Vulcan View: The latest EU developments 30 September – 4 October

Teresa Ribera: the competition Vice-President set to shake up Brussels

Spain’s Teresa Ribera is poised to become the second most influential person in the upcoming European Commission, surpassed only by President Von der Leyen. As the newly appointed Executive Vice-President for a “Clean, Just and Competitive Transition”, Ribera will wield significant power over environmental policy implementation and the crucial competition portfolio.

With a distinguished career spanning law, academia, and civil service, Ribera brings a wealth of experience to her new role. Her expertise in climate change and energy, together with her role as Spain’s Vice President since 2020, positions her as a key player in shaping the future of EU policy.

Her role in the next Commission
In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, Ribera outlined her ambitious agenda. Despite anticipated resistance from some member states, Ribera aims to overhaul competition regulations: “From now on, the idea is to be able to devote public resources to incentivising competitive industries. And to ensure a level playing field for all actors. The rules need to be rewritten with these clear principles.”

However, Ribera is cautious about the notion that creating European champions is the answer to the EU’s competitive challenges: “Europe’s competitiveness is not solved by (creating) three or four European champions. We need size to compete in international markets, but we also need the internal market to work with a business ecosystem where things are reasonably balanced.”

Ribera’s mission letter outlines several key objectives for her tenure. She is tasked with developing a new State aid framework to accelerate the green transition across the continent. Additionally, she is expected to simplify State Aid procedures wherever possible. These measures aim to facilitate government investment in strategic European industries.

Another crucial aspect of Ribera’s role will be addressing the risk of “killer acquisitions.” This involves preventing foreign companies from acquiring European SMEs and small midcaps that they perceive as potential future competitors. This initiative is designed to protect and nurture European innovation and competitiveness.

Ribera is also expected to play a significant role in ensuring swift and effective enforcement actions against Big Tech companies under the Digital Markets Act. In this endeavour, she will work closely with Executive Vice President Virkkunen, combining their expertise to tackle the challenges created by Big Tech companies.

Lastly, Ribera will be at the forefront of combating foreign subsidies that distort competition with European companies. She will be responsible for enforcing new legislation targeting these subsidies, particularly on Chinese firms. This effort aims to level the playing field for European businesses in the global market.

Conclusions
Teresa Ribera’s appointment as Executive Vice-President marks a significant shift in the European Commission’s approach to competition and environmental policy. Her comprehensive background and bold vision suggest a more integrated strategy for addressing climate change, fostering fair competition, and protecting European interests in the global market.

Ribera’s agenda indicates a move towards active state involvement in shaping competitive industries. This approach could lead to significant changes in how the EU handles competition, state aid, and foreign economic influence.

As the EU faces increasing global competition and the urgent need for climate action, Ribera’s leadership will be crucial in determining the Union’s ability to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world.

€1.5 Billion Boost for National Training Fund Over the Next Six Years

Overview
As part of Budget 2025, the government unveiled last Tuesday, October 1st, plans for the deployment of a €1.5 billion surplus from the National Training Fund (NTF) over the next six years. Overall, the funding will be utilised to:

• bridge the core funding gap in universities.
• launch a major capital investment programme for third-level education.
• to continue upskilling programmes for workers.

The funding will be divided into €885 million in current spending – such as core funding for universities and skills programmes – and €600 million for third-level capital programmes – such as expanding campuses, and the construction of student accommodation. The NTF is resourced from a levy on businesses which equates to 1 per cent of employees’ earnings and takes in almost €1 billion annually. Since the government hasn’t been able to spend at the same rate as the revenue from the levy, the fund’s surplus has already reached €1.8 billion. Without intervention, it is expected to grow to €3.4 billion by 2028.

Next steps
There has been a sustained call from industry for the surplus within the NTF to be used for major upskilling programmes to ensure Ireland maintains a competitive edge through its labour force. Despite this, the government plans are to allocate the funding primarily for third-level education, with a smaller portion of the money going to the continued funding of skills plans. It has been reported that this has already caused some animosity from industry circles, with one source outlining it amounted to a “raid” on levies paid by employers to fix “poorly funded” third-level education. The use of the NTF was built into this year’s budget parameters, with only about €250 million expected to be deployed in 2025.

Of the three components of the NTF package, the increase in core funding for higher education is perceived as the most significant. At present, there is an estimated €260 million annual funding gap for third-level education. The plan proposes gradually closing the €260 million gap by increasing annual funding by about €90 million over three years, and maintaining that level until 2030.

