Brussels – The goal is not to penalize the auto sector but to revive it through appropriate arrangements to bring together EU strategies, business interests, and workers’ rights. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, follows up on her pledge and hosts a strategic automotive dialogue in Brussels, bringing together the industry’s key players. She already promises them “a comprehensive Action Plan on March 5.” This plan, she stresses, “will chart a clear course to ensure our industry can thrive in Europe and compete successfully on a global stage.”
Von der Leyen announces a success story, and the first strategic dialogue for the industry is shaping up to be one. Renault, Volkswagen, BMW, Volvo, Iveco, the European Automotive Suppliers Association (CLEPA), the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA, which includes Stellantis, Mercedes, Daimler, and Ferrari), the European Consumer Organization (BEUC), and as well as the world of environmentally sustainable transportation represented by Transport & Environment: the list of participants who flocked to Brussels demonstrates the eagerness of EU legislators and industry to find common ground to move forward.
The Action Plan is a first step in this regard. It aims to address “a broad range of issues relevant to the sector,” the Commission says, such as ensuring access to talent and resources, fostering technological innovation and the development of next-generation vehicles, and establishing a pragmatic and predictable regulatory framework. Therefore, there could be steps back even on choices made in the previous legislature, as von der Leyen’s party, the EPP, asked the Commission President.
In the meantime, von der Leyen launched the automotive roundtable, based on four thematic work strands, each assigned to a specific commissioner: clean transition of the auto sector (Climate Commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra); industrial value chain for the sector (Industry Strategy Commissioner, Stephane Séjourné); technological and digital innovation (Commissioner for Technological Sovereignty, Henna Virkkunen); skills and social issues (Social Rights and Skills, Roxana Mînzatu).
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
