In an interview at the Public Affairs Summit in Brussels, María Lledó, Executive Chairwoman, European & International Affairs, discusses how Europe can strengthen its global competitiveness, modernise its regulatory framework, and adapt public affairs strategy to a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.
She explores:
Geopolitics & strategic autonomy
Competitiveness is now a matter of political power and strategic autonomy, as global rivals like the U.S. and China increasingly use economic dependencies for geopolitical leverage.
Single Market & the “28th Regime”
Operating as 27 fragmented economies creates a major disadvantage. Implementing a 28th regime (an optional, uniform European legal framework) would allow innovative companies to scale across the entire Single Market while safeguarding Europe’s social model.
Smart regulatory simplification
Europe must simplify regulation without lowering standards by streamlining rules across member states, applying proportionality for SMEs, removing bureaucratic duplication, and measuring cumulative policy impacts on productivity.
Bridging policy and business
Public affairs must combine a global vision with deep local market expertise to help businesses navigate interconnected geopolitical risks and bridge political ambition with economic reality.
