State Secretary Andreja Metelko-Zgombić participated in the informal meeting of the General Affairs Council held on September 3 in Budapest. The main topic of the meeting was the competitiveness of the European Union as one of the priority topics of the ongoing Hungarian presidency of the EU Council and one of the key priorities of the EU's new Strategic Program for the period 2024-2029.
In the first part of the meeting, discussions focused on strengthening competitiveness and the rule of law through better regulation, with an emphasis on impact assessments and public consultations with stakeholders. In the context of the importance of better regulation for enhancing European competitiveness, and new challenges such as the green and digital transitions, Metelko-Zgombić highlighted the significance and need for reducing excessive regulatory and administrative burdens, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as farmers. She emphasized the importance of high-quality, timely, and thorough impact assessments, including competitiveness checks. Special attention should be given to assessing the impact of EU regulations on individual member states, as well as regions and sectors that could be particularly affected, and considering the cumulative effects of regulations, the state secretary noted.
In the second part of the meeting, three parallel panels were held, addressing various aspects important for strengthening European competitiveness, such as the new agreement on European industry, demographic changes, education, research and development, and public and private financing. In her intervention, Metelko-Zgombić underlined the importance Croatia places on demographic revitalization and human capital as key elements for the overall long-term competitiveness of the EU. In this context, she stated that a strategic approach is needed, integrating the issue of demographic revitalization into all economic, social, and investment policies, to create a framework for the "freedom to stay," alongside the already existing "freedoms of movement" within the EU. Stressing the importance of human capital for the competitiveness of the EU, she specifically highlighted the need for investment in education and skills, adapting labour market and education policies to the needs of the green and digital transitions, and increasing investment in research and development.
Metelko-Zgombić also reported on Croatia's national development priorities, through which the country addresses these issues, namely demographic revitalization, digital transformation, decarbonization, and education. She noted that all investments financed through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan align with these goals.
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