Chief executives of major European corporations hold a pessimistic view on the economic outlook in Europe, although the sentiment has slightly improved compared to six months ago. A recent survey released on Sunday revealed that these executives are more inclined to invest in the United States rather than in their home region.
The European Round Table for Industry conducted the survey, which includes around 60 CEOs and chairs from companies like ASML, BASF, and Vodafone. The findings indicated that the rationale for investing in Europe was diminishing, with concerns raised about the sluggish pace of necessary reforms within the European Union.
Approximately 38 percent of respondents expressed intentions to scale back their investments in Europe or had postponed decision-making, while only 8 percent planned to increase their European investments. In contrast, 45 percent of the surveyed executives aimed to boost investments in the United States.
These business leaders are advocating for the implementation of reforms recommended in influential reports issued last year by former European Central Bank head Mario Draghi and former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta. The recommendations highlight the urgent need for the EU to enhance its competitiveness to keep up with global players like the US and China.
Despite these calls for action, a significant majority of respondents reported minimal to no positive outcomes from EU initiatives in crucial areas such as regulatory streamlining, completion of the single market, competition policy, and energy affordability.
The survey results were released just before an EU ministerial meeting on Monday, where representatives from the 27 EU nations discussed issues related to competitiveness, including simplification and internal barriers within the EU single market.