Rapporteur Talks

Competitiveness is at the heart of the EU’s agenda as it transitions toward a more sustainable economy. The Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Deal provide new direction to achieve this shift.

Circularity focuses on the entire life cycle of many products via material use reduction, product maintenance and servicing, as well as strategies such as reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling. These actions extend the life of materials, preserve value across supply chains, and minimise resource waste. A circular economy, with its potential to drive sustainable competitiveness, increase strategic autonomy and promote innovation, offers concrete solutions to some of the EU's most pressing industrial and environmental challenges.

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) aims to improve the circularity, energy performance, recyclability, and durability of products like textiles or steel and aluminum. While circularity policies are often framed around consumer products, industrial circularity presents a different set of challenges and opportunities. Consequently, stakeholders have raised concerns that the regulation does not currently differentiate between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) circularity needs.

To address these challenges, the European Commission is advancing other initiatives, including the Circular Economy Act and a revision of the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE). These aim to support the EU’s goals under the Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Deal to increase recycled material in the EU economy, particularly in areas like waste from electrical and electronic equipment.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to discuss the future of B2B circularity in the EU. Questions to be addressed include:

• What are the main issues faced by industry in becoming more circular? How can it be ensured that all resources are used?
• How can the EU address current regulatory gaps, including the need to distinguish between B2B and B2C circularity requirements?
• How effective is the ESPR in promoting circularity, and what improvements are needed?
• What policy tools can drive and encourage circularity across all industrial sectors? What role can industry play in shaping the next policy agenda?
• How will the Circular Economy Act strengthen existing EU initiatives?

The European Union’s ambitious climate goals demand a fundamental transition of its industrial base. As one of the most CO2-intensive industries, the steel sector stands at the forefront of this shift. Transitioning to climate neutrality presents significant challenges but also offers an opportunity for Europe to lead globally in the production of low-emission steel while contributing to the continent’s economic resilience. Achieving this vision hinges on the creation of European lead markets, requiring targeted measures to integrate low-emission steel into steel-using sectors progressively. 

The Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS) represents a critical milestone. This labeling system for low-emission steel has the potential to become a game-changer, driving the establishment of lead markets for clean steel while fostering innovation, competitiveness, and sustainability throughout the value chain. 
In collaboration with our media partner Euractiv, this high-level event will bring together policymakers, industry leaders, standardization bodies, and civil society to explore how robust labeling frameworks can stimulate demand for low-emission steel. Discussions will focus on the role of harmonized standards in ensuring transparency, building consumer trust, and enabling public and private procurement practices that reward climate-friendly solutions. 

Key topics include the current political landscape, the design and implementation of effective labeling systems such as LESS, and their potential to accelerate investments in breakthrough technologies. The event will also address challenges such as certification, traceability, and alignment with international markets. 

Don’t miss this opportunity to shape the future of Europe’s steel industry and its pivotal role in achieving climate neutrality. 

As part of its efforts to increase European competitiveness, the European Commission adopted a simplification package, the Omnibus I, in February 2025. This covers several areas, such as sustainable finance rules, due diligence reporting and the carbon border adjustment mechanism, among others. Decided under the previous Commission term, they are already being reviewed under the guise of competitiveness of European industry.

One of the regulations included in the package, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), mandates companies to report on their sustainability impacts, risks and opportunities on a yearly basis, and for that report to be audited by an independent third party.

Several companies that have reported this year under the current CSRD argue that the practices of the authorised audit firms have made reporting too extensive and complex, and therefore too expensive and not time-efficient internally, on top of not always focusing on the most material elements of a company’s sustainability footprint. In this quest for overall simplification of the Directive, some stakeholders are calling for auditing requirements to also be streamlined.

One issue that stakeholders see with the current transposition of CSRD is that less than a quarter of EU Member States authorise Independent Assurance Service Providers (IASPs), which results in a highly concentrated market around a small amount of authorised companies. By opening the market to IASPs, companies in scope will have access to a wider range of assurance providers. This can lead to making specialised expertise more accessible, especially for smaller companies that will be in scope of the CSRD in 2029, thus lowering the cost and burden of compliance, without lowering the ambition and effectiveness of the Directive.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to discuss how the simplification of sustainability reporting and assurance can become a reality and an opportunity for EU competitiveness. Questions to be addressed include:
- What impact does sustainability reporting have on investment levels?
- What makes double materiality reporting essential?
- What are the benefits of opening the market to IASPs?
- How can the European Commission best review the concentration of the assurance market and ensure diversification?
- What could be the ideal guidelines for companies to conduct voluntary reporting and assurance, so that it remains affordable for organisations of all sizes?
- What are some concrete examples of the ways in which the revision of CSRD can strengthen Europe’s economy? How do these compete on an international level?

