In less than two months, the Commission is due to present its ‘Clean Industrial Deal’. In the meantime, it is due to set out the main directions in a ‘Competitiveness Compass’ due to be published by the end of this month. Initially scheduled for 15 January, the communication still needs to be slightly revised, in particular as regards the line to be taken on the investment needed to boost European competitiveness.
The ‘Clean Industrial Deal’ should then form part of the hard actions that the Commission has promised to put in place over the last few months. Rather than new legislative proposals, the aim is to achieve the ambitions announced long ago: to enable the launch of certain industrial projects by exploiting the possibilities offered by the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) or the European Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), for example.
As far as investment is concerned, the College of Commissioners will have the difficult task of agreeing on how to support industrial projects, without the benefit of clear direction from the European Council or a budget adapted to the challenges.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called for the potential for private investment to be released, and for public investment to be directed towards strategic industrial projects. This could take the form of bank guarantees for innovative but risky projects, according to a European source.
Energy prices at the centre of attention. While all stakeholders continue to cite high energy prices as the primary cause of Europe’s loss of competitiveness, a number of players are concerned that this issue is not being sufficiently addressed.
“There is a real risk that the energy part will not be strong in the ‘Clean Industrial Deal’”, worries Pascal Canfin MEP (Renew Europe, French). This is the number one issue in terms of price and availability. We want to move towards a fossil-free energy Union”. Next week, his group will present its priorities for the ‘Clean Industrial Deal’, and energy will be one of the four pillars of the text.
BusinessEurope, which represents business in the EU, is also highlighting electricity prices in its priorities for this legislative cycle, published on Wednesday 15 January. To reduce energy infrastructure costs for industry, BusinessEurope suggests, for example, exemptions from network charges.
On this subject of networks, the Commission should insist, in its ‘Clean Industrial Deal’, on their modernisation in certain Member States, according to a senior European official. This would ensure connectivity both within countries and between them, thereby guaranteeing energy supplies.
Administrative simplification. Stronger measures should be taken to reduce the administrative burden on businesses: the Clean Industrial Deal will be accompanied by an omnibus initiative to simplify existing legislation. The form of the proposal has yet to be defined, but the objective is clear: to find duplication and cumbersome procedures in a whole range of legislation, especially in reporting, that can be optimised for businesses. An effort to digitalise all European rules could also be included in the proposal.
While the focus so far has been on three texts in particular that need to be amended (CRSD, CSDDD and European taxonomy), the Commission is considering an initiative that goes much further in terms of volume, according to several sources. Some believe that it is not a question of going back on the objective of the legislation previously adopted, and therefore on its substance, but only on the procedures.
Numerous MEPs and civil society organisations have already sounded the alarm and called on the Commission not to move towards deregulation and the unravelling of texts adopted in recent years.
In theory, manufacturers should be delighted with the Commission’s forthcoming announcements. However, a number of organisations have pointed out in recent months that businesses also need predictability when it comes to European rules. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)