THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Reforming Europe in a time of war

Europe’s moment of truth on its way to the moon 37 mate plans, Member States will have to define which ac- tions and investments are to be financed, the estimated costs, as well as milestones and targets.The Commission will then evaluate these plans.They will be approved only after a positive assessment of their relevance, effective- ness, efficiency, and coherence. The financial allocation will be disbursed only after the agreed milestones and goals have been achieved. However, many civil society and trade union actors fear that the stated amount men- tioned will not be sufficient. It’s about the workers, stupid In the debate over a fair design of the energy transition and industrial reorientation – the so-called just transi- tion – the focus in Europe so far has been on the jobs that are in danger of being lost, for example in the coal sector or the automotive industry. Certainly, there must be support for these employees affected by structural change. However, in recent years we have paid too little attention to preparing the labour market and employees more comprehensively for the upcoming energy and in- dustrial transition. As a result, we are now suffering in many xountries from a shortage of skilled workers in many areas relevant to climate and energy policy, such as in the skilled trades, which are basic for energy-related renovation, and in energy consulting. In addition, in the future many jobs will be constantly changing in view of ecologization and digitisation; however, in Europe we have not made sufficient provisions for either education, appreticeship or training-on-the-job. The lack of qualified workers can slow down the en- tire energy transition. It is true that the EU as little say in labour market policy, as it is up to the Member States to shape it. But the EU can and must nevertheless act through incentives, offers, and pressure. And national governments must also devote greater attention to the issue. Companies need to know that investing in ecolog- ical projects and the training of the relevant specialists are worthwhile. And there needs to be a jobs offensive explicitly aimed at women in order to create enthusiasm about working in the energy and climate sector. In the EU, just 19 per cent skilled workers in the IT and commu- nications sectors are women. The proportion of female graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math- ematics (STEM) is 33 per cent.Without qualified workers, the energy transition cannot be achieved – and certainly not accelerated. In view of the decentralisation of energy produc- tion, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a central role to play in the implementation of the energy transition. The EU is pursuing the ambitious goal of 90 per cent of SMEs achieving at least a basic level of digital intensity by 2030. However, many Member States are still a long way from achieving this. According to the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), the best EU countries (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Netherlands) are world leaders when it comes to digital performance, almost on par with the top-ranked US. Many other Member States are at best somewhere in the middle. It is urgent that an even greater divergence in digital development be prevented. Energy remains at the heart of geopolitics The energy transformation thrives on the application of new technologies. Value is no longer primarily achieved through a scarce resource, but through the use of tech- nologies. Europe currently has advantages in technolo- gy leadership. These are in danger of being lost if other world regions establish more pragmatic regional value chains. Accordingly, it is important for Europe to involve neighbouring regions more closely in the future. Energy has always shaped global geopolitics. This is not likely to change in the future. However, it will then be more regional, fragmented, and heterogeneous. Numer- ous armed conflicts in recent decades have been fought over access to fossil fuels – above all oil, the lubricant of the capitalist world economy. It may be that these international conflicts will decrease at some point. On