The Budapest Declaration has placed emphasis on a new pact for the competitiveness of European companies, in order to consolidate Europe’s economic leadership. For some data, Europe is a single market of 440 million consumers and 23 million companies, which represent around 17% of global GDP. In geopolitical terms, it constitutes the most important exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 17 million square kilometers.
Europe, until now, has developed an economic model that is defined as open in that throughout its evolution it combines a high degree of internal competition with instruments aimed at eradicating poverty and distributing wealth.
Respect for human rights and low levels of inequality characterize the European social space, which the recent Draghi report (The future of the European competitiveness) proves that it is ten points above the USA, with a clear leadership in life expectancy; low infant mortality and high educational achievements with a third of adults – zoned – having completed higher education. The EU is also a world leader in sustainability and environmental standards and has made great progress towards the circular economy in the last term, supported by global decarbonisation goals.
All of this makes the European society and economy in which the legal control of rule of law It stands as an essential element, linked to the correct application of European values, such as the defense of democracy and human rights that are reflected in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of the Union, and in the most recent Charter of Digital Rights. (January 2023)
Europe, in the field of Civil Justice, focuses its objectives on laws (regulations) oriented towards the person and competitiveness. It also aspires to be a leader in the data economy and AI, subjects in which they develop medium-term strategies.
Since the Treaty of Amsterdam, more than 25 years ago, a Corpus iuris systematic aimed at improving access to Justice for European citizens in all areas: procedural, business or in the rules of applicable law aimed at improving the quality of life and free movement of people in matters of inheritance, food, family and recently filiation and protection of adults.
These civil foundations are not so evident today in digital areas, with the exception of contract law and non-contractual liability derived from AI, perhaps the greatest technological and legal challenge facing the EU after the publication of R. (EU) 2024 /1689.
The comprehensive implementation of the Digitalization Package (Digital Europe 2030) is a key element to improve the legal competitiveness of the European Union and its Member States, in line with the broader objectives of the e-Justice strategy.
The coherence of acquis requires special attention in the new scenario of digital transformation in Justice, both with respect to the rules already in application and new initiatives (filiation and international protection of adults).
In this context, the European Commission is currently developing a new common strategy in all its work areas aimed at improving the competitiveness of the European Union. Singularly, it considers that civil Justice should be a tool that allows achieving a greater degree of competitiveness compared to other powers or world areas.
The next JAI Council in December 2024 will analyze how Civil Justice can contribute to its improvement. A compromise is proposed that entails: a) paying attention to competitiveness considerations when negotiating instruments, including during tripartite dialogues; b) simplify and facilitate the drafting of EU law and eliminate duplications, discrepancies and inconsistencies; c) ensure the coherence of EU law on civil cooperation with legislative proposals in other areas of the Union; d) make greater efforts to guarantee more effective access to justice for all and improve mutual recognition by facilitating the execution of resolutions, taking into account the application of the jurisprudence of the CJEU.
It should be added that the speed in the resolution of conflicts and their execution must be increased, especially the latter in the extrajudicial sphere. And in addition to internal analysis, the multilateral approach is an essential element of international cooperation in the field of civil justice.
The EU is increasingly working closely with the key multilateral organizations in this field, namely: the Hague Conference on Private International Law, UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT, the Council of Europe and WIPO.
These reflections demonstrate – as was already made clear by the JHA Council in 2019 – that the uniform and effective application and compliance of current Union legislation must be prioritized, carrying out a comprehensive evaluation of its application and operation – for which they are especially useful instruments the judicial network and e-Justice–. Any new legislative initiative must be based on a detailed impact assessment that proves clear added value for citizens and businesses.
In short, the key is to guarantee legal certainty. A predictable legal environment is indispensable for economic competitiveness, providing better access to legal information, in view of the national characteristics of the Member States and the diverse constitutional and legal traditions.
Europe must legislate less and better; seek greater regulatory knowledge among operators and provide quick and effective solutions to possible conflicts, especially in the investment field.
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