Brussels -Taking a step back to move forward. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s strategy should face a reality test. However, the premises indicate a U-turn in every respect. This week (Jan. 29), the College of Commissioners will present the first part of the competitiveness agenda (competitiveness compass) — the policy document that will lead to the individual measures to reshape the Green Deal in the name of “simplification” in the sense business-friendly deregulation with all its uncertainties.
On Feb. 26, the Clean Industrial Deal, the Sustainable Industry Strategy, and the omnibus package will be unveiled. The latter measure will outline all the actions aimed at conducting the unprecedented simplification that von der Leyen advocates to boost European competitiveness. It responds to calls from politics and businesses to make the sustainability agenda more feasible. It reflects von der Leyen’s backtracking, partly disavowing her first mandate.
The far-reaching simplification is deemed necessary for sustainable reporting. The first Omnibus bill will include extensive simplification in sustainable financial reporting and the so-called ‘due diligence’ — the analysis required before signing contracts or undertaking economic activities. It loosens the restrictions on possible actions that risk undermining sustainability commitments. Less focus on the environment in exchange for economic acceleration.
Von der Leyen, however, is determined to move forward. Her change of pace began even before the elections when she promised and granted the agricultural sector compensation and a softening in EU policies. Now, it is the turn to respond to the secondary sector. The special roundtable with the automotive industry will immediately follow, possibly leading to changes on a halt to traditional engines and fines on companies that do not comply with anti-CO2 emission targets. The simplification measures will be announced on Jan. 29, while the strategic auto dialogue will be on Jan. 30: this is the schedule to change the agenda. The aim was to impose the Green Deal on industry. Now, industry is being imposed on the Green Deal. In this context, it is hard to imagine a scaling back of ambitions and intentions.
The work will not end in these weeks. Von der Leyen aims to keep the business-friendly promises by establishing a special competitiveness fund in the next Multi Financial Framework (MFF 2028-2034). Its approval and, more importantly, financial allocation will depend on the upcoming inter-institutional negotiations. One thing that seems sure is the creation of fast-track procedures in the clean-tech field. For projects in this area, funding and procurement can and should take priority in terms of allocation and approvals.
Steps backward for a Commission that acknowledges the desire to take a step back. With a country like France advocating the removal of significant pieces of the sustainability agenda, aligning with businesses and competing directly with the EPP — which has always positioned itself as the reference party for enterprises — and three-quarters of member states calling for simplification, moving in the opposite direction risks making the European legislature five years of institutional clashes. Von der Leyen wants competitiveness, not disputes or confrontation. Her Competitiveness Compass aims to achieve precisely this.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
