“When we talk about competitiveness, we talk about jobs. We are talking about people and their livelihoods, “ said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the European Union speech on September 10. The MERGE project continues to pose questions on what a prosperous Europe is and what we should compete for.
We know that there is a public demand for changing our perspective on what we should measure and what indicates our wellbeing (over 80% of European citizens support Beyond GDP indicators, according to a MERGE report). If we know that we should prioritize the wellbeing of our people and the planet, what’s stopping us? With the political will, a larger shift in our vision and political goals is possible.
At the same time, we see that there are signs of renewed attention for the beyond GDP agenda this year, as the United Nations’ High Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP has begun its work and the European Union’s latest Strategic foresight report calls for strengthening EU competitiveness through multiple approaches, with sustainable and inclusive wellbeing being one of the key areas for action.
The report advocates a transformative, forward-looking “Resilience 2.0” strategy, emphasizing a just transition to a clean economy, high-quality public services, and preventive healthcare. By placing people’s wellbeing at the core of a resilient EU by 2040, the report signals growing political momentum for sustainable and inclusive wellbeing in EU governance and competitiveness strategies.
From consensus to action:
Measuring what matters and translating it to EU Policy
How can we change the way we measure so that it reflects long-term visions for society instead of short-term gains in politics? (Read our blog on EU Budget & measuring what matters)
To truly embrace sustainable and inclusive wellbeing, the EU must embed societal and ecological metrics into its measurement and accounting frameworks. This means moving beyond traditional economic indicators to include access to quality jobs, decent living and working conditions, trust and solidarity, resource efficiency, and resilience. Only when these dimensions are measured can we genuinely strive for collective wellbeing, because as von der Leyen made unequivocally clear in her State of the Union speech, “what gets measured gets done.”
The latest MERGE publication, a research article titled “Building consensus on societal wellbeing: a semantic synthesis of indicators to move beyond GDP,” highlights how, despite methodological and cultural differences, most wellbeing indicators share a common conceptual backbone. This finding serves as a ground for political alignment and uptake to be built upon.
In MERGE, our work in the interface between science and policy continues. After a series of policy-focused events this fall, we are looking ahead to implementing the insights into practical guidelines. We are creating a policy toolkit and guidelines to support policymakers in applying wellbeing metrics effectively. And we are not alone in this effort. Read further in this newsletter for updates and greetings from our sibling projects.
