The only way to ensure the EU's long-term competitiveness is to move away from fossil fuels and towards a clean, competitive and circular economy, but those efforts must go hand in hand with increasing prosperity for everyone in Europe, said today the presidency of the European Union. commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

– All the transformations we encourage must be fair. We can upgrade our very successful social model – the social market economy, said Von der Leyen at the reception of the Report on the Competitiveness Perspectives of the European Union, prepared by the former Italian Prime Minister and ex-President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi.

According to von der Leyen, this report will "inspire" the work of the European Commission in the coming months and years, during which it will have to focus on three key things.

– First, in order to be competitive, we need to implement the clean and digital transition. We, as you know, laid the groundwork for this clean and digital transition in my first term. Now is the time for it to be realized, said Von der Leyen.

According to her, the EU must support the European industry in the process of decarbonization by encouraging innovation, which would be used as a competitive advantage.

- That's why we need to act with all the main levers at our disposal - reducing energy prices, mobilizing public and private investments, improving the business environment and reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, said the president of the EC.

A second key task for the EU, according to Von der Leyen, should be to strengthen investments in vocational training, so that the labor market will have more people trained with the skills needed to implement the clean and digital transition.

- We need an increase in skills, because technologies are only as good as the people who design them, produce them and of course who manage them, emphasizes Von der Leyen.

She added that the third thing is strengthening sustainability, ensuring access to critical raw materials and essential components and guaranteeing the security of energy supply and digital networks.

- But it is certainly not the end of the road, Von der Leyen concluded, adding that there is a broad consensus in the EU that ensuring competitiveness must be at the top of the European agenda and at the core of the action of the Union's institutions.

A year ago, the European Commission asked Draghi to prepare a report on the future of Europe's competitiveness, together with recommendations for dealing with the economic challenges facing the EU and for ensuring its stronger position in the world in the face of intensified economic competition.