A New Industrial and Competition Policy for Europe

The aftermath of the pandemic, combined with the war in Ukraine, has led to high inflation rates and a consequent increase in the cost of living. This made Europe's dependency in a globalized world particularly clear. An energy policy that has so far been heavily geared towards fossil fuels restricts the EU's ability to make decisions at geopolitical level and is a burden on the European economic situation. In view of these developments, the idea of a self-sufficient Europe or de-globalization has become the focus of political discourse. In this context, trade unions are faced with the task of involving and protecting workers and organized civil society in the process of restructuring.

In order to bring together the various strands of discussion within the European trade union movement and to work towards a common understanding and common political demands, the DGB and FES invited trade unionists and experts from all EU member states to a workshop in Berlin. The question discussed was which concrete measures are necessary in which policy areas in order to implement trade union goals towards a new industrial and competition policy for Europe and to overcome the various crises of the present. The workshop was hybrid, i.e. conducted both with presence in the conference room of the FES and with digital participation. It was the fifth forum in the annual "Social Europe" series organized by the DGB and FES.

You can read the detailed report on the conference here.