The European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament has called on the Irish Presidency of the Council to focus on the areas where Europe urgently needs concrete results.

During Tuesday’s plenary debate with Taoiseach Micheál Martin ECR MEPs welcomed the Presidency’s focus on competitiveness, values and security, but warned that Europe cannot afford more bureaucracy, new burdens on businesses and citizens, or policies that weaken its own industry.

Polish ECR MEP Beata Szydło underlined the next EU budget will be among its most difficult tasks.

“The financial framework for the next financial perspective is a huge challenge, but it also raises many questions. There can be no question of imposing new burdens on businesses and Europeans. We also do not want spending cuts in the most important projects for the European Union, but this cannot happen at the expense of Europeans or the competitiveness of European industry,” Szydło said.

Szydło also pointed to the forthcoming revision of the ETS as a crucial test for Europe’s economy.

“We are all eagerly awaiting the proposed revision of the ETS. This will be crucial for whether the European economy can finally spread its wings and become competitive, instead of being crushed by solutions that, unfortunately, the European Union itself has prepared,” the former Polish Prime Minister said.

Italian ECR MEP Mario Mantovani said the Presidency’s competitiveness agenda must pay closer attention to Europe’s Small and Medium-sized enterprises, which form the backbone of the European economy.

“The Irish Presidency’s approach to competitiveness affirms values that are worthy of support, but in my opinion it is lacking in one important respect. It does not mention microenterprises, even though there are 25 million microenterprises in Europe, generating 20 per cent of Europe’s GDP and facing enormous problems,” Mantovani said.

He also warned that access to credit remains a serious challenge for smaller businesses.

“Access to credit, first and foremost, has become a major challenge. Since 2011, bank loans to smaller businesses have fallen by 37 per cent, with smaller firms crushed by rating algorithms and flawed regulation that creates asymmetry between businesses themselves,” Mantovani said.

On the proposed twenty-eighth regime, for which he is shadow rapporteur, Mantovani cautioned against ideological amendments that would undermine the spirit of the proposal.

“Regarding the twenty-eighth regime, the left in Parliament has tabled ideologically motivated amendments of a hyper-union nature, which lack any legal basis and would impose greater restrictions on investors. This runs counter to the spirit of the proposal,” Mantovani said.

Flemish ECR MEP Assita Kanko said the Irish Presidency’s values agenda must also address the reality of antisemitism, radical Islam and parallel justice systems.

“I have not heard much about antisemitism, yet it remains a major issue in Europe. We still need to protect Jewish schools and institutions in many European cities, and that is a fact,” Kanko said.

She said defending the European way of life means applying values consistently and protecting all citizens equally.

“Values are not à la carte. We need a Europe where every citizen has access to the same justice, where no woman is subject to marital captivity or reduced to parallel justice systems. We need a Europe that says no to radical Islam and designates the Muslim Brotherhood as a terror organisation,” Kanko said.

ECR MEP and Budget Committee Coordinator Bogdan Rzońca warned that Europe’s competitiveness is being undermined by high energy costs, Chinese industrial pressure and rising debt.

“One European think tank has just calculated that the European Union will have lost 90 billion euros by 2025 because of the massive Chinese industrial offensive in the European Union and the bankruptcy of companies. We talk a lot about the Green Deal, but I want to be very clear. Energy should be cheap for entrepreneurs first, and only then green,” Rzońca said.

He also warned that the EU’s debt burden and the relocation of companies are becoming serious threats to Europe’s economic future.

“The European Union is currently under the greatest debt burden it has ever faced. The European Union has never been as indebted as it is now. Companies in the European Union are going bankrupt or relocating their operations to India or the United States,” Rzońca said.

Italian ECR MEP Stefano Cavedagna said Europe’s first priority must be to undo the damage caused by Green Deal policies that have harmed competitiveness.

“Europe has two major priorities. The first is to combat the green and ecological follies we witnessed in the last term, first and foremost the ETS, that hateful environmental tax that continually harms our businesses and citizens. Stop the Green Deal. This is what is needed to improve European competitiveness,” Cavedagna said.

He added that security must also be central to the Presidency’s work, including the fight against illegal immigration and Islamic fundamentalism.

“The other priority is the safety of citizens, which Europeans demand on their streets, in their cities and in their nations. This means an active fight against Islamic fundamentalism, which too many people in this Chamber are not talking about, and the fight against illegal immigration. We must repatriate all illegal immigrants, otherwise security problems will worsen day by day,” Cavedagna said.