Helsinki, Finland – April 8, 2025 – A leadership coalition of 8 EU-funded research projects has sent a formal letter to the President of the European Commission, urging revisions of the competitiveness agenda and offering support to uphold the EU’s standing on a global level. As the Commission is ramping up competitiveness-boosting initiatives the coalition, including MERGE, WISE Horizons, ToBe, REAL, SPES, MAPS, WISER, and SWINS, argues that the EU’s current competitiveness agenda, notably featured in the Competitiveness Compass framework, risks overlooking social and ecological wellbeing, undermining its own goal to boost resilience, prosperity, and cohesion.
“The EU needs to recognise that commitment to sustainable and inclusive wellbeing is a crucial competitive advantage,” said Rutger Hoekstra, Principal Investigator (PI) of WISE Horizons. “It needs to protect itself against the rise of autocratic regimes, social media-driven polarisation, and conflict, by reinforcing its inclusive institutions, which were foundational to the EU’s creation and will serve as a source of strength for the future.”
“The EU should strive to become the most livable, healthy, protected and solidary place in the world to live in”, said Giorgos Kallis, PI of REAL. To strengthen its strategic autonomy, Tuuli Hirvilammi, PI of ToBe and MERGE, suggested that “the EU should curtail its dependence on imports by reducing unsustainable levels of material use and energy demand.”
The letter outlines two key recommendations encouraging the Commission to actively collaborate with researchers and key stakeholders in:
- Guiding and monitoring competitiveness through sustainable and inclusive wellbeing indicators.
- Allocating resources and the use of public funds based on sustainable and inclusive wellbeing.
The coalition firmly believes that when Europe rightly leverages its unique competitive advantages, it can build an inclusive, sustainable, intergenerationally fair, and sovereign future, promoting “peace, its values and the wellbeing of its peoples” as mandated by art.3 TEU.
There is no need to start from scratch — research has supported the creation of sustainable and inclusive wellbeing indicators and policies, including the framework developed by the EC’s Joint Research Centre. The undersigned research projects are keen to be at the EC’s disposal, offering expertise and support to implement and harmonise data and policies for an economy that works for all, now and in the future.
About the signatories
MERGE, WISE Horizons, ToBe, REAL, SPES, MAPS, WISER, and SWINS are multi-year EU-funded projects that share the same goal of promoting sustainable and inclusive wellbeing by developing new policies, indicators and models.
Media contact
Ly Le
ly.le@demoshelsinki.fi | +358449784988
Communications Expert
Demos Helsinki | MERGE
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Related:
Productivity For What? Why Sustainable and Inclusive Wellbeing Must Take Center Stage in Europe
