On Wednesday 27 September, the European Commission unveiled its contribution to the debate between Heads of State or Government in Granada on 6 October on the EU’s strategic autonomy and future policy priorities for building a “more resilient, competitive and sustainable” economy.
This exchange is part of the Versailles Declaration, adopted by European leaders on 11 March 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine (see EUROPE 12907/1).
“The new reality requires us to strengthen our capacity to protect Europe’s strategic interests and to ensure the security of our citizens and partners”, said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The Commission’s communication focuses on several specific areas, namely European defence and the promotion of peace, energy security and the fight against the climate crisis, competitiveness and the increased need for public and private investment.
Defence
The Commission looks back at the major steps taken by the EU to strengthen its defence capabilities and its role in security.
In particular, it has deepened its cooperation with NATO (see EUROPE 13212/3) and stepped up its military aid with initiatives such as the three-pronged approach to supply 1 million munitions to Ukraine within 12 months (see EUROPE 13145/1).
Furthermore, while the Commission recognises that the European Defence Fund fosters innovation, additional efforts are needed in the areas of military mobility, the defence industry and cyber security.
“The Commission will present a European defence industrial strategy to prepare the future framework for defence cooperation”, the communication states. This strategy could be presented at the beginning of November.
Finally, according to the Commission, the conflict in Ukraine underlines the importance of EU enlargement. It will therefore assess the progress made so far in its next annual enlargement package, which could be unveiled at the end of October or beginning of November (see EUROPE 13249/9).
Energy security and tackling the climate crisis
The Commission highlights the achievements made since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, such as the 17% reduction in gas demand, the diversification of energy supplies through the REPowerEU strategy and the accelerated deployment of renewable energies.
It then focuses on the bottlenecks that need to be resolved as a matter of priority, namely reforming the design of the electricity market (see EUROPE 13246/1), but also improving energy interconnections within the single market and modernising networks.
Competitiveness
As far as the single market is concerned, the Commission is focusing on the application of existing rules and the removal of obstacles, particularly in the area of services.
It welcomes the development of its network of trade agreements and partnerships with third countries and the measures taken to reduce risks in key areas, such as the Critical Raw Materials Act (see EUROPE 13250/17), the European Chips Act (see EUROPE 13229/23) and the Net-Zero Industry Act (see EUROPE 13247/4).
It also notes the progress made in building a digital economy, the European pillar of social rights and additional measures to ensure global food security, sustainability and resilience.
Finally, a list of technologies with potential dual-use applications is being drawn up.
Public and private investment
In order to meet the EU’s strategic priorities and future challenges, the Commission stresses the need for additional public and private investment.
It highlights the Recovery and Resilience Facility, cohesion policy programmes and InvestEU, and also mentions the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) (see EUROPE 13245/3).
For the Commission, public investment has an important role to play in reducing the risks associated with innovative businesses and correcting market failures, but it recognises that the bulk of funding for EU priorities will have to come from the private sector. It is therefore crucial for it to “pursue efforts to develop deep and integrated capital markets, complete the banking union and put in place an effective sustainable financial framework”.
To see the Commission’s communication: https://aeur.eu/f/8rf (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)