Wednesday's proposal is one of the new EU Commission's promised main features to increase Europe's competitiveness. Much is based on the scathing report submitted by the former head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, last autumn.
The Commission promises, among other things, an action plan to secure cheaper energy, not least for the most energy-intensive industry. They also want to invest more in recycled critical raw materials.
The new "gift for clean industry" also includes a giant fund of over 1,100 billion kronor, financed, among other things, through the trade in emission rights, to help companies switch to more sustainable production.
"More and better"
The future starts today. I am convinced that our industries and workers will benefit from this revolution, says EU Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera at a press conference in Brussels.
We must produce more. We must produce better. We must produce European, says industry colleague Stéphane Séjourné.
The CEO of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Jan-Olof Jacke, notes for his part that it is now a matter of "getting the economy moving".
"It is possible to achieve while keeping the direction of the climate transition in place. We need to get more fossil-free electricity at competitive costs", Jacke welcomes via SMS to TT.
Simpler rules?
In parallel, the Commission is also proposing comprehensive regulatory simplifications to reduce bureaucracy. The first part mainly means that fewer companies in the EU will need to worry about climate taxes and various reporting requirements when it comes to sustainability for both the environment and working conditions.
The measures are, however, receiving criticism from environmentalists.
"The Commission wants to call it simplification, but in reality, it is deregulation and deterioration at the expense of human rights, the environment, and climate", writes EU Parliament member Alice Bah Kuhnke (Green Party) in a comment to TT.
The EU Commission's new industrial plan has six focus areas:
* More energy at affordable prices
* Increase demand for sustainable products
* Help with better financing for transition
* Increase recycling of critical raw materials
* Better access to raw materials outside the EU
* Reskill the workforce
Regarding regulatory simplifications, it is proposed, for example, that the sustainability directive CSR should only apply to companies with more than 1,000 employees. The carbon border adjustment mechanism CBAM should, in turn, only apply to those who annually import more than 50 tons of iron, steel, aluminum, or fertilizers.
Source: EU Commission
