At the European Economic and Social Committee’s April plenary, Maive Rute, the Commission’s Deputy Director-General for Internal Market, and Oliver Röpke, EESC President, highlighted that strengthening the EU’s competitiveness is key to increasing the growth and well-being of our economy and society.The EU has to act quickly and urgently if it wants to catch up and survive in the face of the excessive power of the world’s economic giants.