PROGRAMME

03 - 04 March 2025

The Square, Brussels

The programme is subject to change

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13:00 - 14:00

ROOM 201A

Affordable energy prices: a conversation with Miguel Gil-Tertre, Head of Cabinet, Executive Vice-President Ribera

Access to affordable energy is a central pillar of the Clean Industrial Deal and a precondition of competitive European industry. Consensus exists on the need to accelerate renewable energy production, to Europeanise, and to significantly invest in the electricity grid. It is also agreed that consumers must better benefit from low renewable energy generation costs, for example, via changes to the electricity market design. One of the ideas – which we discuss at this year’s Ideas Lab – is to better link decarbonised electricity to industry in order to accelerate its electrification: an area where the EU has been falling behind compared to other regions such as China. 

With:

Miguel Gil-Tertre, Head of Cabinet, Executive Vice-President Ribera

Christian Egenhofer, Associate Senior Research Fellow, CEPS (Moderator)

11:00 - 12:15

CIRCLE 210

Carbon Accounting: Streamlining EU Regulation to Enable Efficient, Transparent, and Comparable CO2 Reporting

The new EU legislative landscape is taking shape and simplification of regulation is at the heart of the agenda. Existing regulations such as CBAM, CSRD, and the Battery Regulation contain distinct provisions for measuring carbon footprints. Greater alignment of reporting standards across multiple sustainability frameworks could improve reporting efficiency and enhance the accuracy of emissions data, benefiting businesses, regulators, and consumers alike.


This roundtable will examine the current carbon accounting framework and potential avenues for streamlining greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting. Prof. Karthik Ramanna, Professor of Business and Public Policy at the University of Oxford, and Dr. Thomas Becker, VP of Corporate Strategy, Sustainability, and Mobility at BMW Group, will provide introductory remarks. Their insights will set the stage for an open discussion among all roundtable participants

With:

Karthik Ramanna, Professor of Business and Public Policy, University of Oxford

Thomas Becker, VP of Corporate Strategy, Sustainability, and Mobility, BMW Group

Anna Grochowska, Senior Technical Manager, EFRAG

Vasileios Rizos, Senior Research Fellow and Head of Sustainable Resources and Circular Economy, CEPS (Facilitator)

Christian Dietz, Researcher, CEPS (Facilitator)

17:15 - 18:30

CIRCLE 210

Competitive, secure, clean and investable: what next for the EU’s industrial policy?

Private roundtable with JPMorganChase. Limited places available, please email [email protected] if you’re interested to check availability. 

11:00 - 12:15

ROOM 202

From the margins to the mainstream: The rise of the far right in the EU

Across the EU, far-right parties are gaining ground. In many Member States, they are now part of the government, sometimes as junior partners, sometimes as the leading coalition party. Consequently, in both the European Council and the Council of the EU, politicians from far-right parties are now regularly taking part in EU decision-making.  Their influence is also continuing to grow in the European Parliament, with around 25% of MEPs sitting for far-right parties – and they are actively teaming up with the centre-right to win some selective votes.    

What are the implications of all this? How will far-right gains affect EU policies and its decision-making at the national and European level? How are mainstream centre-right and centre-left parties responding – and which strategies have proven effective? Is the cordon sanitaire still a viable concept?   

This session will be taking a closer look at how far-right parties behave once they are in power, drawing on recent experiences such as in the Netherlands and Finland. It will explore what unites these parties across Europe, where they differ, and what we can be learn about the future of European democracy and the EU’s capacity to act. 

With:

Sanna Salo, Senior Research Fellow, Finnish Institute for International Affairs (FIIA)

Nicolai von Ondarza, Head of Research Division EU/Europe, The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)

Anthony Zacharzewski, President, The Democratic Society

Sophia Russack, Researcher, CEPS (Moderator)

13:30 - 14:45

ROOM 202

Cutting red tape or cutting corporate accountability? The Omnibus Simplification Package in focus

In the recently adopted Competitiveness Compass, the European Commission has announced an unprecedented effort aimed at simplifying legislation and reducing administrative burdens. This includes the launch of a series of Omnibus Simplification packages, starting with the fields of sustainable finance reporting, sustainability due diligence and taxonomy. This proposed Omnibus regulation, expected to be adopted on 26 February by the European Commission, has become very controversial, with a strong divide not only between corporations and NGOs, but also inside the business world. How can we achieve simplification without compromising on the EU’s social and environmental commitments, on which the European Commission has promised to ‘stay the course’? In this session we bring the most relevant stakeholders together to attempt a reconciliation of opposing interests, in the quest for a meaningful win-win solution.

Matteo Borsani, Managing Director, Confindustria

Lara Wolters, Member of the European Parliament (S&D)

Céline Kauffmann, Chief Programmes Officer, IDDRI

Mirzha de Manuel, Member of the Cabinet of Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commission

Jacques Pelkmans, Associate Senior Research Fellow, CEPS (Moderator)

17:00 - 18:15

ROOM 202

Global Gateway 2.0: a moment of truth

‘We cannot do everything everywhere all at once.’ This statement from the Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela carries extra meaning beyond his call to focus on the EU’s ‘real strategic interests’.

With Europe and its traditional allies engaging in slash-and-burn cuts to aid spending and the handing over of Global Gateway to European industries, the EU’s international partnerships are currently in a state of metamorphosis.

Following its launch in 2021, Global Gateway challenged a newly ‘geopolitical Commission’ into striking a balancing act between foreign policy interests and development. Fuel has also been added to the fiery debate on EU values in external action – legally-binding but constantly threatened in the global battle to build connectivity networks.

Today, the Commission is warning that it needs to act within a ‘hyper competitive, hyper transactional’ space and look at the world through a security lens. By walking the path laid out by the Competitiveness Compass, are we throwing all other compasses overboard? How can Global Gateway be taken from start-up to scale-up? Can the EU walk the tightrope between pragmatism and consistency with its partners?

Join this Lab session as we attempt to chart a path ahead for the EU’s international relationships in this moment of truth.

Rym Ayadi, Founder and President, Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA)

Louise van Schaik, Head of Unit EU & Global Affairs/ Senior Research Fellow, The Clingendael Institute

Roy Virah-Sawmy, Policy Coordinator, European Partnership for Democracy

Reinhard Bütikofer, Senior Fellow, Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)

David Ringrose, Head of Division, Connectivity & Digital Transition, EEAS    

Virginie Battu-Henriksson, Policy Officer, Directorate for Sustainable Development Policy and Coordination, DG INTPA, European Commission

Ceren Ergenc, Research Fellow, CEPS (Moderator)

15:15 - 16:30

ROOM 206

AI and the future of work: a new division of labour

Recent developments in generative AI have helped to democratise expertise, making knowledge more accessible to a wide range of non-expert workers. Meanwhile, however, many high- and middle skilled occupations continue to experience labour shortages. This lab session will explore how such advancements in AI could be leveraged to redesign jobs and organisations, addressing skill shortages and providing new career paths. (For further background, listen to this CEPS Tech podcast episode)

With:

Enrique Fernandez-Macias, Researcher and coordinating the Employment and Skills team, Joint Research Centre

Marlene de Koning, Director and leading the HR Tech & Digital team, PwC Netherlands

Isabelle Schömann, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)

Isabella Loaiza Saa, Postdoctoral Associate, MIT Sloan School of Management

Laura Nurski, Associate Research Fellow and Head of Programme on Future of Work, CEPS (moderator)