European Commission invites IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to College of Commissioners seminar on competitiveness

The European Commission announced that President Ursula von der Leyen has invited International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to attend a College of Commissioners seminar focused on Europe’s competitiveness agenda. The 4 February 2026 seminar is framed as a strategic discussion on strengthening the European Union’s competitive position in a rapidly changing global context. The exchanges are intended to feed into preparations for an informal retreat of EU leaders on 12 February 2026 on strengthening the EU single market in a new geoeconomic context. The Commission positioned the seminar within its broader first-year agenda that puts competitiveness and decarbonisation at the centre, citing the Clean Industrial Deal, a simplification agenda built around 10 omnibus packages with possible savings of EUR 12 billion per year for European companies, a startup and scale-up strategy, and a competitiveness fund, alongside proposals to double the budget of Horizon Europe and the launch of the Choose Europe programme. Looking ahead, the Commission signalled further work on financial services through the launch of the Savings and Investment Union and on reducing remaining single market barriers, including by proposing a “28th regime” (EU Inc.), alongside a trade agenda anchored in a network of trade agreements with 78 countries.