Europe needs to make more long-term investments: Eurogroup President

European companies need long-term investments to remain innovative, and expand the competitive advantage, President of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem said at the European Business Summit on Thursday.

Top officials of the European Union (EU) and more than 2,000 participants from business sectors gathered here for a two-day meeting to debate Europe's future as the continent is faced with tough challenges, including migrant crisis, debt crisis and Britain's upcoming EU membership referendum.

Europe's economic growth will be buoyed by increasing stability in the Eurozone. As progress is made towards putting Greece on the path to recovery and other countries show increasing determination to implement structural reforms, Europe appears to be moving in the right direction.

However, Dijsselbloem said many European businesses were preoccupied with the short-term vision. "They are preoccupied with keeping their shareholders satisfied in the short run. And spent too little time on their long-term prospects, too little time on competitiveness and innovation for the long run."

He expressed concerns that this short-term visions holds back the investment levels in Europe and holds back long-term growth and growth in jobs.

"So one of our biggest challenges is to ensure companies redirect a good amount of their attention from the next quarter to the next decade," he said.

He encouraged the companies to "invest in time and in the right way,"though that may reduce cash flows and dividends in the short term.

To promote the shift towards the long term and to encourage long-term investments, Dijsselbloem called on big businesses to stop publishing their quarterly figures.

"I don't mean you should stop informing. I mean to shift the emphasis away from quarterly results," he explained.

He said the governments also face this challenge. "We levy taxes today and ask our 'shareholders' - the electorate - to allow us to invest in education and roads, " he said.

The present recovery in European countries is slow and fragile. More effort is needed to complete economic and monetary union. The Eurozone needs to be reformed and strengthened, in order to make it more resilient in the face of future shocks. High unemployment and anemic growth have dampened enthusiasm for the European project everywhere.

As the President of the Eurogroup, Dijsselbloem said the EU governments need to built a stable foundation to increase long-term investments.

"To create a stable environment, governments needed to get their budgets on a sustainable path and countries needed growth-enhancing structural reforms," he said, noting that many eurozone governments have delivered in this regard.

To increase long-term investments, he said the EU needs to establish a business climate with a level playing field, a stable and clear policy environment, business-friendly banks and well functioning capital markets.

"And companies need to invest. With information that reflects a realistic ambition. With remuneration that reflects the interest of the firm."

"And with focus on the next decade rather than next quarter," he said. Enditem