After years of managing crises that tested our foundations, across the European Union, there’s a renewed sense of purpose: Europe is back, and it means business.

Last year’s European elections saw a political shift that demanded a return to basics. First, people desire economic stability. They want systems that work, and which they understand — systems that simplify and do not complicate. They want Europe to make things easier, fairer and more straightforward.

Second, people want opportunity. They want jobs and a business environment that enables companies to innovate and grow. People believe in our European way but demand a renewed focus on ensuring prosperity and the economic growth that allows our way to deliver.

Third, people are desperate for a sense of security. They want to feel safe — that peace of mind that comes from knowing their children can go to school or walk down the street without fear. They want to know that if their countries face threats, their partners will step into the breach with them.

Our voters’ messages echoed loud and clear.

The European Parliament is to Europeans what the U.S. Congress is to Americans — the institution that represents its people. We have received and understood their concerns. Their agenda is our agenda, and that is precisely what we’re delivering on.

We started with a clear commitment to making ‘simplification’ a defining, cross- cutting feature of this term. This is not about doing less — it is about doing better. We are not lowering standards or removing safeguards. But we also know that where we can make things easier and more straightforward, we must. And where we need to correct and adapt to new realities, we should.

That’s what guided our decision to exempt 90 percent of importers from the European Union’s carbon tariff, to defer certain regulatory fines for the automotive industry, and suspend battery supply due diligence requirements to strengthen supply chains.

It’s the same thinking behind our decision to postpone the application of certain corporate sustainability requirements. In two weeks, the European Parliament will vote on adjusting the scope of these laws. That means around 85 percent of companies doing businesses in Europe, currently tied-up in red tape, will soon be freed from much of it.

And that’s exactly how it should go. If we want companies to invest in Europe — to innovate, grow and create jobs — we need to cut away unnecessary bureaucracy and give them a stable, predictable business environment.

Now, to be clear: none of this means closing ourselves off. Our global economic philosophy has always been about open, free and fair trade that benefits everyone. That is always preferable to some losing, and others losing a little bit less.

Earlier this year the United States and the European Union found common ground on a new trade deal. Our companies are as intertwined as our way of life. Together, the transatlantic economy generates 7.5 trillion dollars in commercial sales each year, supports 16 million jobs, and makes up one third of global GDP. The U.S.-EU economic relationship is the largest in the world and I don’t think we emphasize that enough.

The trade deal provides the stability companies on both sides of the Atlantic need to look ahead and invest with confidence. It sets our relationship off on a new footing, and we need to build on it.

Linked to this is energy. If Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine has taught us anything, it is: Energy is and will always be political. That is why the European Parliament voted to phase out all gas and oil imports from Russia, and why we have always insisted on doing business with partners we can trust.

We understand that in this new world, soft power must be backed by hard power. For too long, we leaned on others — especially the U.S. — for defense. It took a brutal wake-up call, but we understand the responsibility that we have for our own security, and we are acting.

Since 2021, European Union defense spending went up by more than 30 percent. European Union Member States in NATO are racing to meet the NATO defense target of 5 percent of GDP. We are investing more, producing more, and cooperating more. Europe really means business.

It has been a little over a year since the start of this legislature, and the European Parliament is already delivering. We know that complacency is no longer an option and we’re working to make things easier, fairer and safer. Our future prosperity and security depend on what we do now and the strength of this new transatlantic partnership that the U.S. and Europe are building together. These are the building blocks that will define our generation, and I know we will not be found wanting.

Roberta Metsola is president of the European Parliament.

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