On 2 June 2025, the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) presented this year's edition of the Benchmarking Working Europe report at a joint event with AK EUROPA in Brussels. In light of the ongoing political discourse, the 2025 report highlights the importance of quality jobs for sustainable competitiveness. The critical examination of the concept of competitiveness was also a central theme of the event.

The EU has been engaged in a global race for competitiveness for some time now. The European Commission's new Single Market Strategy is meant to help it stay ahead of the pack. The aim is to remove all obstacles that businesses perceive as hindering trade of their goods and services in other Member States. However, this risks dismantling social and environmental standards.

Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has permanently changed the geopolitical situation and the EU's energy supply. In recent years, numerous measures have been taken to end the dependence on Russian energy imports. The final phase-out is now set to succeed with the new REPowerEU Roadmap. What does this new roadmap include and what is the situation in Austria?

On 26 February 2025, the EU Commission presented the first of several omnibus packages (Omnibus I). Key instruments of the Green Deal will be weakened, in particular the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

In view of increasing geopolitical tensions, defence is becoming a key issue on the EU’s political agenda. With its White Paper for European Defence and the ReArm Europe Plan, the EU Commission is proposing new strategies to strengthen the EU's defence capabilities. What measures are planned and what social and economic impacts will they have?

In recent years, the European Union has been increasingly affected by crises. The causes are partly internal to the EU, but to a large extent they are also due to developments outside the Union. Wars, climate change, dwindling raw materials and ever-increasing dependence on third countries pose considerable challenges for the EU. The EU Commission sees this as a threat to the Union's competitiveness.

The new Emissions Trading System ETS II will become fully operational in 2027. The financial impact of rising fuel and heating costs is to be cushioned, particularly for poorer households. However, with the deadline approaching, not a single member state has yet submitted the Climate Social Plan required to receive funding from the Social Climate Fund from 2026 onwards.

In its Communication on the competitiveness compass, the EU Commission outlines measures to strengthen the EU's competitiveness. However, according to AK, to ensure that the compass needle points in the right direction it is essential to place greater emphasis on people. AK therefore advocates a high-road strategy that promotes skills and innovation, targeted industrial policy, future investments and high standards of protection for workers and consumers.

Public procurement law regulates the procurement of services by public authorities. The EU Commission aims at revising the currently applicable EU public procurement directives from 2014; as a result, a public consultation was undertaken from 13 December 2024 to 7 March 2025. AK participated and put forward several proposals and demands. Overall, greater consideration must be given to social and environmental aspects when awarding public contracts.

Trump's economic policy, often referred to as ”Trumponomics”, is currently dominating the debate in Brussels. The US president aims to reshape the US through massive fiscal and trade measures. This also poses significant challenges for Europe. A few weeks after Donald Trump was sworn into office for a second time, it is worth giving an initial overview of his plans and their impact.