European Council - Photo © European Union 2026

During yesterday’s European Council, EU leaders met to discuss the new energy shock hitting Europe, with some of them looking towards deregulation measures and major changes to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) as possible solutions.

“The role of SME employers as creators of economic prosperity, quality jobs, and social cohesion must be fully and better recognised”, stated SMEunited President Petri Salminen at the Tripartite Social Summit.

At today’s Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee vote in the European Parliament on the omnibus regulation on EU corporate sustainability laws, both the content of the final agreement, and the political manoeuvring that led to it, point to a deeply concerning process that casts aside the best interest of EU’s nature, climate, and human rights.

“The Apply AI Strategy rightfully highlights that only 12.6% of SMEs use AI technologies. The Strategy’s ambition to boost AI uptake among SMEs is a step in the right direction, that will need to be supported by concrete measures to ensure that Europe’s SMEs can access, trust, and benefit from AI” reacted SMEunited President Petri Salminen.

Today, National Ministers discussed how to end the use of unjustified territorial supply constraints during the Competitiveness Council. Territorial supply constraints increase prices and limit product choice, meaning some consumers are paying more than others across the EU.