The Balance of Trade and Security: Maroš Šefčovič’s Agenda for EU Trade Policy

To continue benefiting from open and rules-based international trade, the EU must adopt a new trade policy accounting for the impact and correlation between geopolitics and geoeconomics. Slovakia’s Maroš Šefčovič, the newly appointed Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security and for Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, will spearhead the development of this trade policy while overseeing customs policy and ensuring the cooperation of EU institutions. Šefčovič is well-acquainted with Commission politics, having served as Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture, and Youth (2009-2010), Vice-President for Inter-Institutional Relations and Administration (2010-2014), Energy Union and EU Space Policy (2014-2019), Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight (2019-2023), and the Executive Vice-President for European Green Deal, Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight (2023-Present). Having served in the Commission for over 15 years, Šefčovič has earned a reputation for being an effective and discrete operator.

Trade
Šefčovič’s work designing and implementing a new EU trade policy will focus on increasing competitiveness, security, and sustainability. Šefčovič will bolster the EU’s leadership role and improve rules-based trade by engaging with the WTO and leading Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships while ensuring the full enforcement of the EU’s trade rules, notably regarding climate, environmental, and labour standards. Beyond Europe, Šefčovič will manage and deepen EU trade partnerships worldwide. Šefčovič will lead on relations with Switzerland, the United States, the UK, and other Western partners enhancing bilateral trade and investment agreements while increasing cooperation on issues of mutual interest. Šefčovič will manage trade relations with China, continuing the EU’s policy of “de-risking, not decoupling.” Šefčovič will engage China to establish economically balanced ties while addressing trade rule violations such as market distortions and harmful overcapacities. Šefčovič will develop a Strategic EU-India agenda while strengthening the EU’s economic link with the Indo-Pacific region, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Customs
Working to create an effective and secure customs system that establishes a level playing field, Šefčovič will reinforce and implement the decisions of the negotiations on the Customs Reform Package by setting up a new EU Customs Authority. Šefčovič will work closely with Member States on finalising the digitalisation of the customs environment while ensuring the EU leads in the development and implementation of the World Customs Organization’s Green Customs Plan and a reform of the Harmonised System. Šefčovič will help tackle challenges facing e-commerce platforms while evaluating the rules of origin and autonomous tariff suspensions and quotas strengthening measures to prevent non-EU-compliant products from entering the EU market.

Economic Security
Europe’s economic positioning, driven by its ability to secure technological leadership, maintain shock-resilient production capabilities, and withstand economic coercion, requires a security-oriented approach as the foundation of future economic policy. In this light, Šefčovič will develop a new economic security doctrine outlining the strategic use of the EU’s economic security tools while leading the implementation of the European Economic Security Strategy. As part of the economic security doctrine, developing economic security standards and deepening the ongoing dialogues on economic security within key supply chain partnerships, notably the G7, is central to protecting the EU market from technology leakages and security concerns. Šefčovič will also work on the design and implementation of trade sanctions.

Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency
Lastly, Šefčovič will handle some administrative duties while working to bolster relations and transparency between the three primary EU institutions: the Commission, The Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament. Šefčovič will lead the Commission’s revision of the Framework agreement strengthening the Commission’s dialogue with the Parliament. To enhance the Commission’s relationship with the Council, Šefčovič will represent the Commission in the General Affairs Council. As a Member of the Interinstitutional Ethics Body, Šefčovič will work with all the institutions to develop a set of common minimum standards for ethical conduct while coordinating the review of the Interinstitutional Agreement on the Transparency Register by July 2025. Šefčovič will lead the Commission’s relations with national Parliaments, advisory bodies and the European Ombudsman.

Conclusion
Šefčovič will report directly to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the Commission, on matters related to interinstitutional relations and transparency. For his work in Trade and Economy Security, Šefčovič will work under the inexperienced guidance of Stéphane Séjourné, the Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy.

Šefčovič will have the task of transforming the EU’s open market into a semi-open economic stronghold, ensuring that the EU stands against its geopolitical rivals while protecting its new technology and research. Concurrently, Šefčovič will be forced to navigate international trade tensions with the United States, with the potential return of Donald Trump to the Presidency, and China, as they continue to ignore EU trade rules. Šefčovič will require all his experience to ensure a balance between focusing on protecting the EU’s core technologies and promoting its export champions and partnerships with third countries.

Compliments of Vulcan Consulting – a member of the EACCNY