With the world on track to 3°C of warming by the end of this century, the scientific community and a growing number of institutions are exploring climate technologies that could reduce the worst impacts of global warming.

These include Solar Radiation Modification (SRM): intentional, large-scale approaches designed to cool the planet by enhancing the reflection of sunlight back into space. They are not a substitute for emissions reductions, but could potentially help manage the consequences of a significantly warmer world, including widespread crop failures, the collapse of critical ecosystems, the inundation of low-lying nations, and the intensification of climate-driven conflict and displacement.

Some have called them 'technologies of desperation' – an idea that only exists because of persistent delays in mitigation efforts.

While deployment is not currently an option - due to serious environmental, social, ethical, and geopolitical concerns - public research in this field remains underfunded, especially in the EU. This gap is opening the door for private capital to step in, often without the transparency or public oversight of such sensitive work demands. Without public funding, the EU risks limiting its ability to build in-house expertise needed to shape the science and influence the crucial international governance decisions that will eventually need to be made.

In late 2024, the EU’s Chief Scientific Advisors, at the request of the European Commission, released an opinion on SRM, recommending that European institutions support responsible and comprehensive research, including on risks and side-effects. Ideally, such research should be backed by public funding that is additional to funding dedicated to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

But this idea is controversial. Critics warn that it could undermine mitigation and adaptation efforts or lead us down a slippery slope toward eventual deployment. Others argue that, without a clear governance framework, we risk having SRM research that is fragmented, opaque, and potentially irresponsible, often led by unaccountable private actors.

A well-defined set of rules could ensure that research remains transparent, accountable, and firmly separated from any premature push for deployment, while keeping the focus squarely on urgent climate action.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference for a discussion on the scientific, ethical, and political dimensions of Solar Radiation Modification research. Together with leading experts and policymakers, we’ll explore:

- What is SRM, what might it offer in the future, and why is it so controversial?
- Could SRM shift global power dynamics, and how can the EU position itself to lead in shaping global rules and safeguards?
- Where are the biggest knowledge gaps and how can public research help fill them, transparently and ethically?
- What would responsible SRM research look like?
- How do we get it right for future generations, ensuring that today’s decisions don’t create tomorrow’s regrets?

The European Commission highlights that nearly half of EU adults still lack basic digital skills, even though 90% of jobs now require them, posing a major challenge to Europe’s economic competitiveness. Digital skills are essential for daily life, advancing STEM learning, and enabling active, informed citizenship. Demand is growing for competencies in cybersecurity, AI, and digital collaboration, especially with the rise of remote work and online communication.

This year, the Commission published a communication on the Action Plan on Basic Skills and the Union of Skills, setting out key actions. To boost digital skills across Europe, it will update the Digital Competence Framework in 2025 to include emerging technologies like AI, develop guidelines to strengthen digital literacy in vocational education and training (VET), and create a toolkit to integrate basic skills into apprenticeships. The Commission will also promote high-quality teaching materials through EU Code Week and develop EU-wide best practices by 2026 for assessing digital skills in schools to ensure consistent evaluation.

Following the midway point of the Digital Education Action Plan adopted in 2020, the Commission will present a 2030 Roadmap in 2025 to promote equal access to digital education, support AI literacy, and build long-term partnerships with EU-based EdTech providers. Separately, it will implement a STEM Education Strategic Plan to encourage more students, especially girls and women, to pursue STEM studies and careers, while using Erasmus+, the Digital Europe Programme, and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) to establish transnational university-business partnerships to train people in sectors with severe skills gaps.

In the run up to EU Code Week 2025, which will take place from 11-26 October, join this Euractiv Virtual Conference to take stock of the Digital Education Action Plan just after its halfway mark and explore what’s next for digital skills in Europe. Some questions to be discussed include:

– What does examining the Digital Education Action Plan at its midway point reveal about its successes and challenges? What will be the focus for the second half?
– What should the 2025 update of the Digital Competence Framework include to reflect emerging technologies and support digital skills development?
– What role do digital skills play in improving the EU’s global competitiveness, and which sectors could benefit most from stronger digital capacities?
– Is current EU action enough to close the digital skills gap, or is more legislation and investment needed, and if so, on which areas should it focus?

