EU leaders to set deadlines on bloc’s competitiveness push

European Union leaders will set multiple deadlines for a deeper single market, more capital for investments and a unified energy market, according to draft conclusions for a summit in November focused on the bloc's push to boost its competitiveness.

The leaders, who meet in Budapest on November 8, are responding to warnings that the European Union will fall behind the United States and China in the global tech race without rapid decisions and massive investment.

In draft conclusions seen by Reuters, which could change before or during the summit, the leaders will "stress the extreme urgency of decisive action" to meet a new geopolitical reality and increasingly complex challenges.

The leaders will ask the European Commission to present proposals by June 2025 to deepen the EU single market, one of the EU's greatest economic assets, but still beset by barriers,...