European Commission Communication on ‘Investing in a smart, innovative and sustainable industry: a renewed EU Industrial Policy Strategy’

With the release of its Communication on an EU Industrial Policy Strategy in September, the European Commission responded to long-standing calls from the European Parliament, Council and industry representatives for a renewed commitment to manufacturing at EU level. Orgalime has been particularly active in advocating a joined-up approach to industrial policy in the European Union – an ambitious strategy to connect the dots between all policy areas affecting the businesses we represent.

By tying together the policy strands that impact on manufacturing investment, the Communication is a welcome first step towards a holistic approach at European level. When it comes to concrete action, however, it unfortunately does not go much beyond a stock-taking summary of existing measures. We still lack a long-term vision of how to attract manufacturing investment to the EU and boost the competitiveness of our companies on the global stage.

This position paper presents Orgalime’s proposals for concrete measures that can help deliver on these goals. We recommend a focus on those EU policy tools that can make a real impact on the ability of firms to innovate and grow their business:

• When it comes to regulation – particularly in the digital sphere – care must be taken to ensure any new legislation is as future-proof as possible and does not stifle innovation or impede the emergence of new data-driven business models.
• The Single Market remains the EU’s most effective means of ensuring a predictable environment to attract investment – we need to defend and reinforce this valuable instrument, and the New Legislative Framework and Better Regulation governance instrument on which it is based.
• The EU budget should focus on areas where it can achieve a European value added – by strengthening funding for collaborative industrial R&I, for example, or further targeting investment in energy and broadband infrastructures.  

These measures, linked to a modern investments policy, can form a solid foundation on which to build a forward-looking and long-term industrial strategy that can bring manufacturing investment back to the EU – helping our industry to continue to create jobs and growth, to the benefit of all European citizens.

Download the position paper to read our recommendations in full.