EXCLUSIVE BURSA Plain and simple: Europe is open for business

Sixteen months ago, over 400 million Europeans took part in the largest transnational democratic exercise in the world. Their messages were loud and clear: Europe must simplify. It must work better, move faster and deliver results. Those messages were received. We've listened, and we're acting: Europe is open for business.

Months before those elections, my colleagues and I made it our mission to listen directly to our people in their communities. Across Europe, I answered hundreds of questions from young people. I walked through offices, shops and factories speaking with workers proud of what they built but anxious about what comes next. I met with farmers who carry the responsibility of feeding our people. And I sat down with entrepreneurs - from small family businesses to major industry leaders - in every sector. Wherever we went, they all said the same thing.

Too often, we forget that what people value most about Europe are the things that make their lives simpler. The freedom to live, work, travel and study across borders. The opportunity to choose from more options, with lower prices and fewer barriers. That peace of mind that comes from belonging to a Union, where together we are safer, stronger and get more.

The truth is, that somewhere along the way, that great European momentum began to drift. New layers of bureaucracy crept in. Every CEO I meet brings up the word "regulation' within minutes of saying hello. It's a fair concern when tens of thousands of pages of rules have piled up - regardless of how well intentioned they were, but often without enough thought for how they work in practice.

We've heard and understood those frustrations - it's reflected in how people voted in 2024. As the only directly elected institution in the European Union - the body that represents European citizens - the people's agenda is our agenda. As co-legislator, our responsibility is to ensure predictability and stability. To help businesses stay competitive, create jobs and support start-ups to grow. That is our mandate. And that is what we are delivering on.

In July 2024, the first session of this legislature, the European Parliament called for the next five years to be defined by a "Simplification Agenda'. Since then, we've exempted 90% of importers - mostly individuals and small businesses - from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. We've postponed battery due diligence requirements to give industries more time to adapt. And we've deferred car industry penalties so that one of Europe's biggest employers remains strong and competitive.

We've also made our Common Agriculture Policy simpler, fairer and stronger to better serve our farmers. We postponed the application of certain corporate sustainability requirements - and we did not stop there. Just this week, the European Parliament is narrowing the scope of these laws. Meaning that 80 to 85% of businesses that are currently covered will soon be freed from obligations that place them under so much pressure.

None of this would have been possible without the European Parliament pushing for it. Thanks to the bold reforms that we carried out to modernise our working methods - to make our processes faster, more efficient and more agile - we were able to act with unprecedented speed. We went from ambition to action, in a matter of weeks.

We're now working on making it easier for Member States and businesses to access more European Union funding for investments, while also creating a new "small mid-cap' category to help companies scale-up without being weighed down by extra rules. In defence sector, we are speeding up investments and capabilities by streamlining regulations, funding and joint procurement across the European Union. So when we say we're simplifying, we mean it - we're cutting red tape and returning to our core aims.

Simplification is not about doing less - it's about doing better. We are not lowering standards or removing safeguards. We are cutting away the unnecessary bureaucracy so businesses, farmers, families and entrepreneurs can focus on what truly matters. We've already shown that the European Parliament can respond to the needs of its people. And we will continue. To put it plain and simple: Europe is open for business.