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EU law to strengthen European industry: “Put all framework conditions to the test“
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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."
A photo of Thilo Brodtmann, VDMA Executive Director can be found here.