Brussels, 19/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - The “Friends of Industry” group, including a number of European ministers, met up for a conference in Madrid on 17 February. At this event, Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska drew up a balance sheet of the state of European industry and promised a report on the sector's competitiveness soon.
The Spanish Minister for Industry, as well as ministers for the economy in Germany, Italy and Portugal, also attended the event in Madrid. Belgian, Polish, Dutch, Luxembourg, Latvian, Bulgarian and French ministers were also present. The Friends of Industry meeting was held prior to the Competitiveness Council on 2-3 March. According to the participants, industrial policy must be tackled in the different sectoral groupings at the Council of the EU.
In her speech, Commissioner Bienkowska explained that after years of decline, European industry's share of GDP appeared to be stabilising at around 15.3%, “notwithstanding the fact that problems still remained”. Bienkowska criticised the lack of investment in industry (20% less than before the crisis), particularly in the digital sector. She also highlighted the fact that international competitors were moving into markets for high value-added goods and services where Europe had been previously dominant. The Commissioner also pointed out that the consumer demand in the EU remained weak and warned, “we have to address these challenges soon, if not, our comparative advantage in industry will disappear rapidly”. Bienkowska announced that she would soon present a comprehensive overview of the measures related to industrial competitiveness, which are being implemented or soon will be. This analysis of the progress made will then be carried out on an annual basis. (Marie-Pauline Desset)