Industry remains cautious over the Industrial Accelerator Act

Brussels – The regulation to relaunch and safeguard the decarbonisation of European industry is a positive development, but business associations have doubts and ask for business-friendly guarantees. Following the European Commission’s presentation of the Industrial Accelerator Act, industry operators have given a lukewarm response to an initiative that “comes at a crucial moment,” according to BusinessEurope, the confederation of European industry associations. However, further work is needed, the association’s director general, Markus Beyrer, warns. “The proposal can provide solutions, but it can also create new problems if it is not well-balanced and carefully designed.” 

For BusinessEurope, the provisions on industrial authorisations and the creation of demand for low-carbon products through public procurement “provide interesting concepts and proposals, but it remains to be seen whether this can be realistically implemented and become a real game changer.” It also remains to be seen how the introduction of European preferences in public procurement and public support schemes will work. Here, it is necessary that “risks are properly assessed and fully understood”. Finally, Beyrer insists, “the provisions on Foreign Direct Investments remain problematic,” insofar as they raise “legitimate questions about the consistency of this proposal with the newly adopted FDI screening regulation and could put Europe’s attractiveness for foreign direct investment into question.”

Warnings also come from Vladimír Dlouhý, president of Eurochambres: The “‘Made in Europe’ criteria must be clear and proportionate, especially for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises, ed).” Because, he warns, “if poorly
designed, they will pile costs onto businesses” already grappling with high energy prices, bureaucratic red tape, and a fragmented single market. In this context, “Europe cannot afford more complexity disguised
as ambition.” Hence, Eurochambres’ request is to ensure that local and low-carbon criteria remain applicable to businesses, particularly SMEs, while extending simplified and accelerated authorisation procedures to all industrial projects across Europe.

 Eurofer, the association of European steel producers, which includes, among others, Acciaierie d’Italia, Riva and Arvedi, is also cautious. “The proposal offers some positive foundations that could stimulate demand for low-carbon steel.” The Industrial Accelerator Act “is a positive start, but it needs to go further to increase demand for green steel produced in Europe.” The association notes that the proposal requires 25 per cent of steel used in public procurement and public support schemes to be low-carbon, but “it does not require that this steel be produced in Europe, and this is important.” Eurofer points out that 25 per cent of public procurement accounts for less than 5 per cent of the total steel market, and that public support schemes vary considerably between Member States. “Without stronger and clearer signals of demand, these measures may not provide the long-term certainty needed for major industrial investments.” In short, “for leading markets to work, the EU must ensure support for low-carbon steel produced in Europe, not in third countries.”​

 The European railway industry (UNIFE) also has something to say about the Commission’s proposal. “Although our sector is not directly covered by the European Commission’s ‘Made in Europe’ provisions, we fully support the Commission’s recognition of the need to consider EU origin for the construction of railway rolling stock, as the transport sector is crucial to the economic security of the Union,” Director General Enno Wiebe said. “We must be absolutely clear: if we are not defined as a strategic sector by European policymakers in the reform of public procurement directives planned for the end of the year, we could face an existential threat.”

 UNIFE points out that “railways are fundamental to military transport and supply chains, and technologies from high-risk suppliers should not be placed on such important European infrastructure.” That is why Wiebe insists, “Our sector must be designated as strategic.” 

Faced with the proposal of the Industrial Accelerator Act, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the EU has made no secret of its disappointment. The CCCEU expresses “concern” regarding “certain provisions of the proposal that may have far-reaching implications for market openness, fair competition, and China–EU economic and trade cooperation”. Hence, the call on the EU to ensure that the relevant legislative process will “uphold the principles of fairness, impartiality, and non-discrimination in the investment environment, and to continue providing an open, transparent, and predictable business climate for all market participants.”