European Commission Vice-President Teresa Ribera emphasized in an interview with Financial Times on Thursday that the EU would focus on simplifying regulations rather than deregulating to enhance competitiveness amidst rising US economic nationalism under Donald Trump.
"The engagement is not to deregulate, but to simplify," Ribera stressed during the interview, highlighting the need to streamline EU rules to reduce redundancy and administrative delays across member states.
Ribera further argued that predictability is crucial for businesses, particularly in areas like the EU's 2035 ban on new petrol vehicles. She also proposed changes to EU merger rules to allow faster approvals for less complex cases, enabling authorities to concentrate on significant transactions.