EU’s projected economic growth insufficient to meet global challenges |
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| Ahead of next week’s European Council meeting, we released our latest Economic Outlook today, projecting modest EU growth of just 1% in 2025 and 1.4% in 2026. |
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| “A strong economy is the cornerstone of the EU’s ability to meet its internal goals and assert itself on the global stage”, commented our Director General Markus J. Beyrer. Our 2025 growth forecast has been revised downward amid increased global economic unpredictability and the disruptive impact of new U.S. tariffs. With external trade accounting for 22.4% of the EU's GDP in 2023, the EU is particularly vulnerable to disruptions in global trade flows. |
| The U.S. remains the EU’s largest individual trading partner, and the additional tariffs present a significant external shock to the European economy. We call for urgent action to diversify source and destination markets through new trade agreements and find a mutually beneficial agreement with the U.S. “The EU must also go further in its simplification efforts to reduce the administrative burden for companies, remove Single Market barriers, and lower energy costs for companies”, Beyrer noted. |
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Europe’s green ambitions vs. global realities |
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 | | At the GLOBSEC Forum 2025 in Prague on 13 June, our Director General Markus J. Beyrer addressed the crucial balance between Europe’s green ambitions and global economic realities. He reaffirmed that while business fully supports the EU’s climate goals, the path to a successful green transition must include a simplified legislative framework and a reduction in regulatory burden for companies. Beyrer also stressed the importance of creating an investment-friendly environment to drive innovation and scale up clean technologies. “The best European contribution to global climate efforts is to prove that we can decarbonise while remaining economically successful”, he concluded. |
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Our member federations are mostly pessimistic about the European business climate |
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| They believe that the business climate for industrial producers has worsened compared to 6 months ago: 50% view the overall business climate for industry negatively, compared to 38% in the Autumn of 2024. More details in our Spring Economic Outlook. |
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“We regularly ask companies what worries them the most. In the first place, there are energy prices, excessive regulation, especially in the last few years, too long permitting procedures and uncertainty about international trade rules.” Our Director General Markus J. Beyrer in interview with leading Czech news outlet Hospodářské noviny of 16 June 2025. |
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