The European Commission is set to unveil its new “Competitiveness Compass” clean industrial strategy next month, and it promises to shift more authority from national governments to Brussels. Leaked details from Euractiv reveal the Commission’s usual approach: blaming fragmented national policies and a lack of EU oversight for the bloc’s systemic issues.
The document stresses that the individual policies of member states—each pursuing its own industrial agenda—are hindering overall EU competitiveness. To solve this, the Commission proposes increased control over national industrial strategies, ensuring that member states stick to a common path and meet climate targets. This could include “blackmailing” countries into compliance with new measures.
A central proposal in the Compass is the creation of a “Competitiveness Coordination Tool,” which would allow Brussels to set joint economic priorities, create action plans for each member state, and monitor their implementation. This approach mirrors the model used after the 2008 financial crisis, which saw Brussels gain more control over national fiscal decisions to ensure a unified response.
The Commission also suggests tying EU funds to national compliance, making access to funds like EU and European Investment Bank (EIB) resources dependent on meeting specific targets. Even Euractiv recognizes that this move may appear as a “power grab,” and warns of potential backlash from national capitals.
Over recent months, the Commission has been pushing to overhaul how EU member states access cohesion funds, traditionally distributed without conditions. Introducing a “cash-for-reforms” approach for various EU funding programs would give Brussels even more influence, using a strategy similar to the EU’s rule of law mechanism. Essentially, the EU would leverage financial incentives to enforce its policies, making it harder for member states to challenge or backtrack on ambitious goals like the Green Deal.
