According to the UK Office of Fair Trading: “Competition is a process of rivalry on price, quality, skills, … between suppliers seeking to win business”. A company’s Competitiveness is determined by a set of the relative advantages that this company has over its rivals that allow it to win business, grow and thrive.
Competitiveness results from a corporate competitive mindset driving the company to make decisions on the most optimal and efficient way to use resources, such as capital and human resources as well as investments, raw materials and energy. These decisions are implementing the company’s business vision within the framework of its industrial and legislative ecosystem.
There are traditionally two main types of competition: race to the top is where the companies’ focus is on delivering novel products and services and of the highest quality, while the race to the bottom is where the companies’ focus is on offering the lowest possible price for a given product or service. Non-EU countries, like China, understood very quickly that before racing to the top, companies need to acquire knowledge, skill, know-how, … Therefore, their strategy was to subsidise State-owned companies in strategic sectors to build up their knowledge, skill, know-how to transform them into global champions. In the case of China, the strategy delivered significant overcapacities in many key sectors, which quickly saturated the domestic market and were used for exports. The export dimension has also proven effective in weakening or eliminating international competition in global markets.
Europe has major competitive advantages in strategic sectors such as dredging and should prioritise and promote competition on value. However, new approaches mitigating risks and sharing benefits are needed for large complex projects. With its Competitiveness Compass, Europe is rebalancing its approach towards long-term sustainability by taking into account the new geo-politics and geo-economics and by introducing measures aiming at cost reductions as well as at improving the competitive edge of the European companies. With its Global Gateway, Europe is promoting partnerships around the world. Such a collaborative business model allows for risk sharing and improved efficiency while fostering innovation.
At the EuDA 2026 Annual Conference, eminent speakers from the Academia, the Commission and the Dredging Industry will present on key elements of the competitiveness of the European Maritime Cluster, on the EU strategies to reinforce its competitiveness and discuss the situation of the European Dredging Industry.
