Leaders from 19 European Union countries have urged the bloc to launch a new drive to “review, reduce and restrain” legislation to make the EU more economically competitive, in a letter addressed to the president of the European Council.

The letter, signed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni among others, highlights the need for significant change.

“We want to preserve the European Union for what it stands for – freedom, security and prosperity. To do this, we must change its course. Not just a little but substantially,”

the letter says, ahead of an EU summit in Brussels this Thursday.