3 July 2026 in news

Third BusinessEurope Working Meeting with Ursula von der Leyen on the Challenges Facing Businesses

On 24 June, Rania Ekaterinari, SEV’s President of the Executive Committee & Vice-President of the Board, participated, as part of a 13-member BusinessEurope delegation, in the third working meeting with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The meeting focused on two key pillars: first, reducing dependencies through the diversification of value chains, and second, strengthening European industry.

The main message from the business community is that, despite the progress achieved, greater ambition and speed are required, as the regulatory environment remains unfavourable for the majority of businesses, which have yet to see any meaningful improvement.

Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with third countries and major markets, such as India, represent an important step for the European economy and for expanding opportunities for businesses. At the same time, however, the issue of finalising the framework for economic relations with the United States remains open, as does the development of a balanced and realistic strategy towards China, whose economic and technological presence continues to grow globally.

For SEV and Greek businesses, the period ahead will bring significant developments at European level with a direct impact on businesses and industry.

Among others:

  • Revision of the Emissions Trading System, where we have stated our support for the introduction of more favourable provisions for businesses, such as extending the timeframe for free emission allowances beyond 2030, something that is absolutely necessary to support European production.
  • Prioritisation, including through the next EU budget for 2028–2034, of energy and transport interconnections in countries of the European periphery, with the aim of bringing down electricity prices and upgrading transport infrastructure — rail connections to ports, last-mile freight networks and road axes.
  • Integration of productivity as a core principle of the Competitiveness Fund, with the aim of ensuring that funded actions contribute meaningfully to increasing productivity.
  • SEV also consistently highlights the strategic importance of keeping metal scrap within the EU, stressing that it constitutes a strategic secondary raw material. In this context, SEV calls for the incorporation of relevant measures into the forthcoming Circular Economy Act, based on the principle of reciprocity  with third countries.

On the occasion of the meeting, BusinessEurope published the report “From Ambition to Delivery – Stocktaking June 2026”, which assesses the progress achieved towards the implementation of European objectives.

Read the report here.