EU's Competitiveness Compass Aims to Secure Clean, Affordable Energy

The European Commission identifies decarbonization as one of the 3 core areas for action for the European Union (EU) to boost its competitiveness and secure ‘sustainable prosperity’ under what it terms the Competitiveness Compass. The remaining 2 pillars are innovation and increasing security by reducing excessive dependencies.   

The compass sees high and volatile energy prices as a key challenge to the bloc’s competitiveness. It plans to face this challenge by facilitating access to clean, affordable energy by securing the EU as an attractive location for manufacturing, including for energy-intensive industries through the Clean Industrial Deal.

It will also promote cleantech and a new circular business model to improve the competitiveness of cleantech manufacturers.

Additionally, the commission will chalk out an Affordable Energy Action Plan to bring down energy prices and costs. Permitting will be accelerated through the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act.  

Further, it lists 5 horizontal enablers that it sees as essential to underpin competitiveness across all sectors including promoting skills and quality jobs, and better coordination of policies at the EU and national levels.  

All of these measures build on the 2024 Draghi report that addressed European competitiveness and security. A factsheet prepared by the commission is available on its website.

European solar PV industry lobby association SolarPower Europe (SPE) is happy with the development, especially as it comes ahead of the Clean Industrial Deal that’s expected in February 2025.

“The European Commission’s commitment to competitiveness begins in earnest with this new publication. The Competitiveness Compass points to the right problem: our structural fossil fuel dependency. It also points to the right solutions: more renewables, faster electrification, and stronger system flexibility,” said SPE CEO Walburga Hemetsberger.