The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced an update of the EU's industrial strategy for the first half of 2021 in her first State of the Union address to the European Parliament on Wednesday 16 September.
Noting that with the rise of the Covid-19 pandemic “the last 6 months have only accelerated” the dual green and digital transition “at a time when the global competitive landscape is fundamentally changing”, the president said it was time to update the industrial strategy in the first half of the year. As a reminder, the strategy was presented at the beginning of the year in March (see EUROPE 12443/7), just a few days before part of the Union was to fall into national confinement and the introduction of restrictive health measures.
In her letter of intent published on the same day and addressed to the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli (S&D) of Italy, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the Presidency of the EU Council, the President details, in the section dedicated to digital, the presentation of a communication to update the strategy, along with a review of competition rules, a legislative proposal to better regulate foreign subsidies and an action plan to create synergy between the space, defence, and civil industries.
The content of this revision remains a mystery for the time being. According to one source, the European Commission could seek to make this strategy even greener and more focused on sectors and production chains whose vulnerabilities were exposed during the pandemic. Another source considers that the update would focus primarily on competition rules.
The President articulated her desire to consolidate the European industrial base with respect for the rules of the single market, by removing existing obstacles and reducing red tape, all of which are hollow references to the Action Plan on the implementation and enforcement of the rules of the single market, presented last March (see EUROPE 12438/6).
The construction sector
More specifically, the President mentioned the key role of the construction sector in the successful greening of the European economy and gave as examples two furrows to be dug: the use of organic materials, on the one hand, and the exploitation of artificial intelligence, on the other hand, all within a “wave of European renewal” (see other news).
Space, that great absentee
The President did not mention the space sector during her speech, despite the fact that space policy is an increasingly crucial issue for European autonomy, to the chagrin of MEP Christophe Grudler (Renew Europe, France), who expressed his disappointment at the German EU Council Presidency's proposals in the space sector (see EUROPE 12560/18). Another source told EUROPE that the President had, however, repeatedly stressed the importance of connectivity for Europe, which could foreshadow the creation of a new European satellite constellation (see EUROPE 12526/20).
A European Council dedicated to the single market and industry
These announcements come ten days before an extraordinary European Council meeting on 24 and 25 September, which will be devoted, inter alia, to the rules and shortcomings of the single market and the resilience of the European industrial fabric (see EUROPE 12556/6).
According to a draft conclusions document, obtained by EUROPE, the leaders intend to ask the Commission to target those areas of EU policy that are overly dependent on third countries, primarily China and the US.
Announcements greeted by employers
BusinessEurope welcomed the President's announcements and insisted, however, that the industrial strategy should be sufficiently “credible” to mobilise investment, but also to guarantee energy, which is certainly green, but above all affordable. Finally, the employers' organisation insisted on the need to ensure fair competition at global level to better defend European industry.
See the State of the Union speech: https://bit.ly/3iBviKK
For the draft conclusions: https://bit.ly/3knMbsH (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)