From farming to Industry... Concept note

Hungary took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union at a time of extraordinary circumstances and challenges, including to start the implementation of the Strategic Agenda 2024–2029.

The adoption of a New European Competitiveness Deal is a key priority of both the Hungarian Presidency, of EESC/Gr1 and the next EU institutions in order to restore economic development, deepen the internal market, focus on supporting MSMEs, promote the green and digital transition in partnership with European economic stakeholders and citizens, international cooperation, and ensure the stability of jobs.

The issue should be addressed in a complex manner, involving EU business operators in the consultations, with a view to establishing a New European Competitiveness Deal. It is intended to explore the need for targeted, European-level set of intervention to strengthen the competitiveness of businesses, by a new common industrial strategy.

Following the past years’ crisis phenomena, it became clear that, on one hand, the traditional indicators of competitiveness (productivity, efficiency) have to be supplemented by additional new components like sustainability, smartness and security. The agri-food chain, from ’farm-to-fork’, including short-chain commercialization is on an eminent place in this respect. The first panel is dedicated to survey this spectrum.

On the other side, the new targeted pro-competitiveness industrial policy has to start from identifying the most efficient and supportive intervention areas of the competitiveness drivers: i.e. the single/common market; access to key resources (raw materials, water, energy, skilled human, data, finance, connectivity); R&D&I; policy/legislative framework. Its most actual challenges will be identified and addressed in the second panel.

The European manufacturing ecosystem of net-zero energy technologies should be reinforced, including by stimulating investment, facilitating market access for new technologies and implementing skills and innovation programmes. Efforts to ensure secure and adequate access to key resources like clean energy at competitive prices in the internal market, by building a solid energetical architecture, will be central to better positioning the industrial strengths of the EU during the transition.

It is critically important to strengthen the global positions of European science, research, and innovation and to re-establish the EU as a major player in the innovation and technological competition. This requires addressing the deficiencies in the functioning of the European innovation system and value chain, the ’lab-to-fab’. it will be examined the possibility of establishing a new innovation and research partnership on the circular and bioeconomy, also planned to adopt Council Conclusions regarding advanced materials.

THE EESC EMPLOYERS’ GROUP – We make the voice of business heard at European level.

The Employers' Group (Group I) brings together over 100 entrepreneurs and representatives of business associations from every EU Member State representing more than 20 million European companies – big and small and working in a vast array of business sectors, from industry to retail and from agriculture to services. Our members are active in the business world and bring the day-to-day reality of business in all EU Member States to the European level. They are genuinely committed to putting their own experience to good use to further the European project