March 16, 2020

The Commission has published a new Industrial Strategy to help Europe transition towards climate neutrality and digital leadership. The Commission says that the Strategy aims to “drive Europe’s competitiveness and its strategic autonomy at a time of moving geopolitical plates and increasing global competition”.

The package of initiatives sets out a range of actions to support all players of European industry, including big and small companies, innovative start-ups, research centres, service providers, suppliers and social partners. A dedicated Strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) aims to reduce red tape and help Europe’s numerous SMEs to do business across the single market and beyond, access financing and help lead the way on the digital and green transitions. The initiatives also include concrete steps to address barriers to a well-functioning single market.

The package includes the following initiatives:

• Intellectual Property Action Plan: to uphold technological sovereignty, promote a global level playing field, fight intellectual property theft and adapt the legal framework to the green and digital transitions;
• Competition: the ongoing review of EU competition rules, including the ongoing evaluation of merger control and State aid guidelines, aims to ensure that the rules are fit for purpose for an economy that is changing fast, increasingly digital and that must become greener and more circular. The Commission will adopt a White Paper by mid-2020 to address distortive effects caused by foreign subsidies in the single market and tackle foreign access to EU public procurement and EU funding. The issue related to foreign subsidies will be addressed in a proposal for a legal instrument in 2021. This will go hand in hand with ongoing work to strengthen global rules on industrial subsidies in the World Trade Organisation, and actions to address the lack of reciprocal access for public procurement in third countries;
• Environment: comprehensive measures to modernise and decarbonise energy-intensive industries, support sustainable and smart mobility industries, to promote energy efficiency, strengthen current carbon leakage tools and secure a sufficient and constant supply of low-carbon energy at competitive prices; and
• action plan on critical raw materials and pharmaceuticals: enhancing Europe’s industrial and strategic autonomy by securing the supply of critical raw materials and pharmaceuticals and by supporting the development of strategic digital infrastructures and key enabling technologies.

In addition, the Commission will systematically analyse the risks and needs of different industrial ecosystems. In doing this analysis, the Commission will work closely with an inclusive and open Industrial Forum, to be set up by September 2020. It will consist of representatives from industry, including SMEs, big companies, social partners, researchers, as well as Member States and EU institutions. Where needed, experts from specific sectors will be called upon to share their knowledge. The Commission’s annual Industry Days will continue to bring all players together. To read the Commission’s press release in full and for links to relevant documents, click here.