Competitiveness agenda, socialists and trade unions dump von der Leyen

Brussels – The European People’s Party rejoices, Socialists dump European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. As in politics, the rift opens up in the labour world: businesses satisfied, unions on the warpath. The EU executive’s competitiveness agenda (Competitiveness Compass) shakes up Europe, first and foremost at the political level. For from the benches of the Socialists (S&D) comes the rejection that smacks of new tensions over the alleged ‘Ursula majority’.

“The Compass for Competitiveness is not suitable for business,” thunders Iratxe Perez, president of the S&D Group. “It is not useful for companies, people, or the environment,” to the extent that, she criticises, “we have no guarantee that there will be no backtracking on environmental and social standards such as workers’ rights, climate neutrality, sustainability.” In short, “this communication is an ideologically biased and very selective interpretation of the Draghi and Letta reports.” 

Adding to the Socialists’ outcry is the censure of the La Sinistra group, which speaks of “new austerity,” and the criticism of the 5 Star Movement delegation, which speaks of an “empty box” and of “a soup of old neo-liberal recipes that have not worked for either the economy or the citizens already.” Valentina Palmisano reiterates: “Von der Leyen announces a different allocation of cohesion funds. In fact, they want to cut regional funds earmarked for health, schools, and infrastructure and divert them to strategic investments for industry.” Then there is the “no” to von der Leyen from Patriots for Europe and the Lega.

The Competitiveness Compass is here! An @EPPGroup priority. Our vision to boost EU competitiveness and cut red tape is becoming a reality, turning into action—a true game changer for Europe’s businesses! pic.twitter.com/QCT6UKSFSb

— Manfred Weber (@ManfredWeber) January 29, 2025

Von der Leyen’s EPP rallies around the chairwoman of the EU executive. Manfred Weber, president of the People’s Party, hails the Commission document as a “real turning point for European companies.” With the competitiveness agenda, “our vision of increasing EU competitiveness and cutting red tape is becoming a reality, turning into action.” 

The EPP’s moves thus risk alienating the Socialists from the alliance for the legislature, which is once again teetering and opening up scenarios that are anything but hypothetical since the populars have already proven that they can also do without the socialists, especially when it comes to questioning sustainability commitments. There is a possibility that von der Leyen will try to corner the centre-left allies, bolstered also by the support of the liberals. “We welcome the Competitiveness Compass, the actions to be taken so that the European Union can regain its competitive edge,” Renew Europe’s succinct but politically relevant assessment.

We welcome the #CompetitivenessCompass, actions to be taken so can regain its competitive edge.@jcf_liberal: “We urge the European Commission to act quickly & decisively towards a more competitive, innovative, integrated, & less complicated EU.”
https://t.co/Xgdg0OIw8J pic.twitter.com/rm9no5XTmc

— Renew Europe (@RenewEurope) January 29, 2025

The Greens are also willing to give von der Leyen credit, provided, however, that competitiveness does not mean dismantling the Green Deal. “The foundation of competitiveness is ensuring security for companies,” argues Anna Cavazzini, chair of the European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee. “Therefore, the reliable implementation of the regulations introduced over the past five years is indispensable for citizens, consumers, and businesses.”

Meanwhile, businesses rejoice. “Bringing a ship to its destination requires clear directions, and today’s Competitiveness Compass provides these coordinates,” argues Markus Beyrer, Director General of BusinessEurope, the association of European business confederations. Now, however, they are calling for “concrete and impactful actions that make meaningful changes for businesses” as a matter of urgency. A similar call comes from Stefan Pan, Confindustria’s Vice President for the European Union: “We welcome the competitiveness agenda. Now, the concrete contents of individual legislative acts must meet the ambitions of this agenda: only then will we be able to understand the real intentions of the new Commission.”

On the contrary, the European Trade Union Confederation, ETUC, makes it known that it “cannot support the Competitiveness Compass if it continues to undermine jobs, rights, and standards.” It specifically criticises “the explicit call for pension reforms based on longer working lives” and the proposed corporate scheme that would allow some companies to “operate outside of national labour law.” For Esther Lynch, secretary of ETUC, “this would be a recipe for disaster, and it threatens to undermine all labour law throughout Europe.”