SUMMARY

On the 23^rd of October, the European Council published its conclusions reflecting the priorities on competitiveness and twin transitions for the upcoming months.

MORE DETAILS

Below is a summary overview of the main points addressed by the European Council on its meeting held on the 23^rd of October.

• Simplification:
  Reaffirms the urgent need to advance an ambitious simplification and better regulation agenda across all policy areas to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness.Welcomes progress on key initiatives such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), sustainability reporting measures, and omnibus packages, and calls for the adoption of the sustainability reporting package (Omnibus I) and a proposal for an optional 28th company law regime by the end of the year and 2026 respectively.Emphasises the importance of advocating for a “simplicity by design” legislative approach, particularly for SMEs.
• A competitive Green Transition:  
  
  Highlights the need to pursue mutually reinforcing objectives to strengthen the Union’s competitiveness, resilience, and green transition.Stresses the urgency of stepping up efforts to secure affordable, clean energy and to establish a genuine Energy Union by 2030.Calls for ambitious actions to electrify the economy and lower energy prices, including the adoption of the Commission’s proposal on industrial decarbonisation acceleration (which is expected to boost demand for “made in Europe” products) and the revision of the ETS2 implementation framework.
• A sovereign digital transition:
  
  Stresses the importance of accelerating Europe’s digital transformation, reinforcing technological sovereignty, and building an open, secure digital ecosystem.Calls for human-centric technologies that protect personal data and ensure accountability and resilience, while highlighting the need to develop European technological capabilities, diversify sources of critical raw materials, and address cybersecurity risks and strategic dependencies.Notes that efforts must focus on reducing market fragmentation, closing infrastructure gaps, and lowering energy costs to support innovation, start-ups, and the rollout of connectivity infrastructure. In addition, it welcomes recent AI and quantum initiatives and urges continued ambition in upcoming proposals, including those on the EU cloud and AI development.

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NEXT STEPS

The Omnibus packages are currently at different legislative stages (more information in the document):

• For Omnibus I on CSRD/CSDDD, we expect the Parliament to adopt a position during next month's plenary (12-13 November). Interinstitutional negotiations are expected to start soon after.

For the Digital Omnibus Simplification package, it is expected for Q4 2025.

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