The new European Commission will focus on innovation and economic security

Ursula von der Leyen, among other things, announced a set of actions to preserve the competitiveness of the EU

The new European Commission, which will begin work on December 1, will focus on attracting investment, and the first major initiative will be a “competitiveness compass” for the bloc. This was announced in her speech by EC President Ursula von der Leyen, the institution said in a statement.

The set of actions, which the EC President called the “compass of competitiveness,” will be built on three pillars of Draghi’s report.

“The first is closing the innovation gap with the US and China. The second is a joint plan for decarbonisation and competitiveness. And the third is increasing security and reducing dependencies,” she explained.

In particular, Ursula von der Leyen reminded that almost five years ago the EU launched the European Green Deal. According to her, the bloc has and will continue to pursue its goals. However, to succeed in this transition, the EU needs to be more flexible and better support people and businesses.

“And we need to play to our traditional strengths – our industries and SMEs, our innovators and our workers. This is why we will put forward the Clean Industrial Deal within the first 100 days of the mandate,” the EC President said.

The three pillars of the “compass of competitiveness,” von der Leyen noted, will require a new approach to policy coordination, a significant increase in investment and simplification of procedures.

According to the EC President, public investment will, of course, be crucial.

“But our budget is often too complex – funding the same thing in different programmes and in different ways. We must be much more focused on investing in our priorities,” she said.

Ursula von der Leyen also emphasized the need to increase private investment. Business spending on research and development in Europe amounts to about 1.3% of GDP, compared to 1.9% in China and 2.4% in the United States. The lack of private capital, according to the EC President, is the main reason for the lag in overall R&D spending and, consequently, in innovation. Therefore, the new EC proposes a European Savings and Investment Union, which will help European companies find the capital they need in Europe.

In addition, the EU President emphasized the need to simplify the regulatory burden for companies to reduce the burden on business.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the European Steel Association (EUROFER) warns that a robust action plan for the steel industry under the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal cannot wait, as the delay threatens the value chain in the bloc.