Frankfurt, 16 March 2023 – VDMA Executive Director Thilo Brodtmann  comments on the planned "Net Zero Industry Act", with which the EU  Commission wants to strengthen European industry: 

"The EU Commission's ambition to make the European Union a competitive  base for climate protection technologies is right and important. The Net Zero  Industry Act can contribute to this - especially with its provisions for permitting  procedures. However, the proposal so far only refers to selected technology  fields instead of pursuing a technology-neutral approach. It is true that  temporary public flanking of certain transformation technologies is appropriate - the IRA was a wake-up call here. In the long run, however, this is too little for  European industry, even if the value chains behind these explicitly named  products are included. Ultimately, the goal of an EU industrial policy must be to  make Europe more internationally competitive for companies and to strengthen  entrepreneurial freedoms. Therefore, the Net Zero Industry Act alone is not  enough. 

Also, the target for EU production capacities formulated in the Act must not be  misused as a production quota, which would in fact lead to the barriers to the  EU market. This would achieve the opposite of the actual objective. In addition - apart from the permitting procedures - all other framework conditions should  also be put to the test. With the Critical Raw Materials Act and a long-term  strategy for competitiveness, a start is being made here. A serious and  comprehensive competitiveness initiative that benefits all EU companies,  innovators and business models could provide the boost that the EU and the  green technologies desperately need."