The leaders of Belgium, Germany and Italy called on Monday for a mechanism that would let EU governments halt new legislation from Brussels they perceive as too burdensome for the bloc’s own countries and businesses.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made the proposal in a letter to European Council President António Costa, according to Politico after reviewing the document. Such an “emergency brake” could be needed to help restore the bloc’s weakening economic competitiveness, they argued.
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“We call for further ambitious simplification packages to decisively advance the cutting of red tape in the European Union,” the leaders wrote.
What the leaders propose
Besides the emergency brake, the letter calls on the EU to “significantly accelerate planning and approval procedures.” A new priority rule, as they describe it, is also proposed, under which certain regulatory areas would be suspended “for a specified period.”
The three leaders said the European Commission should ease regulatory pressure on small and medium-sized enterprises.
“More broadly, our common objective should be to prevent unnecessary regulatory burdens and related costs from causing permanent losses of European industrial capacity and further weakening investment and competitiveness,” the letter says, though they did not specify how the proposed emergency brake would work in practice nor which body would trigger it.
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Ahead of the EU summit
The letter comes three days before EU leaders are expected to gather in Brussels for a two-day European Commission summit on Oct. 15-16.
The first item on the provisional agenda is Europe’s economy, including competitiveness and energy prices. The discussions will also include Ukraine’s financing, particularly the EU’s next long term-budget, spanning over the 2027-2034.
According to Politico, the proposal repeats demands first raised in March, after a summit focused on European competitiveness. It also comes amid worsening signs for the EU’s industrial sector.
Why it matters
Under the EU’s ordinary legislative procedure, the European Commission proposes laws, which are then adopted jointly by member state governments in the Council of the EU and by the European Parliament.
A mechanism allowing national governments to stop legislation on cost grounds would add a new check to that process. Because the letter leaves the details open, it remains unclear how far the proposal would shift power toward national capitals.
The proposal also carries political weight. Germany and Italy are two of the EU’s three largest economies. Their joint push makes regulatory simplification a central issue for this week’s summit, alongside the long-term budget and energy prices.
The debate coincides with a step forward in Ukraine’s EU membership bid as well.
Separately on Monday, all 27 member states agreed to open two new accession clusters with Ukraine and Moldova after Kyiv adopted a minority education law that Hungary demanded in exchange for lifting its veto.
Cluster 2, the internal market, and Cluster 3, competitiveness and inclusive growth, are among six thematic clusters that organize the legal and institutional reforms that must be adopted and implemented before being eligible to join the EU.
The process was blocked for both countries by Hungary for several months, as their process remains intertwined.
The letter comes on the same day the EU approved the 22nd sanctions package, covering 1,646 new sanctions targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex, including missile supply chains, drone makers, and submarine shipyards.
Italy has previously objected to several EU sanctions, including a visa ban on Russian combatants that are, in any way, connected to the war in Ukraine.
On Aug. 28, Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov accepted Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto’s invitation to serve as an adviser on defense innovation.
Crosetto previously said Italy would not contribute funds to NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), which finances purchases of US-made weapons for Ukraine.
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