The EZA Kick-Off Seminar 2025 on “Competitiveness with a Social Dimension: Workers’ Priorities for Europe’s Future” was held in Belgrade / Serbia from 20–21 November, bringing together around 100 experts, representatives of trade unions and other workers’ organisations and academics to discuss how Europe can strengthen its competitiveness while safeguarding workers’ rights and the social dimension of the EU. The project was organised in cooperation with RS BOFOS (Republican Trade Union of Employees in Banks, Insurance Companies and other Financial Organizations of Serbia) and funded by the European Union.
The seminar opened with a strong message: competitiveness has returned to the top of the EU agenda, but it cannot be separated from social cohesion.
EZA President Luc Van den Brande reminded participants that Europe must not abandon its own model: “Competitiveness is not an end in itself, but a path towards sustainable and inclusive prosperity.” The European social model — grounded in fair working conditions and social dialogue — remains a strategic advantage rather than an obstacle.
Setting the Stage – The EU Competitiveness Compass
This introductory block featured insights from Marco Buti, Professor of economic and monetary integration at the European University Institute and former Director-General for Economic and Financial Affairs at the European Commission, who underlined that competitiveness is not synonymous with deregulation or cost-cutting, but with Europe’s ability to remain technologically and economically relevant in a world shaped by the US and China.
The EU Competitiveness Compass aims to mobilise investment, strengthen the Single Market and accelerate strategic partnerships in energy, raw materials and advanced technologies. However, participants stressed that the Compass still underestimates the importance of job quality, worker involvement and social dialogue — essential pillars of the European model.
This set the stage for the debates that followed: can Europe accelerate innovation without weakening its social foundations?
What Kind of Competitiveness for What Kind of Europe?
Speakers stressed that Europe must avoid a false choice between “green ambition” and “economic pragmatism.” The real challenge lies in balancing short-term pressures with long-term transformation.
Marija Bartl, Professor of Law at the University of Amsterdam, argued that lowering labour standards will not restore Europe’s competitive edge. She called instead for a broader “imaginary of prosperity” based on access to essential services, strong social infrastructure and a shared sense of future security.
Evidence from EU-OSHA highlighted that unsafe workplaces cost the EU 3.4% of GDP, while every euro invested in occupational safety returns 2.2 euros — confirming that safe and healthy workplaces are a driver of sustainable competitiveness.
Closing the Innovation Gap
The panel opened with Prof. Reinhilde Veugelers, Professor of Managerial Economics, Strategy and Innovation at the KU Leuven, who emphasised that Europe can reconcile decarbonisation, growth and social cohesion only by “activating its innovation machine to full capacity.” Europe’s long-standing “innovation paradox” — excellent research but weak scale-up — remains a core challenge.
Clark Parsons, CEO of the European Startup Network, underlined the central role of startups. Their contribution to EU GDP has tripled in the past decade, yet fragmented regulatory systems still hinder growth. He highlighted the potential of a 28th Regime — a unified corporate framework allowing startups to scale across Europe.
Participants also emphasised that AI is transforming labour markets, with middle-skilled workers most exposed. Algorithmic transparency, data protection and timely reskilling were identified as minimum conditions for a just digital transition.
Shaping Europe’s Future: EPSR 2.0 as a Pillar of Competitiveness
Kevin Flanagan, Director of the St. Antony’s Centre, warned that Europe cannot build competitiveness on rising pressure, worsening mental health and in-work poverty. Technology increasingly dictates work pace and pay, especially in platform and logistics sectors.
The contribution of Enrique Saludas, Secretary for Communication of the Spanish trade union USO highlighted how industrial transition can succeed only when workers are fully involved. After the closure of the Nissan plant in Barcelona, years of mobilisation enabled 1,700 workers to move into new industrial projects — demonstrating the importance of transitions that create both high-skilled and broad-based industrial jobs.
Srđa Keković, Secretary General of the Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro, stressed that the forthcoming EPSR 2.0 must serve as a core pillar of Europe’s competitiveness. For Western Balkan countries, the EU Competitiveness Plan represents a major opportunity — but only if enlargement advances, social dialogue is strengthened, and workers gain access to quality jobs, affordable housing and company-level participation.
Conclusion
In the closing address, Pier Giorgio Sciacqua, Co-President of EZA, placed the seminar in the historical continuum of European integration, recalling Alcide De Gasperi’s description of Europe as “a civilisation in motion, which cannot afford pauses or abdications.”
He underlined that today’s central challenge is no longer the balance between state and market, but the balance between the human person and the machine. Digital systems must not reduce workers to data points. Citing Pope Leo XIV, he urged: “Be the architects of the governance of artificial intelligence, for technology can never replace what makes human relationships truly human.”
Sciacqua concluded that Europe’s competitiveness will remain sustainable only if anchored in human dignity, social dialogue and ethical technological governance — values that EZA and workers’ organisations have long defended.