On the 10th of April 2024, it was announced by Commission President von der Leyen that the Commission would be reviewing the Clean Transition Dialogues that had occurred around the subject of transforming the EU. The aim of these dialogues is to transform the EU in a clean, resource-efficient, fair and competitive economy.

When these dialogues had been planned to occur, the Commission President made it clear that they would be happening, during her 2023 State of the Union speech. She said that they would be held to ‘discuss with European industry and social partners how to strengthen and support the implementation of the European Green Deal.’ She also mentioned that this would be the topic of the discussions as these factors would be going towards ‘contributing to a reinforced industrial approach.’

In the discussions that have taken place so far, of which there have been nine, the topics that were discussed, included, ‘Industry and social partners confirmed their strong commitment to shape and implement the European Green Deal.’ Alongside this, ‘Social partners highlighted the importance of ensuring the social fairness of the transition, to create good quality jobs as well as the need for reinforced structured social dialogue.’ Altogether, the dialogues which were reviewed predominantly focused on hydrogen, energy-intensive industries, clean tech, energy infrastructure, critical raw materials, forest-based bioeconomy, cities, clean mobility and finally, steel.

On top of this, the discussions also brought to the Commission’s attention that other building blocks needed to be created and put in place. These extra steps included, ‘an effective and simplified regulatory framework for businesses to deliver on the transition; action on energy prices; modern infrastructure; easier access to finance; and a stronger Single Market in a globally competitive environment.’

In order to ensure that the next steps are met and the EU’s clean transition journey is accomplished, the Commission has stated that it will, ‘continue its engagement with industry and social partners through the Clean Transition Dialogues.’ The organisation has also confirmed that ‘it stands ready to engage in a thorough debate with Council and Parliament on the key factors that need to be addressed.’

All of these building blocks, discussions and initiatives began in 2019, when the European Green Deal was first presented by the Commission. Since then, multiple initiatives have been suggested, agreed upon and followed, to the extent that a lot of the suggested initiatives have already become embedded into the EU law. The next steps now are to ensure that the implementation and delivery of these initiatives and suggestions goes ahead, ensuring that the Green Deal becomes a success.

Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen said, “The European Green Deal is, and always has been, Europe's growth strategy. Clean growth brings real benefits to our industry, and they have embraced it. Because in the European economy of the future, competitiveness and sustainability will go hand in hand. Now that a predictable regulatory framework is in place, the Clean Transition Dialogues are an important way to work together with industry and social partners to implement it in the most effective way. The Dialogues showed that our partners are committed to getting the job done and delivering on our ambitious and essential targets. Based on their insights, Europe will continue to support industry in building a business model fit for a decarbonised economy.”