On January 29th 2025 the European Commission presented the Competitiveness Compass, the first major initiative of this mandate providing a strategic framework to steer the Commission’s work. The Competitiveness Compass establishes competitiveness as one of the EU’s overarching principles for action. The Compass sets a path for Europe to become the place where future technologies, services, and clean products are invented, manufactured, and put on the market, while being the first continent to become climate-neutral. The Compass is composed of three transformational imperatives to boost competitiveness: innovation, decarbonisation and security.
With regard to closing the innovation gap, the EC will propose “AI Gigafactories” and “Apply AI” initiatives to drive development and industrial adoption of AI in key sectors. It will table action plans for advanced materials, quantum, biotech, robotics and space technologies.
In the decarbonisation respect, an Affordable Energy Action Plan will help bring down energy prices and costs, while an Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act will extend accelerated permitting to sectors in transition.
The Compass refers to a new range of Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships to help secure supply of raw materials, clean energy, sustainable transport fuels, and clean tech from across the world. Within the internal market, the review of the Public Procurement rules will allow for the introduction of a European preference in public procurement for critical sectors and technologies.
The three pillars are complemented by five horizontal enablers, which are essential to underpin competitiveness across all sectors: simplification, lowering barriers to the Single Market, financing competitiveness, promoting skills and quality jobs, better coordination of policies at EU and national level.
>> Read more atec.europa.eu/commission
