CERRE ambitions for Europe 2024

The Centre on Regulation in Europe launches a wide-ranging dossier on the regulation of Europe’s energy, tech and mobility industries.

Renowned academics from around Europe have developed 50 ambitions for the new European Parliament and Commission.

Sovereign innovative digital Europe

• Europe must stimulate the development of its digital start-ups to regain its digital sovereignty. It should ensure equal access to critical digital innovation capabilities such as data, computing power, digital skills and risky capital. The EU should also take measures to stimulate the scale-up of digital platforms. To do so, Europe should ensure that platforms are subject to only one set of rules for the whole single market applied by a European regulator.
• To keep up with the worldwide connectivity race and support the development of advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence, Europe should focus on unlocking investments for fibre and 5G infrastructures. Its success will be measured against the magnitude of these investments.

Fair, efficient and sustainable Energy Union

• Policymakers must take full account of the distributional effects of the current and future regulation that will enact the energy and climate transition. This should include the creation of a European Observatory tasked with monitoring those effects in multiple EU markets and recommending mitigation measures.
• To drive decarbonisation, the European Commission should prioritise expanding the scope of the European Emissions Trading System (ETS). It should include more sectors such as transport and agriculture, with at least 85% coverage of all emitting sectors. Europe should also foresee linking the EU ETS with similar schemes around the world to accelerate global decarbonisation.

Decarbonised dependable mobility for all

• To reduce the environmental impacts of mobility without curbing the free movement of citizens or goods, EU policies should focus on achieving greater modal shift. One way to do so is by making use of market-based incentives and pricing as well as by focusing on technological change to lower vehicle emissions. The EU should develop mobility policies that fairly and efficiently internalise external costs, such as pollution.

“In tune with today’s reality, smarter regulation should be the hallmark of a European Union dedicated to working for its citizens. This will contribute to the much-needed consolidation of our democracy and to a stronger Europe”, says CERRE’s Director General, Bruno Liebhaberg.  “Delivering on Europe’s climate, digital and mobility ambitions, as well as strongly defending European values of democracy and solidarity are challenging tasks. Yet they are achievable if European institutions act together in these critical sectors for Europe.”