Washington DC, 23 April 2025
In his address at the Atlantic Council, EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis emphasized that Europe has historically emerged stronger from crises, invoking Jean Monnet’s vision that “Europe will be forged in crises.” Against a backdrop of extraordinary global uncertainty, Dombrovskis argued that the European Union (EU) must actively seize present opportunities to reinforce its strengths and competitiveness, rather than simply react to events. He identified five strategic opportunities for the EU: leveraging its predictability, strengthening security and defence, investing in the Single Market, reducing bureaucracy, and expanding global partnerships.
Dombrovskis first highlighted the EU’s predictability and rule-based approach as strategic assets, especially during times of turmoil. He cited the EU’s rapid and coordinated responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s war against Ukraine. These responses included the creation of joint gas purchasing platforms and the commitment to phasing out Russian fossil fuels, with crucial support from the United States. He argued that, while often seen as slow-moving, the EU’s processes allow for inclusive debate and unified action when it matters most, making “boring democracies” a source of stability in an unpredictable world.
Turning to security and defence, Dombrovskis acknowledged recent criticisms, including from President Trump, that Europe must take greater responsibility for its own defence. He described a “game-changer” shift in EU policy: the ReArm Europe Plan and the Readiness 2030 initiative, which together aim to boost EU defence spending from 2% to over 3% of GDP, unlocking up to €800 billion. He also noted major national commitments, such as Germany’s €500 billion investment. Beyond spending more, Dombrovskis stressed the importance of spending better through joint procurement, increased interoperability, and open partnerships—including with Ukraine, whose war efforts are fostering innovation in European defence. The reinforcement of Europe’s defence industrial base is expected to enhance the international role of the euro and stimulate broader economic growth.
The Commissioner identified the EU’s Single Market—encompassing 450 million consumers—as Europe’s core economic asset. To boost competitiveness, he advocated deepening market integration, investing in skills, reducing energy costs, and protecting the industrial base from unfair competition. Dombrovskis also referenced the integration of capital markets and modernization of public procurement rules, aiming to attract global investment and talent while fostering productivity growth. These steps are intended not only to benefit European businesses, but also American and other international firms operating within the EU.
A key pillar of Dombrovskis’s agenda is the drive to cut bureaucracy. He outlined the Commission’s ambitious targets to reduce administrative costs by 25% overall, and by 35% for small and medium-sized enterprises, translating to an estimated €37.5 billion in annual savings. Simplification efforts have already begun in areas like sustainability reporting, with more reforms to follow across policy areas. He argued that making EU regulation smarter and governance simpler will make the Union a more attractive place for investment, innovation, and business creation.
Finally, Dombrovskis underscored the enduring importance of the EU’s partnership with the United States, describing the transatlantic economic and trade relationship as “indispensable” and worth $9.5 trillion. He also emphasized the EU’s global reach, citing active and forthcoming trade agreements with over 76 countries—including new deals with Mercosur, Mexico, Switzerland, and ongoing talks with India and Southeast Asian nations. These partnerships, he said, will support economic security and help shape the global economy through digital, raw materials, and energy cooperation. Dombrovskis concluded by reiterating the EU’s resolve to use current challenges as a springboard for renewal, affirming Europe’s commitment to seizing opportunities and delivering on the expectations of its citizens and global partners.
E-Summary by ChatGPT, prompted by Insight EU
Remarks by Commissioner Dombrovskis at the Atlantic Council: Navigating turbulent times by investing in Europe’s strength and competitiveness
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is good to be back amongst friends at the Atlantic Council. You are probably all familiar with the old political adage “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” A similar sentiment was once expressed by a founding father of the European Union. Jean Monnet famously said that “Europe will be forged in crises, and will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises.” And he was right.
You see, when the stakes are high, Europe comes together and does whatever it takes to overcome crises and emerge stronger. The stakes could not be any higher today. Today’s extraordinary uncertainty presents Europe with challenges, but also opportunities. The question is how the European Union can make the most of these opportunities.
