President Ursula von der Leyen has unveiled the European Commission’s strategy to enhance Europe’s competitiveness, transforming it into a hub for the invention, manufacturing, and market launch of future technologies, services, and eco-friendly products.
Known as the Competitiveness Compass, this plan outlines the Commission’s direction for the next five years. Initially announced by President von der Leyen in November, it translates Mario Draghi’s recommendations on European competitiveness into a concrete roadmap.
During a press conference, President von der Leyen emphasized Europe’s strong position to lead the global economy: “The European Union boasts a robust manufacturing and industrial base, a highly skilled workforce, a vast Single Market, the second-largest economy, a stable legal framework, and higher life expectancy with lower inequalities compared to our global competitors.”
However, she stressed the necessity for Europe to pivot from its reliance on inexpensive labor from China, cheap energy from Russia, and outsourced security, which has been the norm for the past two decades.
The Competitiveness Compass will spearhead this shift, focusing on three main action areas aligned with the Draghi Report’s pillars:
- Closing the innovation gap and boosting productivity by creating optimal conditions for innovative businesses, particularly start-ups, to flourish and scale up.
- President von der Leyen stated, “Europe’s industrial structure has become too stagnant, with insufficient emergence of start-ups with disruptive technologies. We need to reignite Europe’s innovation engine.”
Specific actions include the AI Factories initiative to help European AI start-ups train their models using the EU’s supercomputing power, and an Apply AI Strategy to increase AI use in sectors such as manufacturing and energy.
Additionally, the Commission will introduce targeted action plans for advanced materials, quantum technologies, biotechnology, robotics, and space technologies.
Source: European Commission