Competitiveness Compass, vision for farming: What 2025 has in store for European policy

With 2024 elections and post-election haggling over, this year should see a return to actual legislating. The new European Commission, having taken office in early December, will get to work. Here is an overview of the key legislation it is expected to present within the first few months of 2025.

The European Commission is expected to present its Competitiveness Compass on 15 January. EC President Ursula von der Leyen announced its arrival in her speech to the European Parliament before the vote on the Commission’s appointment.

Competitiveness Compass

„I can announce that the first major initiative of the new Commission will be a Competitiveness Compass. This will frame our work for the rest of the term. The Compass will be built on the three pillars of the Draghi report. The first is closing the innovation gap with the US and China. The second is a joint plan for decarbonisation and competitiveness. And the third is increasing security and reducing dependencies,“ von der Leyen told MEPs.

Few details are currently known about the initiative itself. However, it can be reasonably expected to follow up on the aforementioned report by Mario Draghi, Italian ex-PM and ex-ECB Governor. He states that Europe is starting to fall behind the rest of the world due to under-investment in modern and zero-emission technologies. He recommends to kick-start investment – not only with public money but also, by interlinking capital markets, with private money.

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As well, Mr Draghi calls for a reduction in dependence on countries such as China. To achieve this, he pleads in favour of diversifying imports of precious metals, investing in chip manufacturing in Europe, and moving away from fossil fuels. He vouches for investing in European security, and argues that Europeans must decarbonise rapidly if they wish to maintain their current quality of life.

Vision for Agriculture and Food

Ms von der Leyen also pledged to introduce her Vision for Agriculture and Food during the first 100 days of the new Commission’s term. It is expected to be unveiled on 19 February. It is the Commission’s response to the growing discontent among Europe’s farmers, culminating in numerous protests throughout the continent over the past year.

The farmers‘ demands and complaints vary by region. Exasperation with red tape, concerns over the EU-Mercosur trade deal, criticism of the provisions of the Green Deal, and, particularly in the South, of insufficient measures to combat droughts feature most prominently among them.

“I will announce a new Vision for Agriculture and Food during the first 100 days, looking at how to ensure long-term competitiveness and sustainability of our farming sector within the boundaries of our planet,“ Ms von der Leyen stated. “In this respect, it is vital that farmers have a fair and sufficient income. They should not be systematically forced to sell below the cost of production,” she wrote in a document published prior to her appointment as Commission President.

She added that she would always strive to ensure that the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy be targeted and strike the right balance between incentives, investment and regulation. The CAP decides how subsidies to EU farmers are distributed.

“We must enable farmers to work their land without excessive bureaucracy, support family farms, and reward farmers working with nature, preserving our biodiversity and natural ecosystems and helping to decarbonise our economy on the way to net zero by 2050,“ Ms von der Leyen wrote.

Clean Industrial Deal

The Clean Industrial Deal, scheduled for presentation on 16 February, is the Commission’s third key initiative to be announced in early 2025. It aims to enhance both the EU’s industrial competitiveness and its simultaneous decarbonisation. It marks another pledge Ursula von der Leyen made to MEPs before her appointment.

The specifics of the initiative’s contents are not known at the moment. However, it is likely to be an action programme, i.e. the same type of document as the Green Deal itself, on which The Clean Industrial Deal is expected to follow up. It addresses the risk of the European Union losing the global race for clean technologies while its traditional industries, such as steel and chemicals, continue to decline.

In part, the CID may also be seen as a response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. The latter provides significant relief to clean-tech companies. This, in turn, brings about the risk of these companies‘ mass exit from Europe.

As part of her political priorities, Ms von der Leyen mentioned that the aim of the deal was to ensure competitive industry and quality jobs. “This means simplification, investment, and access to cheap, sustainable and secure supplies of energy and raw materials,” she wrote.