Sponsored Content

Five actions for a stronger Europe

Europe has much to offer. But it’s falling behind international competition. The new legislative term is an opportunity for change. Joe Kaeser calls for five actions to make Europe stronger.

Europe has so much to offer: diverse cultures, excellent educational systems, a highly skilled workforce, leading research institutes, a strong industrial base, democratic political stability for the most part, reliable law enforcement and the world’s largest single market.

Yet, reaching agreements in Brussels can often be a tedious and time-consuming process, if it happens at all.

Too often, we Europeans have lost valuable time in this process. And that has disadvantaged European companies and, subsequently, the economies of EU member states. It’s a disadvantage we can and should no longer afford in the competition with leading economies.

The European Union’s new legislative term and leadership comes as an opportunity to change that; to stand up for multilateralism and reciprocity with one voice. To achieve this in a global manner, we need to build bridges, not hunt witches. Reliable partnerships evolve based on trust, inclusion and win-win scenarios — not nationalism and protectionism.

There is a lot to do. But I believe five actions are urgently needed to make Europe stronger and avoid falling further behind in a very active global, economic and political environment.

1. Make the fight against climate change an industrial opportunity

No doubt, climate change is the biggest challenge facing humanity. It is good to see that the next generation understands this and is taking it to heart.

While a sense of urgency and the right diagnosis of this problem are important starting points, the right therapy and subsequent prevention will change matters for the better in our complicated ecosystem.

So, why not see it as an opportunity for Europe’s industry to become the global leader in environmental technologies? We need these technologies to meet our own climate targets. Renewable energy must be integrated into the whole economy — not just in mobility, but buildings and industry too.

One of the best way to do that is to harness power-to-x technologies, which turn electricity into hydrogen, fuel, chemicals, and other substances and can thereby facilitate a smooth transition to renewable energy in all sectors. To kick-start a substantial reduction in CO₂ emissions, the power-to-x capacity must reach 15 gigawatts by 2024.

If we really want to achieve EU climate neutrality by 2050, it will take more than debating the number of flights we should cancel or the percentage of electric cars we need to reach. We must unlock the full potential of sectoral integration, since we live in a connected global ecosystem. All sectors must work together to develop solutions that make sense economically and improve competitiveness.

And this means EU regulations and state aid must match our goal of becoming carbon neutral.

Over the last five years, Europe has focused on “energy efficiency first.” I say we go one step further and focus on “system efficiency first.” Taking the lead in environmental technologies is a huge opportunity for Europe. Additionally, a convincing climate policy will also increase Europe’s credibility in the world, especially among the young generation to whom we owe a good future.

2. Speak with one, strong voice

Many nations have an economic development plan. China has “Made in China 2025,” India has “Make in India,” and Saudi Arabia has “Vision 2030.” The US is taking action too.

And Europe? It plays defensively, if at all. We need a plan, and we need to speak with one, strong voice. Then other economies will be more likely to agree to creating a level playing field and reciprocal trade deals. All EU member states will benefit.

That’s why I’m calling to set up a one-stop shop that coordinates foreign economic diplomacy and trade policy by the end of 2020. This shop would be run by the European Commission and the European External Action Service and would install a European foreign trade policy that supports European companies in their export efforts.

Click Here: kanken kids cheap

Together, we are powerful. We can assert our interests. So, why not pursue a value-based economic diplomacy that effectively provides EU support for projects by European companies that significantly contribute to meeting the United Nations’ goals for sustainable development by 2030?

3. Invest in future technologies

Today, innovative power determines the wellbeing of societies and creates and secures jobs and even leadership in geopolitics and geo-economics. If we Europeans want to compete internationally, we must invest much more in new technologies — and in a much more strategic way.

Holding on to and even funding the sectors of yesterday’s future may save a few votes for now, but not the future of Europe and its people.

Europe currently lags far behind in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) compared to the US and China; both are investing significantly more. The same applies to the deployment of AI — less than 10 percent of German industrial companies use the technology in their business operations. This is alarming. Clearly, the private sector must invest much more into AI. The target should be €15 billion by 2024 — that’s an increase of 30 percent to 40 percent per year.

4. Modernize the regulatory framework

It is safe to say that Europe is one of the most attractive markets in the world. But that is unfortunately only half the truth.

If we look at the regulatory framework, the downsides quickly become apparent. Several sectors have fallen behind and others are in danger of losing ground in international comparison. European companies are competing with non-European companies that receive considerable and sometimes decisive support from their governments, particularly the US and China.

This is where we need to act. We need to modernize the competition rules — as quickly as possible. This should not be driven by more blocking but by creating level playing fields for fair and open trade, based on transparency and common rules, such as environmental health and safety management systems.

Modernization is also necessary because digitalization is changing entire business models. It’s now about data-based platforms and their logic and impact on research and development. We have no shortage of excellent research, but we find it difficult to try out and implement findings.

This requires decisive action from politics, business and society. We need more experimental space and the courage to try things out. Sandboxing, for example, can be an extremely valuable tool for temporarily exempting new applications from existing regulations. Cutting red regulatory tape must become an area of strong focus for the new EU Commission.

My call is therefore: Let’s create a modernized EU competition law by 2022 that takes all these points into account. And let’s implement it by 2024 at the latest.

5. Prepare citizens for the digital world

Digital skills are vital for Europe’s future. However, as good as our education systems are, the notion that learning must be lifelong has yet to be addressed, and certainly not on a broad scale.

On top of that, academic degrees and vocational training certificates cannot always be transferred from one EU country to another. Another self-imposed obstacle no one needs.

Instead, European member states should develop a joint master plan for academic education and vocational training that meets future demand for skills, especially in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. Our educational systems should uphold common standards, so that academic achievements and training certificates are recognized throughout Europe. And we should increase collaboration between the private and public sectors.

Here’s the target: Make sure that by 2024 half of Europe’s industrial workforce has a good understanding of AI applications as well as advanced digital skills.

* * *

The company I work for employs more than 200,000 people directly and about 400,000 more indirectly and generates an annual revenue of €30 billion in the EU thanks to a sophisticated global value chain. Europe matters to Siemens, and Europe matters all over the world. Yet, as Jean Monnet, one of the founding fathers of the European Community, once aptly said, “Europe is never done, it is always in the process of becoming.” The becoming of Europe is in our hands. Let’s join hands and make Europe stronger. And let’s do that now!

Read more in our five-point-program for EU industrial policy: www.siemens.com/EU2020

The above column is sponsor-generated content. To learn more about our advertising solutions, click here.