Employers from 27 countries gathered in Luleå

The meeting, A competitive EU industry for a successful green transition, was organized by the EESC (EU Economic and Social Committee), together with the organizations Byggföretagen and Industriarbetsgivarna.

The background is concern that Europe's share of the global economy has been declining for some time and is expected to continue to decline. At the same time, the green transition gives Europe a chance to regain lost ground. How this happens depends on the competitiveness of businesses.

And business competitiveness is highly dependent on policy measures that create the right conditions for businesses to operate. Three areas in particular are in focus:

Regulation and taxation, which employers want to make more business-friendly. They also want to ensure that the EU's internal market really works as intended, with free movement and equal conditions for companies in different Member States. Companies also need access to energy, raw materials, labor, capital and data at competitive prices. The latter is important not least for the mining industry, the wind power industry and fossil-free plants.

For Luleå and Norrbotten, this means that another international meeting has ended up here during Sweden's presidency of the EU. And that the green transition in the north is again attracting international attention.

"We can show what is happening in northern Sweden. They are here now and we are happy about that. It is important not only for northern Sweden, or Sweden, but for the entire EU," says Erik Ranängen, local manager at Byggföretagen Norrbotten, one of the organizers of the meeting in Luleå.

Lennart Håkansson

editor@northswedenbusiness.com