Ursula von der Leyen announced a resource plan of 470 billion euros

Von der Leyen highlighted four key factors affecting Europe’s competitiveness: finance, energy costs, labor and skills shortages, and trade. He emphasized that a system-level solution is needed to mobilize European private capital, and proposed the completion of the capital market union as a possible solution.

This could free up an additional €470 billion in private investment per year.

The president also touched on high energy costs, especially for energy-intensive industries, but expressed optimism about a possible drop in gas prices thanks to abundant LNG supplies.

To address labor and skills shortages, von der Leyen proposed a multifaceted approach, including training the unemployed, increasing women’s access to the labor market, flexible solutions for older workers, and attracting talent from outside the EU.

He also highlighted the importance of trade for Europe’s prosperity, stressing the need for a global level playing field and tools for managing excess capacity produced outside the EU.

“However, the shock effects of the crises of the past period are affecting Europe’s competitiveness. Many European industries have built their business models on supposedly cheap energy from Russia and trade with growing China. Today we are facing an illegal Russia and a China struggling with internal demand,” said the President of the European Commission. Later, he continued by saying that, in addition to geopolitics, other trends also affect the EU’s competitiveness. “Over the past decade, Europe’s labor productivity has grown by only 0.8% per year, compared to 1.1% in the United States. These trends can only be addressed by concerted efforts at both European and national levels. Therefore, restoring our competitiveness must be at the heart of the European economic agenda for 2024 and beyond. I am fully convinced that with the necessary stimuli we can start a new wave of European competitiveness,” he added.

Finally, von der Leyen expressed confidence that Europe will be able to overcome the challenges and maintain its global leadership in industry and innovation. He emphasized the importance of strategic policies and cooperation in restoring Europe’s competitive advantage. For this, the EU reform package has already been prepared, prepared by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta and the president of the Jacques Delors Institute, and which we dealt with in several of our articles.

Cover image source: EU