The Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament welcome the legislative proposals, made today by the European Commission, at a time when our industry faces great challenges and needs urgent measures to make sure existing jobs remain and new quality ones are created within the EU. Yet, the S&D Group finds serious loopholes in the proposals on the Critical Raw Materials Package and the Net Zero Industry Act, among others, as there is no strong link between the measures proposed and how they would contribute to the decarbonisation of existing industry.

Mohammed Chahim, vice-president of the S&D Group for the Green New Deal, said:

“The legislation proposed today by the European Commission is long-awaited, but our Group will have to work hard in the European Parliament in order to significantly improve it. We must ensure that clean industry is the future in Europe. EU funding should prioritise industry projects that contribute to decarbonisation and the goals we promised to achieve, to Europeans, in the state of the climate emergency we all live in. This means we have to create the conditions for companies to become more sustainable and to invest in green technologies. While it is undoubtedly true, we have to boost our production and processing capacity, we cannot do it sacrificing the social achievements of the EU. If we mine in Europe for raw materials, this must be under strict social and environmental conditions. These mining standards should apply to all imported raw materials as well.

“European legislation on industry should not be made only as a reaction to measures taken by third countries to protect their markets and users. We have to take measures in order to make sure Europe does not lag behind in high-tech, quality jobs and environmental goals. It is not a matter of protectionism but a matter of common sense. For this reason, we will have to improve the legislation proposed today by the European Commission by including a clear timeline with projected capacities for raw materials and access to them. European coordination is needed, as we cannot leave the allocation of critical raw materials entirely to the market. Otherwise, there is a risk the industry will not be able to decarbonise due to lack of supply or availability of raw materials and clean technologies.”