Let me focus today on five opportunities that Europe is determined to seize:
- First, using our predictability as a strength.
- Second, getting our act together on security and defence.
- Third, investing in our main economic asset, the Single Market of 450 million consumers.
- Fourth, cutting red tape to boost our competitiveness.
- Fifth, expanding our network of partnerships across the world.
First, on predictability.
We often hear that the European Union is a large and slow ship, which is hard to turn. Except in crisis. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the European Union and its Member States responded quickly, forcefully and in a coordinated manner. We rapidly put in place safety nets and support schemes to safeguard our economies and keep people in jobs.
More recently, during the first year of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, President Putin threatened ‘to freeze Europe to death’. In response, we worked with Member States and business communities to establish a joint purchasing platform for gas to ensure sufficient supplies. We adapted our infrastructure for alternative supplies. And we committed to phasing out our dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
The US played a critical role in this process, for which we are grateful. You see, our fundamental values – individual liberties, democracy, and the rule of law – are often painted as weaknesses for authoritarian regimes to prey upon. However, in times of turmoil, predictability, the rule of law and a willingness to uphold the rules-based international order become Europe’s greatest assets. We are committed to doing whatever it takes to defend our ‘boring democracies’, because ‘boring’ brings certainty and a safe haven when that rules-based order is questioned elsewhere. Our processes allow for debates and consultations to take place, building buy-in from our key stakeholders and enabling us to all pull in the same direction. This is what we are now doing on defence.
My second point today is that the European Union is now finally getting its act together on security and defence.
President Trump is right in saying that Europe needs to take more responsibility for its security. At the 2014 NATO Wales Summit, Allies agreed to reverse the trend of declining defence budgets and aim towards achieving the NATO guideline of spending 2% of GDP on defence within a decade. Some European countries got serious about investing in their defence. But not all did.
Today, as a high-intensity war rages on our continent, there is a clear understanding that Europe can and must take greater responsibility for its security. It must carry its fair share of the burden alongside its NATO allies, and the United States in particular. We are also committed to supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s aggression until a just and lasting peace can be achieved.
Ukraine is central to Europe’s security considerations. And it is a vital part of Europe’s security shield. Because Russia has a track record of open and hidden attacks on its neighbours: Moldova in the early 1990s, Georgia in 2008, Crimea and Donbas in 2014, and the whole of Ukraine in 2022. And Russia is not hiding its intention to launch an attack against European and NATO nations. This is the reality we face at Europe’s eastern flank. We cannot reward Russia for this kind of behaviour. History has taught us that demonstrating strength and determination is the best way to deter aggression. We will do just that.
Last month, the European Commission presented the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 initiative to facilitate and encourage investment in our defensive capabilities and defence industry. This package aims to unlock up to €800 billion in additional defence spending. This should allow defence spending in the EU to move from 2% to above 3% of GDP on average. Some nations – such as Poland and the Baltic States – are already above the 3% target and intend to increase their national defence spending further. If needs be, we will commit even more.
In addition to this, Germany has recently announced a €500 billion package for infrastructure and defence investments. All this is a game-changer for Europe’s security. Of course, the EU should not only spend more, but also spend better – together. Our plan incentivises EU Member States to buy defence equipment together, promotes interoperability, ensures predictability for order books, reduces costs, and creates the scale needed to strengthen Europe’s defence industrial base. And we remain open to participation and investment from our partner countries, under certain conditions. The European defence industrial base also includes Ukraine.
At a great cost to the Ukrainian nation, its battlefields have also become a real-time test laboratory for developing and refining innovative European and Ukrainian defence products. Beyond enhancing Europe’s security, we expect that additional defence spending will bolster the international role of the euro, as we see a large market demand for euro-denominated safe assets. It must also boost competitiveness and economic growth, drive innovation, create new jobs and help establish a common European market for defence.
Even more importantly, advanced technologies like AI and quantum computing cut across defence and security and are foundational assets for our future competitiveness. Europe has fallen behind the US and China when it comes to certain advanced technologies. We are determined to catch up as a strategic priority.
