The last weeks have seen dramatic disruptions to our way of life. What was previously unthinkable has now become a regular part of our daily lives.
I sincerely hope that we will get through these days quickly and safely. But this horrendous situation also offers us an opportunity to rethink much of what we do and how we do it.
This is also the driving philosophy behind the European Commission’s new Industrial Strategy.
RELATED CONTENT
It is about making the dual transition to sustainability and digitisation and doing it in a way that makes Europe more globally competitive, preserves its sovereignty and strengthens its autonomy.
In the new strategy, we outline a range of actions along six broad themes. First, we are committed to supporting industry in its transition towards climate neutrality and a circular economy.
Many European companies are already leading this transition, and as the shift towards car-sharing and more sustainable products shows, this is what our citizens want.
At the core of our approach is our new Circular Economy Action Plan, which includes a sustainable product policy framework. We are also developing more sector-specific approaches, such as on steel, electronics, textiles and chemicals.
And we want to get the most out of what we have, so we will come forward with a strategy on the built environment and a regulatory framework for sustainable batteries.
We want to empower our consumers to play an active role through better information. Industry will not make this transition alone; it will be supported by the new Just Transition Platform.
Second, we want to move towards a deeper and more digital Single Market. Our Single Market is Europe’s biggest strength, but it can only work if we make progress on digitisation and services.
The latter is all the more important given the shift from ownership to usage, as well as the increasing mix - servitisation - of goods and services
So, we have put in place an ambitious European Data Strategy and are developing a Digital Services Act.
More widely, we have released a Single Market Enforcement Action Plan and Barriers Report, with a recommendation for setting up a Single Market Enforcement Task Force composed of Member States and the Commission.
But we are also acting to both secure and encourage Intellectual Property. And of course, we are reviewing whether our competition and State aid rules are fit for SME strategy with over 30 practical initiatives to unleash the power of our small companies and start-ups.
Third, our new strategy looks at how we can foster greater innovation across Europe. At the heart of this will be Horizon Europe and the European Innovation Council, supporting breakthrough innovation.
“Our Single Market is Europe’s biggest strength, but it can only work if we make progress on digitisation and services”
I am proud that one of its first focus areas has been to support the development of a new vaccine to combat Coronavirus. We need to bolster this through public private partnerships.
We need to ensure that this innovation gets to market and that our companies have access to the finance to sustain them; that is the fourth strand of our strategy.
On this, we need the support of the Parliament and Council to ensure the rapid adoption and implementation of the next long-term EU budget.
One focus will be mobilising private finance and the efforts of public authorities across Europe. Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) have worked to pool resources and connect players, notably on batteries and microelectronics, so we will identify new areas.
We are also reviewing state aid rules for IPCEIs. Of course, we need to make more progress on the Capital Markets Union, complemented by dedicated work on sustainable finance and digital finance.
Fifth, a competitive industry depends on recruiting and retaining a qualified workforce – 70 percent of companies report that they are delaying investments because they cannot find people with the right skills.
We will be updating our Skills Agenda and launching a European Pact for Skills. We also need to do more to address the waste of resources created by talented women not being used to their full potential in our workforce, so we will implement the new EU Gender Strategy.
Last, we must help our companies by opening up markets, while also protecting them from unfair competition. At the same time, we need to reduce our dependence on others for the things that we need most.
As well as addressing foreign industrial subsidies, both bilaterally and multilaterally, we will push for swift adoption of the International Procurement Instrument.
We will also strengthen our strategic digital infrastructures. We also want to build on the benefits emerging from our European Defence Fund, so we will develop an action plan based on synergies between civil, space and defence industries.
We are also working on a new European Union Pharmaceutical Strategy in 2020, including actions to secure supplies and ensure innovation for patients - all the more critical in light of recent events.
All these actions should deliver benefits not just for our current major industrial players but also for the innovative start-ups, SMEs and midcaps.
We need to act in partnership both within industries and regions as well as across Europe, involving all stakeholders.
The Commission will systematically analyse the different ecosystems across Europe and the different risks and needs of industry, identifying gaps and issues that need to be addressed. Our annual Industry Days will be a valuable event to bring players together.
Despite the current grim news, I am confident that, with your support and that of the other key players, we can turn the page to a glorious and sustainable future for our companies, people and planet.