BRUSSELS - November 7^th 2023: A broad coalition of organisations representing European businesses  both large and small launched under the name Europe Unlocked today, to push European policy makers  to address serious weaknesses in Europe’s economy. 

The Europe Unlocked initiative continues to grow and the organisations whose names appear below were  members at the time of launch.  

At the time of the global financial crisis the EU and the US economies were roughly the same size. However, by 2020 the EU economy was significantly below the level of the US and this divergence  continues (International Monetary Fund, GDP figures). 

“This trend is alarming,” said Kieran O’Keeffe, Executive Director of Europe Unlocked.  

Over the past decade the European economy has lurched from one crisis to another. The global financial  crisis of 2008 was followed by a European currency crisis and unfortunately many others since, not least  the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. 

The risk is that exceptional measures that were needed to address the crises will become the norm. “That  mustn’t happen. It is time the EU re-established some of the core elements that underpin the Union - in  particular, the Single Market” Mr O’Keeffe said, adding: “Under the current European Commission the  Single Market has been neglected.” 

Looking ahead to a new European Commission and the European Parliament elections in 2024, Europe  Unlocked will push for a radical re-think of how to boost productivity, and therefore prosperity across the  continent. 

Europe needs to embrace competition and trade, ensure that the green and digital transitions deliver  productive and sustainable outcomes, and help prepare Europe’s workforce with the skills needed to  compete in a modern, global economy, the Europe Unlocked initiative will argue.  

Productivity is by far the biggest, and the only sustainable driver of economic growth in the long-term.  The prosperity that would result from a more productive economy would in turn strengthen Europe’s  security.  

“The current Commission is too keen to treat the EU as a war-time economy. Europe should not run its  economy from a bunker. We need a positive and confident policy programme from the next Commission  which puts open and competitive markets at its heart,” Mr O’Keeffe said. 

Current Members: 

• Confederation of Danish Industry - https://www.danskindustri.dk/ 
• Confederation of Finnish Industries - https://ek.fi/
• Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic - https://www.spcr.cz/en
• Confederation of Swedish Enterprise - https://www.svensktnaringsliv.se/
• The Czech Chamber of Commerce - https://www.komora.cz/en/ 
• Dansk Erhverv (The Danish Chambers of Commerce) - https://www.danskerhverv.dk/engelsk/
• The Estonian Employers Confederation - https://employers.ee/en/ 
• European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME - https://www.european-entrepreneurs.org/
• The European Round Table for Industry - https://ert.eu/ 
• The European Services Forum - http://www.esf.be/ 
• The European Small Business Alliance - https://www.esba-europe.org/
• The Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists - https://www.lpk.lt/ 
• The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise- https://www.nho.no/ 
• The Polish Confederation Lewiatan - https://lewiatan.org/en/about-us/