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

How can young people help shape policies for a healthy, sustainable ocean? That was the question at the heart of the EU4Ocean Coalition’s 2024 Challenge of the Year. Xhoi Zajmi from Euractiv, Nina Dietz and Jan Feuring from Young Citizens’ Council for the Ocean – one of the winning projects bringing fresh energy and bold ideas to the future of ocean governance – delve into the most pressing issues related to our oceans.

In this Euractiv Thought Leadership Interview, journalist Dave Keating sits down with Javier Silva, Head of Sustainability and Community Relations at SQM, one of the world’s largest lithium producers. Javier discusses Chile's pivotal role in the global lithium supply, the unique challenges of operating in the Atacama Desert, and SQM’s evolving approach to sustainability and social responsibility.

The conversation dives deep into:
- How lithium is extracted sustainably from the Salar de Atacama
- SQM’s community outreach efforts and long-term partnerships with indigenous communities
- Addressing water use and environmental concerns in one of the driest places on Earth
- Empowering indigenous women through the AMA project
- Building trust, transparency, and international cooperation with the EU
- Planning for a future beyond mining for local communities

Javier emphasizes the importance of genuine relationships, co-created programs, and respectful engagement, offering a compelling look at how the future of clean energy must also be socially and ethically responsible.

In this podcast episode, part of our Project EUYou, Euractiv's host Christoph Schwaiger speaks with Dr. László Andor, former EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (2010-2014) and Secretary General of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies. They explore Hungary’s complex relationship with EU cohesion funds, the impact of rule of law concerns on funding access, and how political shifts - like a potential government change - could reshape Hungary's future within the EU. From suspended investments to broader implications for democracy and economic growth, the discussion highlights what's at stake for both Hungary and the European Union.

Europe’s bioeconomy transforms renewable resources—such as agricultural products, forests, seas, residues, and waste—into food, feed, materials, and energy.

The European Commission is preparing a new Bioeconomy Strategy, set for adoption by the end of 2025, to boost innovation and strengthen Europe’s bioeconomy. The strategy is expected to outline measures that will help bring bioeconomy innovations to market, creating new opportunities for green jobs and sustainable economic development.

A key focus of the strategy will be enhancing circularity and sustainability while supporting the EU’s broader decarbonisation efforts. It will establish the necessary framework conditions to support bioeconomy startups, entrepreneurs, and new business models, ensuring they can thrive in a competitive market.

By aligning with major EU initiatives such as the Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Deal, the strategy will harness the potential of the bioeconomy to support European businesses and advance the EU’s environmental, climate, and competitiveness goals.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to discuss the upcoming Bioeconomy Strategy, its potential to drive sustainable economic growth, support innovation, and strengthen Europe’s green transition. Some questions to discuss include:

- What policy measures are needed to accelerate bioeconomy innovation?
- How can the strategy help businesses scale up and compete globally?
- What gaps and challenges should be addressed to unlock the full potential of Europe’s bioeconomy?

In its 2019 Green Deal, the EU emphasised the importance of domestic electric vehicle (EV) battery production to achieve the energy transition while fostering a competitive and sustainable battery value chain. The goal is to scale up domestic EV battery production and establish a fully integrated value chain within the EU. While significant progress has been made, the reality today shows that the EU is still far from fully achieving these objectives.

The 2024 Draghi Report, along with the European Commission’s newly introduced Competitiveness Compass for the EU, highlights key challenges facing Europe’s sustainable growth and global competitiveness. These include slower productivity growth compared to other regions and the disruptive impact of emerging technologies. The report identifies three key areas for action: closing the innovation gap, advancing a competitive decarbonisation strategy, and enhancing security by reducing external dependencies.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to explore the challenges facing the EU’s battery raw materials industry. Questions to be addressed include:

- What is the current state of industries supplying critical raw materials, such as cobalt, lithium, and nickel, for the EV battery value chain?
- Does the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass effectively address the industry's concerns? Where do the major challenges lie?
- What actions are needed to build a robust and resilient EU battery raw materials industry?
- What measures can be taken to ensure sustainable domestic raw material production and recycling while expanding capacities to meet growing demand?