Today, the European Commission presented its Communication entitled “Green Deal Industrial Plan for a Net-Zero Age”, which falls short of what is needed.

The leader of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, Iratxe García, said:

“The only clear goal of the European Commission’s paper presented today is to move towards an ecological net-zero industrial policy. Of course, this must be one of the pillars that we fully support. But, at the same time, I don’t see any vision for the equally important pillar on which to base our industrial future: the social one.  We can’t achieve any environmental sustainability if there’s no social sustainability to it. We should have learned the lesson by now: that it must be a just transition.

“The plan presented is very vague with regard to any fresh funding for industrial policy - for new key sectors but also for traditional sectors to adapt. This plan has no added value and it will not help European industry if it is limited to a rebranding and relabelling exercise. And, any public money injection must be conditional to companies respecting workers’ and social rights. If this is meant to be a reaction to the USA’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), it fails to propose any concrete measure and it fails to level up the ambition. The relaxation of the State aid rules should not be the only answer to the detriment of the single market. The IRA’s investments are based on the US President’s commitment to working families, equity and environmental justice. We expect the same level of commitment from the Commission.

“It worries me to see such a complacent message in terms of the EU’s job creation. The Commission’s communication only speaks about skills, and doesn’t even mention the need to create long-term quality jobs. This is what Europeans are expecting.

“Lastly, I see little initiative on the side of the Commission to propose innovative reforms to simplify the existing regulation. It is good to see the Critical Raw Materials Act and the reform of the electricity market, because this is already an urgent need, but we expected more ambition. As it is, this paper remains irrelevant to the real needs of European industry and is a missed opportunity.”