Montenegro wants to see the Council discussing a more competitive EU

LISBON – The Prime Minister today expressed his hope that the upcoming European Council will result in “a more competitive Europe with greater international influence,” emphasizing the importance of completing the European energy market and implementing the agreement with Mercosur.
In his initial intervention in the preparatory parliamentary debate for the European Council on June 26 and 27, Luís Montenegro highlighted the need to strengthen European competitiveness and strategic autonomy.
“We need to make an even greater commitment to innovation, research, technological development, and the qualification of workers, and we also need, for once, to complete the European energy market, without which our companies will continue to struggle to compete on equal terms in international markets,” he warned.
On the other hand, he pointed out that, both in Europe and in Portugal, “it is a priority to reduce bureaucracy, excessive regulation, and all aspects that end up being impediments to greater economic competitiveness also in our European space.”
“On the external front, we have been pointing out, and we will do so once again, the need for us to have greater export capacity throughout the Union, and for that, we also need to diversify the markets to which we can, precisely, export,” he stated.
As he has mentioned, the Portuguese Prime Minister considered it “unthinkable that we continue without implementing the agreement reached between the European Union and Mercosur.”
“It is a good strategy, the one that has been followed, to strengthen partnerships with other trading partners, such as Canada, Japan, China itself, or with strategic regions in Africa, Latin America, or the Caribbean,” he argued.
Montenegro also deemed it important for Portugal to continue to strengthen its ties with “historical partners, such as the United States of America and the United Kingdom.”
The European Council next week, which will also address security and defense issues, will take place immediately after the NATO Summit in The Hague.