This brings me to the third opportunity, the power of Europe’s Single Market as a strategic asset for the European Union.
US officials are right to emphasise that large and dynamic consumer markets are a source of great strength. The EU is the largest of such markets in the west, home to 450 million people. Yet, when it comes to deepening our Single Market, we must shake ourselves from our complacency. Tearing down the remaining barriers would boost the EU’s competitiveness, while attracting global talent and investment.
It would also be beneficial for American companies already operating in the Europe market and for any firm or individual who wants to invest in a market open to talent and trade. We have already put some ambitious proposals on the table. We are integrating Europe’s capital markets to better channel our household savings – estimated at around €10 trillion – towards productive investments.
We are reducing Europe’s energy costs while decarbonising our economies. We are investing heavily in strategies to develop the skills needed for future labour markets, including digital skills. We will propose a single set of rules for innovative companies to invest and operate in the Single Market. We will modernise our public procurement rules to take into account economic and national security considerations.
We will make sure that our industrial and technological base is not wiped out by unfair competition, manufacturing overcapacities or a shortage of critical inputs. These actions, together with the others we have planned, will help to reignite Europe’s economic dynamism and power a new era of productivity growth in Europe’s Single Market. And we must tackle the long-standing problem of bureaucracy and red tape in the EU.
This is my fourth point.
I have been given responsibility for driving and coordinating the European Commission’s work on cutting red tape. We are on a journey to make our regulation smarter and governance simpler. We plan to intervene in predictable, proportionate and surgical way, to alleviate the heaviest burdens. We have set ambitious targets to reduce all administrative costs for companies by 25%, and by 35% for small and medium-sized enterprises.
This translates into cutting roughly €37.5 billion in annual administrative costs by the end of this Commission’s mandate. We have already presented the first two proposals to simplify EU rules in the fields of sustainability reporting, sustainability due-diligence, taxonomy and public investments. When fully adopted, the package will bring – at a conservative estimate – €6.3 billion in annual savings to businesses.
But this is just the start. We will continue our efforts across every policy area throughout the five years ahead. By doing so, we will make the EU a more attractive destination to invest, innovate and do businesses in. And a more attractive EU will be an economic powerhouse. Remember, we issue as many patents as the US. If we fully unleash our potential, Europe will be an important creator of next generation technologies.
The fifth and final point is on our partnerships and trade.
Let me start by saying that the European Union is not giving up on our closest, deepest and most important partnership –with the United States. Our economic and trade relationship is estimated at $9.5 trillion. We are key trade and investment partners, as everyone in this audience knows. We are each other’s most important services trading partners, with our services trade estimated at $475 billion in 2024. And we will need each other even more in tomorrow’s increasingly conflictual and competitive world.
The EU stands by its existing partnerships and intends to deepen them. But we will also seal new partnerships across the world to diversify and strengthen our economic security at home. The EU is, and will remain, an attractive, reliable and predictable trading partner. We already have trade agreements in place with 76 countries.
We have recently concluded negotiations for new or enhanced trade partnerships with Mercosur, Mexico and Switzerland. We continue negotiations with India, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, amongst others. Just a couple of weeks ago, we launched trade talks with the United Arab Emirates. These trade agreements seek to establish win-win partnerships, which are reliable and rules-based.
Europe, therefore, remains open for business, investment and trade. The EU has already made significant inroads to help shape new strands of the global economy: for example, our new trade deals focus on digital partnerships, strategic investment in access to critical raw materials or future sources of energy. As we speak, Europe is busy consolidating its stable network of partnerships that will act to lift all boats.
To conclude, ladies and gentlemen, Europe is determined not to let this crisis go to waste. The European Union will not sit back and content itself with reacting to unfolding events. We will actively seize opportunities emerging from the turmoil and offer our vision for the way forward. We are already seeing markets rewarding our predictably and efforts to get our act together. We will deliver on these expectations.
Thank you.
Source – EU Commission