Examining the EU's Competitiveness Agenda — through a social lens

The European Centre for Workers' Questions (EZA) convened its annual Brussels Conference on Tuesday (18 February), focusing on "The EU's Competitiveness Agenda: What's at Stake for Workers and Society?"

The event brought together trade unionists, members of workers' organisations, NGO representatives, policymakers, employers and researchers to critically discuss the European Commission's competitiveness agenda and its broader social implications.

Opening remarks and keynote address

EU Commission executive vice-president Roxana Mînzatu delivered the opening address, outlining the commission's strategies for aligning economic growth with social welfare.

"It is my responsibility to ensure that our strategy to boost the EU’s competitiveness does not come at the expense of workers," she stated. She also provided an overview of the commission’s upcoming social policy initiatives.

The commissioner also recalled her commitment to further strengthening social dialogue and highlighted her willingness to cooperate with trade unions.

In his introductory remarks, EZA co-president Piergiorgio Sciacqua emphasised EZA’s founding values — common good and social justice — as essential criteria for assessing the EU’s competitiveness-driven initiatives.

Given the current international environment, he urged the EU to take a proactive role in shaping policies that balance economic growth with social responsibility.

Professor Simona Beretta from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan delivered the keynote speech, presenting a Christian perspective on competitiveness.

She stressed that economic growth must serve human dignity and the common good, rather than being an end in itself. "Even if competitiveness is often presented as a means to achieve higher goals, the idea that efficiency is a prerequisite for justice must be rejected," she argued. Ethical considerations must not come as an afterthought, she added: "How we compete and why we compete matters."

Panel discussions

The conference featured three in-depth panel discussions addressing key challenges in the EU's competitiveness agenda:

1. Simplification or Social Erosion? Unpacking the Costs of Cutting Red Tape

This panel examined the potential social costs of the EU’s regulatory simplification efforts. Associate professor Brigitte Pircher from Södertörn University presented key findings from her report, "EU Better Regulation: Creating a Playing Field for Businesses at the Expense of Social and Environmental Policies."

Maxime Cerutti, director of social affairs at BusinessEurope, shared insights from the business community, while Jan Pieter Daems, from the Dutch Christian National Trade Union Federation (CNV), emphasised the workers’ perspective.

Daems told the conference: "Unions take the concerns of the business community seriously, but these concerns were already taken into account during the discussions and adoption of the acts that they now want to simplify. We do not need less, but better regulations."

2. Huge Investment Needs, Rigid Fiscal Rules: The EU’s Risky Bet on Private Capital

This panel focused on the EU’s reliance on private capital to meet significant investment needs. Andrea Beltramello, head of unit for capital markets union at the European Commission’s DG FISMA, and Thierry Philipponnat, chief economist at Finance Watch, discussed the EU’s investment gap and the commission’s flagship initiative to reduce it: the completion of the Capital Markets Union (CMU).

The panelists discussed the difference between using private rather than public capital to achieve social and environmental objectives, the risks associated with an EU-wide CMU, the need for better coordination among EU member states to prevent a race to the bottom in the taxation of capital, and alternative approaches to finance public goods.

Philipponnat: "Private capital will never replace public money. The two operate under entirely different logics: while public money can be allocated where there is societal need, private money flows only where sufficient profits can be made. That’s not good or bad — it’s just the way it works."

3. Empowering Workers, Driving Innovation: Skills in a Competitive Europe

This panel addressed the critical role of skills development in fostering both competitiveness and social inclusion.

Speakers included Irene Wintermayr, policy officer at the ILO Office for the EU and Benelux countries, and Sofie Mols, director of innovation and internationalisation at Thomas More University of Applied Sciences in Antwerp.

The discussion highlighted the importance of lifelong learning and the need for stronger alignment between education and industry demands to close Europe’s skills gap.

Mols told participants: "In this world of rapid change, lifelong learning is the answer to build skilled and resilient workers."

Concluding insights

German MEP Dennis Radtke (of the centre-right European People's Party) delivered final reflections, criticising the slow pace of EU decision-making for instance on state aid for struggling steel companies in Germany, while simultaneously recognising the need to cutting bureaucracy in a non-dogmatic way.

He advocated for a social market economy rather than disruptive policy initiatives akin to those championed by figures like Elon Musk.

EZA president Luc Van den Brande concluded the conference by reaffirming EZA’s commitment to ensuring that the EU’s competitiveness agenda serves social justice, solidarity, and the common good while respecting the principles of subsidiarity. He also underscored the importance of social dialogue in shaping future policies.