Equality and the Competitiveness Agenda

Key points

The EESC:

• rejects the narrative that Europe must choose between equality and competitiveness, stressing that equality is both a fundamental EU value and a strategic economic asset that strengthens productivity, innovation, resilience and social cohesion;
• calls for the removal of barriers to employment, education, skills, entrepreneurship and leadership to become a central pillar of EU competitiveness policy, enabling Europe to mobilise its full talent base and respond to labour shortages and demographic change;
• advocates a European competitiveness model based on quality jobs, fair wage-setting, collective bargaining, lifelong learning and investment in human capital, in which prosperous companies, economic growth, social progress and equal opportunities reinforce one another;
• urges stronger action to close the gender pay and employment gaps, increase women’s participation in entrepreneurship, STEM and leadership, and fully implement the Pay Transparency Directive, while recognising affordable, accessible and high-quality childcare and long-term care as essential productive infrastructure;
• demands effective enforcement of disability rights and anti-discrimination legislation, including accessible workplaces, reasonable accommodation and inclusive recruitment, alongside active-ageing strategies that support longer, healthier and sustainable working lives;
• insists that equality be built into the digital and green transitions from the outset, with AI systems complying fully with the AI Act and anti-discrimination law and remaining subject to transparency, accountability and meaningful human oversight;
• stresses that social partners and organised civil society must be at the heart of competitiveness strategies, with collective bargaining and effective social dialogue supporting innovation, skills development, technological change and socially sustainable restructuring;
• warns that simplification must never become deregulation at the expense of equality, labour standards or fundamental rights, and calls for proportionate equality impact assessments, effective monitoring, appropriate data and practical support for SMEs to translate commitments into measurable results.