Several industry representatives said the European Union must do more to protect its industry from increasingly aggressive and often unfair international competition and develop an ambitious long-term strategy to meet its climate goals, during a discussion with MEPs in the Industry and Research Committee (ITRE) on Thursday 28 October.
Responding to MEPs at the session, who essentially wanted to know what was missing from the European arsenal to help European industry compete more effectively while making the green transition a success, the representatives rattled off a series of recommendations.
Frank Heemskerk, Secretary General of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT), said it was vital for the European Commission to strengthen its trade policy and modernise its competition policy and single market. Emphasis on the implementation of EU rules, investment in research, innovation and in the qualification of the workforce should also be priorities, he said.
The industry representative considers carbon border adjustment to be a good tool. However, this new system must be adapted sector by sector, he clarified. He dwelt on hydrogen technology as a future solution for Europe, if it remains internationally competitive. His analysis was that Europe has missed the 5G train. It must therefore catch up, otherwise the European economy, and in particular SMEs, risks losing ground to international competition. Finally, the European Commission must develop precise indicators to monitor its industrial strategy, in particular.
Jérôme Wallut, commercial director at Alstom, welcomed the strong EU support for the mobility sector as part of the wider European Recovery Plan. Like the ERT representative, Mr Wallut insisted on public support for research and innovation. In addition, fair competition must be ensured both inside and outside the EU. Finally, on the latter point, the Union must guarantee a certain normative stability to enable European industry to develop long-term strategies.
Mr Wallut emphasised the defence of intellectual property at international level. On the issue of standards, he asked Europe to stop being “naïve”: it must defend European interests in the field of standards against Asian players, who are trying to change standards in their favour.
Chris Heron, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Eurometaux, painted an even bleaker picture. In his view, due to a lack of vision, the EU had fallen behind China in the extraction of certain raw materials, citing the case of magnesium (see EUROPE 12818/26). Europe is 95% dependent on China, whereas it used to have mines on its territory (France and Norway). According to this expert, the EU needs to restore certain production capacities and value chains in critical materials, notably magnesium.
For example, he insisted that trade defence instruments should be made more effective. He called for the development of long-term partnerships, as China has done in the field of cobalt. Finally, there is a need to open new mines in Europe, he said. He also focussed on the sorting of electronic waste and its export to third countries. Here, Europe must improve its environmental regulatory framework and better control exports, he stressed.
As for reducing carbon emissions, he said that the carbon border adjustment scheme was a good thing, but would not be enough. In his view, the issue of indirect costs generated by the ETS emissions trading scheme should be addressed.
This was the first debate since the update of the industrial strategy (see EUROPE 12713/6). A second meeting was held on the same day. EUROPE will continue to follow this story. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)