“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.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that they aim to close the innovation gap and put research at the center of the economy. She emphasized that start-ups in Europe face 27 different national barriers. Therefore, Ekaterina Zaharieva is to be appointed as the European Commission's first Commissioner for Start-Up, Research and Innovation.
It was announced that a common strategy for decarbonization and competitiveness is in place. The European Green Deal, signed nearly five years ago, sets out both the growth strategy and the roadmap to reach net zero. It was emphasized that more agile approaches need to be adopted and better support for people and businesses is needed to make this transition successful. It was also announced that a Clean Industry Deal is to be launched within the first 100 days in the office.
The third and final objective is to strengthen economic security and decrease dependencies. Within this objective, the importance of stable and secure supply chains was emphasized. Given global economic volatility and supply challenges, the robustness of these chains plays a critical role in economic sustainability. The demand for critical minerals, for which an increase is expected for the clean transition process, was highlighted by explaining that in the current management period, it doubled, and this momentum could be three times higher by the end of the next period.
von der Leyen also made these statements: “These are the three pillars of our Competitiveness Compass: innovation, decarbonisation and security. They will all require a new approach to coordinating our policies. And they will all need a major boost of investment, simplification and skills. Firstly, on the question of financing. This will have to be an investment Commission. Of course, public investment will be crucial. We have all seen what the budget can deliver for Europeans – whether for our citizens or businesses, our researchers or our farmers, our communities or our regions. 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…”
The European Commission is also reported to make things easier for companies for Europe to catch up. To reduce the pressure on businesses, it was stated that some regulations should be put in place in the rules, while it was emphasized that there should be legal regulations on the expectations for businesses.
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