Europe’s Quest for Competitiveness

Our president, Zeljko Jovanovic, will make the opening remarks at this POLITICO Live event in Brussels on 19 May 2025.

Competitiveness and economic prosperity are set to be at the core of the EU’s next five-year agenda. In response to growing concerns over the economy, European Commission President von der Leyen laid out a Clean Industrial Deal and a Competitiveness Compass within the first 100 days of her mandate. These initiatives echo the EU leaders’ call for an integrated Single Market. A larger workforce and small businesses can be better leveraged to increase Europe’s competitive edge in a changing security context. 

Following the publication of Enrico Letta’s and Mario Draghi’s reports, the main question is how the next mandate will deliver on policy pledges with existing and new tools. 

Questions to be addressed include:

• How to make the bloc more competitive? What should be the Commission’s first priority?  

• What are the most pressing investments needs to fund the EU’s security as well as the digital and green transition in a competitive way? How will the “Competitiveness Fund” help to fund security, defence and the twin transition? Where will the money come from? 

• What can be done to ensure that small and medium size enterprises have better access to finance and in turn create an innovative landscape within the bloc? 

• What are the local ripple effects of this EU funding push for citizens in terms of increased skills and labor market participation? How to capitalize on the demographic change that Europe is facing to accelerate the twin transition? 

• What are the next steps for a more integrated Capital Markets Union recently rebranded by Von der Leyen as the “European Savings and Investments Union”? 

In the early stages of President von der Leyen’s second mandate, this POLITICO Live event will convene EU policymakers and economic experts to discuss how Europe can step up on the global scene to be more competitive and prosperous.