Brussels, 06/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - The goal of increasing industry's share of GDP in Europe to 20% is admirable but it must “be complemented with qualitative aspects” and greater awareness of the role played by the services sector on industrial performance. These are the two main observations to be drawn from an opinion adopted on 29 April by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in relation to the European Commission's “industrial renaissance” strategy proposed last January (see EUROPE 11002).
The opinion drafted by rapporteur Ulla Sirkeinen (Employers' Group, Finland) agrees with both the observations made in the Commission communication (the need to reinvigorate Europe's declining industrial base) and the areas of action and measures advocated by the European Commission. EESC support for an “industrial pact” is therefore guaranteed but this does not mean that civil society representatives would not have liked even greater ambition shown in this area.
The level of the EU's ambition should not simply be the goal of industry's contributing 20% of European GDP. The EESC argues that “the goal of European industrial policy should be (…) to maximise the value capture for Europe” on the international market. This added value could essentially be found by taking the role played by the services sector better.into account.
The interdependence of the services and manufacturing sectors is well known but the Commission has perhaps not sufficiently highlighted the growth potential it offers. The EESC would like the EU to develop specific policies and an investment plan to facilitate the use of “the potential of knowledge-based and ICT services as exporting industries in their own right, as well as their implementation in all business sectors as key drivers of productivity”
Interdependence is also a key term for understanding the EESC's call for the implementation of “stronger governance structures for micro-economic policies”. The idea is to encourage the European Council to “assume clear strategic leadership” in relaunching industry, whilst ensuring that the Competitiveness Council plays a formative role, with responsibility for examining all the decisions made by other Council groups tackling industry related issues. The Commission should also be given more responsibility by incorporating industrial policy questions into the European semester process and formulating individual member state recommendations. (JK)