Creating Jobs & Prosperity - Recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic

An EU which connects its citizens and its Member States, allowing them to live, work and travel without unnecessary obstacles and bureaucracy is an EU that is delivering value for money. The ECR Group is vitally aware that every penny that the EU spends is money out of the pockets of tax payers. Therefore, the legislation we bring forward on transport, the single market, and consumer rights has to be effective and efficient, and offer something that national Governments alone cannot achieve. The ECR Group believes that one of the best ways of improving the lives of EU citizens on a day-to-day basis, is to:

• reduce barriers within the Single market,
• make it easier to buy and sell products within the EU,
• and ensure that consumer rights are upheld across all Member States,
• improve the basic infrastructure and accessibility of transport sectors.

A key priority for the ECR Group is cutting much of the suffocating regulation that the EU has adopted and applied to businesses. The ECR Group is constantly identifying where Member States and the EU are implementing EU rules in an unnecessarily bureaucratic and complicated way. By reducing mindless bureaucracy and unnecessary laws, and by ensuring that EU policies are operating efficiently, we can make your taxes work harder than ever!

The ECR Group has led the way on common sense policymaking, and in ensuring that the EU properly implements the competitiveness test, particularly for small and medium sized businesses. The EU needs regulation that provides a level playing field for businesses whilst protects consumers, without uneven implementation across the EU.

More open trade means more jobs, increased business opportunities, and cheaper goods for the consumer. That is why the ECR Group has been the driving force within the European Parliament on putting in place a number of important international agreements that will break down the barriers currently in place which prevent European companies trading with major economic powers around the world. The ECR Group is vitally aware that free trade and globalisation must benefit everyone, and that in any international trading agreements reached, law makers must be mindful of their effects on wages, jobs, local industry and the future of the EU’s economy.

The ECR Group knows that there are concerns about globalisation and widening the EU’s trading market. It is essential that we protect certain EU sectors from any shock effects. Therefore, we support opening our domestic market to non-EU products in a limited and controlled way, whilst ensuring EU products have improved access to non-EU markets, for our most popular exports. We believe that the EU’s free trade agreements must benefit consumers by offering them more product choice, a wider choice of services, and greater mobility for company employees.

The competitiveness test identifies any potential negative impact of EU legislation on the competitiveness of businesses and the economy when drafting and applying EU rules. By ensuring the EU is being held to account over unnecessary regulation, businesses will be better able to grow, remain competitive and profitable, and able to provide more jobs.

It was also the ECR Group that led the way on recommendations which will ensure that any new laws proposed or introduced by the EU, will first be assessed for their potential impact on small and medium sized businesses.

The ECR Group has led the way on common sense policymaking, and in ensuring that the EU properly implements the competitiveness test, particularly for small and medium sized businesses. The EU needs regulation that provides a level playing field for businesses whilst protects consumers, without uneven implementation across the EU.

The Euro crisis was the defining issues of the last European election. Now the European Union is looking to build a future for the Eurozone which prevents the Euro crisis from happening again. The ECR Group believes that the decisions we make now will have serious long term consequences for all Member States, whether in the Euro or not. The ECR Group believes we must consider carefully the consequences of hastily implemented Euro policies.

More Europe, more bureaucracy, and another EU institution, is not the solution to the crisis. Taking the wrong political direction could cause long lasting budget constraints, systematic risks to the monetary system, and ultimately, unemployment in Member States. The ECR Group believes we should be focusing on managing the Eurozone better rather than deepening political links to the EU.

The ECR Group believes that enforcing the European Stability Mechanism to share liability, is not the best way to recover competitiveness in Eurozone countries. Fiscal disciplines, an independent European Central Bank without political agenda, and respecting the decision of Member States not to adopt the Euro, are the key ingredients of preventing future economic shocks. The ECR Group believes that it is only fair for all European countries to demonstrate economic and fiscal responsibility. National economic prudence should be encouraged, not penalised.

Transparency is one of the key priorities for the ECR Group, and that includes holding all the EU institutions and the ECB to account for their actions both past and present. Whilst there is still a long way to go in making sure the Euro functions better, acknowledging the flaws in the system both past and present, is an important step to building a more stable economic future. The ECR Group will continue to ensure that the ECB and the EU is held accountable for its policies on the Euro.

The ECR Group has been the voice of common sense within the Parliament when it comes to discussing the opportunities and challenges of free trade. This was vital when adopting the Canada-EU Trade Agreement also known as CETA. It is estimated that CETA will bring EU businesses an extra 590 million Euros a year, the amount paid in tariffs by EU businesses on goods exported to Canada. EU companies have a better chance than ever to bid on public procurement contracts, and sell European products into Canada.

It was also the ECR Group that led on the most comprehensive trade agreement ever concluded with a developing country - the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.

It was the ECR Group that championed high quality transport links as being fundamental for Europe’s economic activities and quality of life for citizens. Readily accessible and well-connected transport networks for both passenger and freight transport is at the heart of promoting economic, social, and territorial cohesion between Member states in the EU.

The ECR Group led the campaign to overcome these gaps, showing that increased connectivity of transport services would increase economic growth and employment opportunities for citizens and businesses across the EU. The ECR highlighted the need to boost the development of North-South transport corridors, such as the ‘Via Carpathia’ route and the ‘rail Baltica’ high speed railway line, connecting Baltic States with Central Europe, therefore, connecting all of Europe.

The ECR Group also led the way on opening the market for domestic rail passenger services to competition. Rail companies will now be able to offer new high quality, reliable, safe and efficient rail services on domestic lines. A more competitive environment for railways will mean more choice for passengers, leading to better quality rail services for consumers. Bon Voyage!

In 2015, news broke that Volkswagen had been installing emissions cheating defeat device software in millions of diesel vehicles sold worldwide. This scandal triggered an international call for the EU to and its Member States to take action. In response, the ECR Group steered a new law through the European Parliament which put in place important new rules to prevent this from happening again.

These new rules will be put in place across the whole EU, and will stop car manufacturers from cheating on safety and emissions testing. It will also give more powers to national governments to check if cars meet the appropriate standards, and set out financial penalties for car manufacturers who break the rules. The new EU rules will also make sure that when motorists buy cars from a dealership, they can trust that their cars will perform as advertised.

For independent garages and repairers, the ECR Group championed new opportunities for them, by opening up the flow of information from car manufacturers, so that they are able to repair new generations of vehicles which are increasingly controlled by computers. This keeps local businesses thriving and offers consumers more choice and lower prices when seeking car repairs. This is good news for the consumer, businesses and the environment!