Europe Unlocked Welcomes the New Commission’s First Major Initiative for a Competitiveness Compass

Today’s confirmation of the new European Commission marks an inflection point for Europe’s economic future. The scale of the challenge is significant. However, provided the right policies are pursued, Europe’s economic fortunes may be reversed.

Commission President von der Leyen’s announcement of a Competitiveness Compass to boost investment, simplification, and skills signals a strong sense of purpose and urgency, positioning competitiveness at the heart of the new Commission’s policy platform. While promising, the success of this initiative hinges on empowering businesses to adapt, innovate, and grow.

Europe Unlocked’s 19 European business organisations recently issued a Call to Action for a new competitiveness deal for Europe. We are encouraged by EU leaders’ recent efforts to provide a vision to kickstart the continent’s productivity and conditions for our long-term prosperity.

Europe’s resilience and responsiveness will depend on firms having seamless access to markets and cutting-edge technologies – both within the EU and globally, where the majority of growth is happening. This means eliminating the barriers within the single market that still prevent businesses from benefiting from economies of scale to compete with firms from other regions.

Last month, EU leaders tasked the Commission with creating a comprehensive strategy to deepen the single market. This must make the EU a simpler, more attractive place to do business. By reducing fragmentation, maintaining competitive markets, and creating framework conditions for innovative firms, we can unlock the investment needed to thrive through the twin transition and strengthen our resilience and responsiveness to structural headwinds like a shrinking workforce and high energy costs.

Europe’s economic decline is not inevitable. But reversing the trend requires a renaissance of openness and market-driven economic development – a recipe that has proven its worth historically – rather than a reversion into command economies and economic isolationism.

This is not just a challenge; it’s an opportunity. The Commission’s response will define Europe’s place in the global economy for decades to come.