Economic competitiveness is now the priority of the European Commission. To achieve this, the path is clear: “We have to invest in the transition, cause a shock to simplify our regulations, reduce energy costs”summarizes Stéphane Séjourné, commissioner in charge of Industrial Strategy, in an interview with the newspaper. The Echoes published Sunday evening. “It is also to be more read internationally to make our continent more attractive”he adds.
Concretely, this will involve the creation of a “pact for a clean industry”. This text was promised by the president of the institution, Ursula von der Leyen, in the first 100 days of his second termwhich is just beginning. It is supported by the French commissioner and his Spanish counterpart for Ecological Transition and Competition, Teresa Ribera.
Simplify…
For Stéphane Séjourné, the desire of Brussels is to“Send to manufacturers the signal that we hear them and to the rest of the world the message that we are working on our regulatory complexity.”
“Multiplication of planned transition plans creates unsustainable bureaucracy” and so we go “Rationalize what we ask of companies”assures
Therefore, “We will facilitate permits for industrial installations and their access to European funds”specifies the commissioner. On the other hand, “It is necessary to update some texts of the previous legislation, for example on the duty of vigilance or environmental reporting obligations”defend
… and finance
Stéphane Séjourné also announced the desire to “co-finance the transition of heavy industries”. He justifies it by reminding that the “A hundred sites (EU heavy industry) are responsible for more than half of industrial emissions” of the twenty-seven
“We have to put an end to the little music instilled by the populists according to which the decarbonization of energy increases the costs of companies and families. It is the opposite. The elimination of hydrocarbons will allow us to save 450 billion of euros per year, which we can invest elsewhere.”he says
This decarbonization will materialize in any case by a strong increase in electricity consumption. For example, that of the French industry will double in the next 25 years. It should reach 207 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2050, compared to 103 TWh in 2023, according to a recent study by La Fabrique de l’industrie.
U “lever” public procurement
Other trips are in the pipeline for Brussels for its pact. In particular that, already planned in France, of “creating decarbonized public markets to stimulate demand for products such as green steel,” explained Stéphane Séjourné. This, in “Creating sustainability criteria for public authorities in their purchases and no longer just price criteria.”
“Steel is a key industry for Europe”without which we produce neither cars nor wind turbines, he already recalled last week during a visit to the ArcelorMittal steelworks in Ghent, in northwest Belgium. However, the European steel industry is struggling, weighed down by Chinese competition and embarking on a costly ecological transition. It also suffers from more expensive energy than its American or Asian competitors. Hence the importance of support, according to him.
Stéphane Séjourné also wants to use this “Leverage of public procurement” to support the production of electric vehicles. There is still a lot to do in this area. In a study published last weekThe Foundation for Political Innovation has criticized the way in which the European Commission is managing the transition to electric cars, deploring major shortcomings in its “strategic and industrial ambitions”. To see if the “clean industry pact” will succeed in reversing the trend. Response in less than 100 days.
(With AFP)
