All Eyes on the Competition in the 2024 European Elections

4 Jun 2024  –  Written by Ed Biggins

The European Union has the third largest economy in the world, and is responsible for a sixth of global trade. However, the GDPs of Germany, France and Italy represent more than half of the EU’s economic output, and as recently as 2022, over a fifth of the EU’s population, some 95 million people, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, including over a tenth of those in active employment. Despite the previous European Parliament successfully lowering unemployment across the bloc which as of April 2024 sits at 6.4%, international and intranational divisions in opportunities and economic outlook can still be seen across Europe.

The context of the ongoing war in Europe and changing patterns of globalisation will pose challenges for whichever party finds itself in power. This article examines the 7 major Parliamentary groups’ economic stances, each of which appears to stress the importance of competitiveness.

The European People's Party

  • The EPP have been the largest group in the European Parliament since 1999. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been chosen as the Spitzenkandidat (lead candidate) for the EPP, and under her first term the EU’s power expanded dramatically.

  • The EPP are proponents of the European Single Market, and particularly want the EU to pursue the digital agenda (such as establishing secure digital spaces and ensuring fair competition in digital markets) to make the bloc a global leader in the digital market. They are in favour of de-carbonisation, but not in implementing an “excessive regulatory burden” – they put competitiveness as central.

  • The EPP also emphasise investment and support for industry and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and are seeking to introduce an EU framework that allows companies to invest more in research and development. This commitment can be seen in their actions through the last Parliament: von der Leyen’s Next Generation EU (NGEU) package borrowed money as a bloc to support countries hit the hardest by the pandemic.

  • The Chairman of the EPP Group, Manfred Weber, has emphasised a focus on social policy, saying “as Christian Democrats, we understand that our economy and our society can only work if we also focus on social policy. We want to make our social market economy fit for the 21st century.”

Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D)

  • The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) is the Parliamentary political group of the Party of European Socialists (PES), who promise a new Green and Social Deal to more clearly define the connection between social and climate justice.

  • The S&D’s second progressive society report “The Great Shift” focuses the economic policy suggestions on climate justice, decarbonisation, sustainability and combatting energy poverty.

  • The PES want to build on initiatives like the European Green Deal and Next Generation EU, and support increased investment and regulation, especially on AI. The manifesto does not include information on how increased investment and added safety nets to combat unemployment will be financed, whether through debt, national contributions, or taxes.

Renew Europe (RE)

  • Renew Europe represent the other pro-European centre-right group (along with the EPP) and bring together various liberal parties, such as the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and the European Democratic Party (EDP).

  • Similar to the EPP, RE put their economic emphasis on economic investment and competitiveness. RE want to maintain Europe’s competitive edge on the global market, especially in the digital realm where they support the establishment of a Digital Services Act.

  • RE place the EU’s 24 million SMEs at the heart of the green transition. They are critical of the increased bureaucracy witnessed under the previous Parliament, although, unlike traditional liberal opposition to government intervention, they have shown interest in the European Sovereignty Fund. They state “The last five years were about setting up rules, now we need to focus on implementing them.” It seems that RE will face a challenge in controlling the pro-investment or pro-deregulation wings of the Group.

  • RE state that they would also like to reduce the EU’s energy dependencies, create more access to other markets, make trade fairer, mobilise private investment for innovation and attract talents.

Greens/ European Free Alliance (G/EFA)

  • The G/EFA overlap with S&D considerably on economic policy, but forecasts suggest that they could be losing seats and their spot as the fourth largest group in the Parliament.

  • The G/EFA emphasise the role of workers’ rights and the importance of trade unions in securing these, which they refer to as “allies”. They pledge to improve working conditions and ensure the “green transition leaves no worker behind”.

  • Like S&D, the G/EFA’s manifesto outlines their support for a new Green and Social Deal which “will introduce a new wellbeing-based macroeconomic governance that prioritises quality investment in public goods and the green transition over the outdated growth-at-any-cost paradigm”, and involves a number changes to the tax system that will shift the burden “off workers and small businesses and makes polluters, multinationals, and the ultra-rich pay their fair share”.

  • The G/EFA manifesto is characterised by its detailed policy plans such as investment plans for affordable and energy-efficient housing, and macroeconomic policies including a plan to borrow 1% of EU-wide GDP for a green and social transition fund, which will be accessible for housing, transport and sustainable industry.

European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)

  • The ECR are soft-eurosceptics – they reject the dichotomy of “more Europe or no Europe”, and instead look to support cooperation between states without impeding on the autonomy or sovereignty of confederal institutions.

  • In their priorities for the next Parliament, the ECR outline 4 economic goals: opposition to EU taxes; reducing red tape; new trade agreements; and  reviewing the European Green Deal.

  • Again, the emphasis appears to be on competitiveness, highlighted in their review of the Green Deal: “The harmful mix of excessive red tape, costly investments to meet new requirements and high energy costs has seriously undermined competitiveness, forcing many companies to close or to relocate elsewhere.”

Identity and Democracy (ID)

  • In 2024, ID will not run on a common manifesto. ID parties tend to mix left and right wing economic positions, as collaboration is founded on euroscepticism and populist policies focussing on environmental and social legislation. However, while some ID members may favour interventionist or left-wing economic policies, these are at the national level, and ID do not support an economically interventionist Europe.

  • ID opposes the increased centralisation of the EU, and believes that the bloc capitalises on crises to expand its power. As part of this, they oppose a eurozone budget and the implementation of direct EU taxes. 

  • ID are against the Green Deal, which has been described as “a recipe for disaster, sure to to harm any business that still thrives”. Gunnar Beck, former second vice-president of ID articulated “As a group, we are united in asking for a turnaround, a desperately needed turnaround at almost every level, including the issue of how we can regain industrial competitiveness. We need to enact an industrial strategy that brings back jobs, not by turning back time, but by setting course to a new prosperity. This new prosperity will not come about through Frau von der Leyen’s green deal.”

The Left

  • The Left in the European Parliament comprises political parties with democratic socialist, communist, and soft-Euroscepticism views. At the elections in 2024, member parties are running under both the Party of the European Left (PEL) and the newer Now the People (NTP) party.

  • The PEL’s manifesto focuses on the cost of living crisis and the living conditions of citizens of the EU, especially in housing. The Left also support making the NGEU a permanent EU investment mechanism to reduce inequality and encourage sustainable growth.

  • The Eurosceptic elements of both PEL and NTP are in favour of the abolition of the Stability and Growth Pact – a mechanism that seeks to ensure economic stability by making sure Member States do not overspend –  to enable massive investment in public services and the green transition.

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Recommended citation:

Biggins, E. (2024) All Eyes on the Competition in the 2024 European Elections, 4 June. Available at: https://idrn.eu/all-eyes-on-the-competition-in-the-2024-european-elections/ [Accessed: dd/mm/yyyy].