The Chair of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), Sir Jonathan Symonds CBE, warned on Tuesday at the Forum Europa in Brussels that “energy insecurity” is “the most significant risk” currently facing businesses on the continent.

During his speech at this event organised by New Economy Forum in the EU capital, Symonds pointed out that energy is a major cause for concern for companies in the current geopolitical climate and must be treated as a priority issue to be resolved by EU institutions.

“No industrial strategy will survive if energy prices are not competitive,” said the head of the ERT, a lobby group comprising sixty major European multinationals.

The Chair of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), Sir Jonathan Symonds CBE, argued on Tuesday at the Forum Europa in Brussels for a “nuanced and sector-specific” approach to the EU’s trade policy with China, on the grounds that a one-size-fits-all tariff policy could have more negative consequences than benefits.

During his speech at this event organised by New Economy Forum in the EU capital, Symonds argued that “we must be very careful that, in trying to protect Europe, we do not inflict greater harm through retaliatory measures against China”.

For this reason, he said that the ERT does not have a blanket position on trade policy with China and prefers to take a sector-by-sector approach.

The president of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), Jonathan Symonds, called on Tuesday at the Forum Europa in Brussels for the EU to deliver without delay on the major promises contained in the "roadmap" presented by the European Commission during this legislative term, because "the clock is ticking" and Europe’s industrial base "is eroding day by day".

For the ERT, a lobby group comprising sixty major European multinationals, the new EU guidelines presented by the European Commission are sound but must be effectively implemented following proper monitoring to ensure this happens; otherwise, they will remain a “mere administrative list” of good intentions.

Iratxe García, MEP and chair of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, criticised the EU’s inaction regarding Gaza on Tuesday at the Fórum Europa in Brussels and once again called for the suspension of the Association Agreement with Israel.

García made these remarks at this briefing organised by Nueva Economía Fórum in the EU capital, where she criticised the EU’s lack of action in the face of the conflict in Gaza and denounced the “impunity” with which the Israeli government is acting.

Iratxe García, MEP and chair of the Social Democrats in the European Parliament, accused the PP on Tuesday at the Fórum Europa in Brussels of breaking the “traditional European alliance” by striking a deal with the “far right” and of using “fake news” to attack the government over the migration crisis affecting Ceuta.

García made these remarks at this briefing organised by Nueva Economía Fórum in the EU capital, where she accused the European People’s Party (EPP) of breaking the “traditional pro-European alliance” by negotiating and striking deals with the “far right”. The Socialist leader warned that there are insurmountable “red lines” when it comes to human rights and dignity, and said that if the EPP competes using the language of the far right, “we know who will win”.