Remarks by Commissioner Dombrovskis at Eurofi “Strengthening our economic fabric: a competitive financial system for a sovereign Europe”

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to be back in Dublin. And to return to Eurofi, which remains a crucial forum for exchanging views on the challenges that are defining Europe and the world of finance.

The world has continued to grow more complex, more contested, and less predictable since we last met. We find ourselves in a new age of polycrisis, where turbulence overlaps and compounds so that the whole becomes even more severe than the sum of its parts.

Relentless and shameless Russian aggression in Ukraine. Conflict in the Middle East. Geopolitical tension. Energy shocks. Rapid technological change. I could go on. 

It brings to mind the words of Ireland's most celebrated poets. More than a century ago, Yeats wrote: "… the world is full of troubles, And is anxious in its sleep."

Now, we know that Europe cannot control all the forces troubling our world. But it does not mean that we are without agency. We can — and we must — take action to seize the  opportunities that this new age presents, and overcome its most adverse impacts.

That is the only way to guarantee our long-term prosperity and security.

We know that macroeconomic stability and sustained growth are the essential foundations upon which this more prosperous and secure Europe will be built. Laying this foundation demands that we create a more competitive European economy.

Ladies and gentlemen, the European Commission has placed competitiveness on top of its policy agenda. Over the course of the last two years, we have cut red tape, deepened our Single Market, and strengthened our trade network. Much has been done. While much more remains to be done.

Looking ahead, our competitiveness agenda will demand continued consistent and determined efforts on all fronts and at all levels. Creating a stronger overall economic fabric will depend on weaving many different threads together.