European industry urgently needs support if it is to become competitive again and continue its efforts to decarbonise so that it no longer lags behind its global competitors.
This is the message that more than 500 European business leaders sent on Wednesday 11 February to the European leaders who had come to Antwerp to meet with them, at the second edition of the European Industry Summit organised in the Flemish city.
In 2024, European businesses called for a ‘Clean Industrial Deal’ (see EUROPE 13354/9). Two years on, the vast majority of them asked the European leaders present in Antwerp, but also all those who will be meeting in Alden Biesen on Thursday 12 February, to take urgent action to bring down electricity prices, which are much higher than in China or the United States.
European business leaders, representing 1,300 companies from the chemical, steel, glass and pharmaceutical sectors, also called for intelligent regulations, avoiding any additional administrative burden.
The ‘Antwerp Call’ also calls for support for fair global trade and better access to finance. “Free trade agreements or other types of agreements should secure vital supplies for industry, enable access to new markets and increase exports. The EU should look at all policy instruments against unfair competition to ensure a real level playing field for EU industries both on the domestic and international markets, including carbon leakage protection”.
The text also called for there to be pride in buying “products made in Europe”, by setting an example “through public procurement and private buyer initiatives endorsed by the EU”.
Consumers (businesses and individuals) must also be empowered to choose products with a zero carbon footprint and from the circular economy, “based on transparent product and environmental carbon footprints, supporting high quality jobs in Europe”, says the text.
Existential crisis. And these bosses were listened to attentively by European leaders, starting with Belgian Prime Minister, Bart De Wever, who believes that the EU is “on the brink of an existential crisis”. But there is “momentum” according to the Belgian leader, who set out a “triple priority: innovation, productivity and competitiveness”.
Ursula von der Leyen also listened to the ‘bosses’, particularly on the issues of energy-related obstacles and unfair competition or administrative burdens.
The President of the Commission began by highly praising the latest trade agreements signed with Mercosur and India, which will help European companies to find reliable partners and outlets.
But it is necessary “to speed up at home. In a global race, delay means lost investments. Today, it can take longer to permit a new factory than to build it”, she noted.
New reallocation of ETS revenues. Reiterating that the Commission will soon be proposing a 28th regime to facilitate the creation of start-ups, for example, the President also shared industry’s views on energy and the revenues from the emissions trading system.
“The next step is to channel more resources from our Emissions Trading System into your industries. ETS brings clear benefits. Since it was introduced in 2005, emissions dropped by 39%, while the economy in sectors covered by ETS has grown by 71%. This shows that decarbonisation and competitiveness can go hand in hand. And revenues of ETS of over €260 billion were generated”, she said. “But Member States invest less than 5% of ETS revenues in industrial decarbonisation. I believe it is high time, that Member States step up. (...) Channelling more ETS revenues back to industry will therefore be a core focus of the upcoming reform of the Emissions Trading System”.
It will also be necessary to carry out an in-depth review of energy taxation. “While energy costs are going down, national taxes on energy are going up. And the taxes that industry pays on electricity are 15 times higher than taxes on gas. So we are working with national governments to reduce the tax burden and bring prices down”, she also stated.
Finally, with regard to European preference, the aim is to speed up the adoption of clean products in Europe. “Only a surge in demand will make a clear case for investment. This is why creating lead markets is so important. And public procurement is a powerful lever. It amounts to 14% of our GDP. (...) Too often, our public buyers have to take the subsidised foreign products, instead of the high-quality European alternatives”.
The response to this situation “will be a central focus of the Industrial Accelerator Act”, said Ms von der Leyen. The Commission will introduce “specific EU content requirements for strategic sectors. This also includes low-carbon requirements in public procurement. And of course, this will be based on rigorous economic analysis. So let us direct more European money to our European industries”, the President continued.
A ‘European preference’, only solution in short term, according to Paris. The French President, Emmanuel Macron, also spoke of the need to remove all unnecessary legislation that weighs down businesses. The Frenchman set out a four-pronged action plan: simplification and the ability to act at EU level, trade diversification and ‘derisking’, protection tools and massive investment.
He again called for a solution that he felt was essential to boost competitiveness, namely “issuing common debt”.
The French President also stressed the need to mobilise private capital and reiterated his call for European preference in critical sectors, such as low-carbon hydrogen.
“We have to secure on strategic sectors a minimum percentage of European content”, he said, convinced that this idea is gaining “consensus” among Europeans. If necessary, the EU should not rule out the idea of re-introducing customs “tariffs” in certain sectors, he continued.
He was succeeded by the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who called for action to combat the “regulatory machine” that the EU has become and advocated opening up trade, and also wanted to provide his vision of this principle of European preference. It will have to be applied “intelligently”, “for critical sectors and only as a measure of last resort”.
“And we need to include our trading partners. I prefer ‘Made WITH Europe’ to the too narrow ‘Made IN Europe’”, said the German.
Link to the Call: https://aeur.eu/f/koo
Link to Ursula von der Leyen’s speech: https://aeur.eu/f/kot (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)