01 April 2023
The representatives of the business community participating in the 34th edition of the Workshop "The Outlook for Economy and Finance" organized by The European House - Ambrosetti, commented on current and future challenges for Europe with a poll on Saturday, April 1, 2023.
With regards to their confidence in the European institutions in light of how they are handling the war in Ukraine, 51.3% responded that it "increased". For 27.6% it was "unchanged", while for 21.1% it "decreased".
On the strengthening or weakening of the European Union in the coming years, the audience is divided: if 39.3% responded that "the EU plays a secondary role compared to other world actors (US, China, etc.)", 37.1% believe that the EU "will be stronger".
On the monetary policy of the ECB in the face of rising inflation, 41.3% of the participants considered that it was "too restrictive", while for 40% "it was rapid, but has not yet produced the expected effects". For 13.8% it "must continue in this direction for a prolonged period".
As for the ECB’s performance, 47.3% considered it "barely sufficient" and only 26.4% considered it "positive", with a significant drop compared to 2022, when the positive opinion was expressed by 45.7% of them. 17.6% consider its performances to be "negative" (in 2022 it was 7.1%). And there is a percentage of 7.7% that has a "very negative" perception (in 2022 it was 1.4%).
When asked about energy transition policy in Europe, 78.1% of the audience believes it should be "accelerated". 14.6% believe that "it will have to continue at the same pace as before the crisis", while only 7.3% think it should be "slowed down".
On the priorities for the EU, 39.5% believe that we need "more common policies, starting with taxation". 16.1% want "more European federalism", while 14.8% expect "more convergence among member countries". 13.6% consider that a "more effective governance is needed, even extended" and 16.3% think that the current priorities are enough.