PARIGI (FRANCIA) (ITALPRESS) – “The next budget will be the financial arm of our independence. With over 450 billion from the European Competitiveness Fund and the Horizon Europe Programme, we will support the entire supply chain: from research to innovation, from laboratory to enterprise, from first prototype to industrial production. Europe cannot have new ambitions without the means to finance them.” Thus the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at the annual conference “The meeting of French entrepreneurs 2026”, in Paris.
“Mario Draghi opened the road. In its wake, our ambition is clear: to make Europe a continent that produces, invests and protects. Remit industrial capacity at the centre of our actions. Create the opportunities that businesses need to invest in. And make open a choice of strength, based on reciprocity, fairness and protection of our interests.” “France – he added – made a significant contribution to this evolution. On our need for independence. Industrial policy. On nuclear energy. On electrification. Artificial intelligence. All this is the contribution of France. Today Europe is giving these choices the necessary scope. Because none of these battles can be won by a single country. And that is why we, as Europeans, must act on all levers that determine our competitiveness today.”.
“In a more fragmented world, openness is a force tool. Our trade agreements open the markets to our companies, diversify our supply chains, guarantee the raw materials and components we need and offer alternatives when some partners become less predictable. This is economic security: never depend on a single partner. Because an independent Europe is not an isolated Europe, but a Europe with alternatives. CETA, our trade agreement with Canada, shows it. Since 2017, French exports of goods to Canada have increased by 45%. Services exports are more than doubled. This is what our trade agreements represent: greater opportunities for our businesses, more solid value chains and greater freedom of action for Europe,” he concluded.
– photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
