The EU’s twin transitions towards sustainability and digital leadership: a coherent or fragmented policy field?

In order to achieve the goal of climate neutrality, while also enhancing Europe’s industrial competitiveness on the global stage, the acceleration of the twin – green and digital – transitions has been among the top priorities for the European Union (EU). Given the multiplicity of policy areas involved in these twin transitions as well as the nature of the EU as a multilevel organisation, coherence is the key requirement for the twin transitions to be successful. Drawing on the concept of coherence, this article explores whether the EU can be considered a coherent actor when pursuing the twin transitions. It understands coherence as a process to reduce contradictions across different policy domains rather than as a status where no contradictions exist. It also challenges previous views centred solely on coherence during policy implementation, and proposes a broader assessment that begins by framing different policy domains as mutually beneficial and aligned towards common goals. This perspective introduces two dimensions of coherence – conceptual and operational – along horizontal and vertical levels. By examining how policies are framed and interconnected across different levels of governance and policy agendas, this study reveals that while the link between the green and digital transitions and the need for coordination across different governance levels has been widely accepted, conceptual coherence varies across governance levels and policy areas. Furthermore, the study argues that operational coherence – putting ideas into practice – lags behind conceptual coherence, which highlights the challenges of implementing the twin transitions effectively.