Davos
Over the past few days, I have had the opportunity to hold numerous conversations with international business and political leaders. The tension was palpable. Looming trade wars and uncertainty about our security are, rightly, a cause for concern. The recent de-escalation brings relief, but it is no reason to rest on our laurels.
We should draw an important lesson from recent events: Europe must be far better prepared for periods of turbulence. Alone and divided, we are weak; together, we are a formidable trading bloc. It is time to put that strength back at the centre of our approach and to use it effectively.
This means urgently doing our own homework: completing our single market, building a genuine capital markets union, strengthening our defence cooperation, and developing strategic partnerships. Innovation, productivity, and competitiveness must once again be central to everything we do.
In that spirit, I will be in Hamburg next Monday for the North Sea Summit on the affordability and security of energy for our industry. On 11 February, the European Industry Summit will take place for the third time at the Antwerp Stock Exchange. And on 12 February, at my request, an informal European Council will be held in Alden Biesen with a single agenda item: European competitiveness.
Europe must seize this momentum now to put wealth creation back at the heart of its agenda and to strengthen its resilience. That is the key message I took away from my contacts in Davos. It is also the message I conveyed last night to my colleagues around the European table at the informal European Council on transatlantic relations. Rarely in recent decades has the need for decisive European action been greater. It is up to us to rise to the occasion.