European businesses fear Trump’s deregulation will hurt investments

A new survey shows that most European businesses are worried about the impact of President Donald Trump’s deregulation efforts. The survey, conducted by BusinessEurope, indicates that 85.7% of member federations believe these U.S. policies will hurt investments in the European Union. The report was released just before EU leaders meet in Brussels. They plan to discuss the EU's declining competitiveness. BusinessEurope highlights that many businesses see excessive regulations as a bigger challenge than rising energy costs. Lucio Vinhas de Souza, the chief economist at BusinessEurope, explained that the investment climate in the EU has deteriorated due to increasing regulatory burdens. He noted that the EU's position for foreign investments has significantly weakened over the last seven years. The EU is trying to simplify regulations under President Ursula von der Leyen. However, Vinhas de Souza warns that the EU will implement these changes much slower than the U.S. He said the differences in speed between the two systems could make the EU's competitiveness problems even worse. BusinessEurope represents key business lobbies from EU member states and the UK. The group calls for urgent action to streamline regulations to boost investment in the EU.