During an exchange with the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) on Friday 24 April, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, welcomed the green light given by the Heads of State or Government of the European Union to set up a Recovery Fund (see EUROPE 12473/1) and is of the opinion that the priority is now to identify the European industrial ecosystems that require finance.
“First and foremost, we must focus on what needs to be funded, before considering an agreement on the instrument”, he said.
In his opinion, the current state of the European Commission's analyses makes it possible to identify 14 coherent industrial ecosystems, which represent more than 50% of the European Union's added value. Among those ecosystems most affected, Mr Breton mentioned tourism, where activity has fallen by 90% in the second quarter (see EUROPE 12471/6), the local economy, distribution and heavy industries.
“All these analyses are currently being finalised and will be consolidated in light of upcoming deadlines”, he said.
A European industrial recovery plan. Noting the need to reinforce the efforts already made by the European institutions, Mr Breton advocated the implementation of a “European Industrial Recovery Plan”, which would be supported by the future European Recovery Fund. This plan would, in particular, aim to accompany the rebuilding of industry in the EU, as well as fundamentally overhaul the European Union's environmental, digital and resilience-related objectives.
In order to meet these challenges, the Commissioner believes that there is an urgent need for “a radical change of method in our approach to industry in Europe”, by adopting a method based on European industrial ecosystems as proposed by the Commission in the industrial strategy it presented in March (see EUROPE 12443/7).
In financial terms, the Commissioner pointed out that investment requirements are estimated at between €1,500 and €2,000 billion.
Replying to a question asked by Manuel Bompard (GUE/NGL, France) on the possibility of cancelling the European Central Bank's share of Member State debts by converting them into perpetual or very long-term debts, the Commissioner gave assurances that all options were “on the table”. He nevertheless specified that the priority was dealing with the debt arising specifically from the COVID-19 crisis, while stressing the need to enable each Member State to finance itself equitably.
The European Green Deal remains key. Questioned by several MEPs on the link between industrial recovery and compliance with the objectives of the European Green Deal, Mr Breton advocated “avoiding the downgrading of Europe's industry”, while supporting industry in making a green, digital and resilient transit.
Finally, he felt that the COVID-19 crisis reveals “that we may have gone too far in terms of the global” economy. A trend towards localisation is on the horizon, he said, while ensuring globalisation still existed.
“It is not about localising everything, but about being more strategic in relation to our interests”, he said. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot with Agathe Cherki)