact of monetary policy tightening.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 16 May, SGI Europe held a meeting of its Transport Task Force, chaired by Monika Unterholzner (Wiener Lokalbahnen), with a specific focus on digitalisation, data sharing, as well as the Multimodal Digital Mobility Services (MDMS) and the upcoming Data Mobility Package, foreseen for September.
SGI Europe welcomed guest speaker Stefan Kreihsler, Head of Data Science at Upstream Mobility. Upstream Mobility was founded by Wiener Stadtwerke in 2016 to ensure the expansion and management of its digital infrastructures, expand digital services and strengthen its position as a central integrator and contact for urban network transport. Together with Wienerlinien, Upstream Mobility developed the WienMobil app, which provides citizens with a central gateway to mobility in their city. With this practical example, SGI Europe members exchanged views on that basis, especially highlighting the effects such tools can have on tourism and daily commuting service whilst contributing to the EU climate targets.
The next Transport Task Force meeting will occur in Vienna on 8 November 2023.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
From 15-17 May 2023, the European Parliament welcomed the Beyond Growth 2023 Conference, a multistakeholder event to discuss and co-create policies for shaping European sustainable prosperity. This three-day event is a cross-party initiative of 20 Members of the European Parliament, led by MEP Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA co-President), and supported by a wide range of partner organisations.
The conference offered an opportunity to start and engage with representatives of the EU institutions (particularly the European Commission and the European Parliament), citizens, and various external interest representatives. It involved EU and national policymaking stakeholders, academia, social partners, businesses, and civil society organisations. This high-level event was opened with speeches from Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament.
The conference was a unique occasion to debate further the current growth model's social and environmental impacts, relying primarily on economic inputs and outputs. The reflection and debate on going "beyond growth" aim to steer policymaking towards multiple economic, social, and environmental goals rather than treating growth as an end in itself.
For SGI Europe, "Beyond Growth" can be a unique opportunity to highlight further the importance and relevance of services of general interest and public services in the EU socio-economic model, and echoes our calls for better understanding, assessing and measuring the importance of affordable, accessible and high-quality SGIs.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
Last week, the European Commission's DG Competition published its report "Modelling the macroeconomic impact of competition policy ". The report analyses the macroeconomic impact of the EU competition policy interventions between 2012 and 2021, focusing on mergers, cartel prohibitions and antitrust and covering 305 market interventions (197 mergers, 49 cartels and 59 antitrust interventions).
The impact of competition policy on the macroeconomic situation is carried out through macroeconomic modelling tools, which, amongst others, assesses the impact of EU policies on economy-wide measures of performance such as GDP, employment, prices and productivity. The simulation results suggest that the European Commission's market interventions have led to an increase in real GDP relative to the baseline in the range of 0,6-1,1% in the medium to long term (the equivalent of an uplift of EUR 80 - 150 billion in 2019 GDP), as well as a 0.3% - 0.7% reduction in the price level. The results also suggest increased consumption (0,5%) and investment (1,1%).
The European competition policy, including state aid, is a crucial component in preserving the economic resilience of the EU economy. Competition policy is a key enforcer of the single market by ensuring that the markets stay dynamic and fair whilst promoting the general welfare. Recently adopted, the Digital Markets Act is the most recent example of an ex-ante attempt to preserve markets as a large and open ecosystem with many participants. Large online platforms have become indispensable digital infrastructures which affect all areas, including the provision of services of general interest, and considering the positive economic impacts of the competition policy, its enforcement to ensure that markets remain contestable will be central.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
Join us, stay informed
Subscribe to have all the latest news and developments delivered straight to your inbox.