On Thursday 23 May, the French and German economy ministers, Bruno Le Maire and Robert Habeck, published a joint initiative on European competitiveness for the next five years. In four pages, they set out a roadmap to support industrial development in strategic sectors.
However, it remains general and similar to the content of the conclusions of the European Council of 18 April. The emphasis is on reducing the regulatory burden on businesses, private and public investment, strengthening the internal market and fair trade.
In order to go further than the European Council, the focus is on some of the themes mentioned and a number of more concrete proposals are put forward. The positions of Germany and France are not yet entirely aligned on certain specific measures, but the fact that the two countries share a common diagnosis of the economic situation in the EU is already a strong signal, according to a member of Bruno Le Maire’s cabinet.
The two ministers stressed the role of the ‘Green Deal’ as a driving force for growth. They also propose to “support the creation of green lead markets in the EU and worldwide”. In their view, this could help European businesses to become more competitive.
European funding should also be increased to support European public goods and infrastructure for the green and digital transitions, according to the joint initiative.
The idea of a European digital pact is being floated “to accelerate digitalisation across industries and seize opportunities in the most innovative technologies”.
Finally, in terms of international trade, it is clear that the European approach must be reviewed to take account not only of geostrategic interests, but also respect for sustainable development, insists the Franco-German couple. To achieve this, the EU should focus in particular on strategic sectoral agreements with its global partners.
The Commission has already moved in this direction in recent months, for example by negotiating a whole series of agreements on critical raw materials.
To see the French-German initiative: https://aeur.eu/f/CCI (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)