{"id":409250,"date":"2024-11-28T19:19:43","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T18:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2024\/11\/28\/urso-non-paper-automotive-competitivita\/"},"modified":"2024-12-04T11:50:34","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T10:50:34","slug":"italys-plan-to-save-the-european-auto-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2024\/11\/28\/italys-plan-to-save-the-european-auto-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Italy’s plan to “save” the European auto industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – The Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso<\/strong>, is back in charge\u00a0to continue his crusade to defend\u00a0the national and European automotive sector<\/strong>. He assures us that he is finding new backing from member country governments.\u00a0The goal, in line with the\u00a0<\/span>political priorities of the new von der Leyen Commission,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>approved yesterday<\/a>\u00a0from the EU Parliament in Strasbourg, is to\u00a0<\/span>relaunch EU competitiveness<\/strong>\u00a0by combining environmental and industrial sustainability in the wake of the new\u00a0<\/span>“Green Industrial Pact”<\/strong>\u00a0announced by the president of the EU executive.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Italian-Czech non-paper<\/h3>\n

At today’s (Nov. 28) Competitiveness Council (COMPET)<\/strong>, the MIMIT holder presented the Twenty-Seven with an informal document drafted together with his Czech counterpart<\/strong>\u2014Rome and Prague are, incidentally, the only governments in the EU led by parties that are part of the European Conservatives (ECR)\u2014calling, among other things, for anticipating the activation of the review clause<\/strong> of the European regulation on CO2 emissions from light vehicles<\/strong>, currently scheduled for 2026, to the first half of 2025.<\/p>\n

This should enable companies to adapt more effectively to the new European rules to avoid steep penalties (in the range of \u20ac15-17 billion as early as 2025, according to Urso’s estimates) and to revive industrial production in the Old Continent<\/strong>, a prerequisite for gaining lost competitiveness in the global market<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The non-paper\u00a0has been\u00a0widely anticipated<\/a>\u00a0in recent months and signed by\u00a0Austria<\/strong>,\u00a0Bulgaria<\/strong>,\u00a0Malta<\/strong>,\u00a0Poland<\/strong>,\u00a0Romania,<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Slovakia <\/strong>so far<\/span>. “We are particularly pleased with the broad convergence of positions expressed” by the European partners, Urso told reporters as he left the afternoon session of the Council.\u00a0Confindustria<\/strong>,\u00a0BDI<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0MEDEF\u00a0<\/strong>(the Italian, German and French business associations) also joined the Italian government’s line, signing a\u00a0joint statement\u00a0<\/a>at the\u00a0Trilateral Business Forum\u00a0in Paris.<\/span>\u00a0The same is also true for the European associations of industrial SMEs<\/strong>, including CONFAPI and several members of the CEA-PME network.<\/p>\n

\"Adolfo<\/a>
Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso (right) shakes hands with Maltese counterpart Silvio Schembri during the Competitiveness Council, Nov. 28, 2024 (photo: European Union)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Targets on emissions<\/h3>\n

First of all, the signatory countries aim to review how the stop to internal combustion engines that will be triggered in 2035<\/strong> will have to be translated into reality: goals and deadlines are not questioned, MIMIT\u00a0said, but meeting them requires a timely review of the regulation<\/strong>, which, according to Urso, cannot wait until 2026 as initially planned for light vehicles and 2027 for heavy vehicles.<\/p>\n

Fulfilling the interim targets<\/i><\/strong> (such as reducing CO2 emissions by 15 per cent from 2021 levels by 2025) will be complex, national governments complain, especially considering the slowdown in electric vehicle deployment<\/strong>. To better engage industry stakeholders, the paper suggests the establishment of a “partnership forum”<\/strong> between automotive representatives, the European Commission and member states where the Union’s industrial strategy<\/strong> could be discussed.<\/p>\n

The text then insists on the concept of technology neutrality<\/strong>, a principle also taken up by the Draghi report, to pave the way for the widest possible range of solutions for low-emission vehicle fuelling<\/strong>. Such solutions include sustainably powered endothermic engines<\/strong>, which are to be considered along with\u00a0alternative powertrains such as biofuels<\/strong>, another pet peeve of the Italian government.<\/p>\n

\"Mario<\/a>
Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi during the presentation of his report on the future of European competitiveness, Sept. 9, 2024 (photo: Aurore Martignoni\/European Union)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Strategic Autonomy<\/h3>\n

It is a matter, according to Urso, of “conjugating industrial and social sustainability with environmental sustainability<\/strong>” and deploying “significant resources to support businesses” and European households through an “Automotive Plan<\/strong>” promoted by Brussels. Competitiveness is “the challenge of challenges for Europe,” according to the head of MIMIT: “The gap with other continents is growing every day, and we need to decide realistically,” he said, and above all, we need to decide quickly.<\/p>\n

The ultimate goal is EU’s strategic autonomy<\/strong> in\u00a0green technologies, starting with the supply of critical raw materials<\/strong> for\u00a0producing electric batteries and\u00a0consolidating<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0the Old Continent’s industrial supply chain<\/strong>. For the minister, Europe is running the risk of moving from “dramatic subordination” to Russian fossil fuels to “worse technological subordination<\/strong> to other state actors” such as China (which holds a global monopoly on the processing of critical raw materials essential to the energy transition).<\/p>\n

The node of funding<\/h3>\n

With what resources will all this be paid for?\u00a0In his address to COMPET, Urso stressed that to realize these ambitious projects, “common resources<\/strong>\u00a0will also be needed,” citing the example of the United States, where private capital is also being mobilized.<\/span>\u00a0The minister welcomed the initiative, announced yesterday<\/a> in Strasbourg by von der Leyen, to launch a “strategic dialogue on the future of the automotive industry<\/strong>” on the Old Continent.<\/p>\n

\"Ursula<\/a>
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presents her new College and its program for the next five years to the Europarliament, November 27, 2024 (photo: Philippe Buissini\/EP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The idea, embraced by Urso, is to bring manufacturers and legislators<\/strong> to the same table “to find solutions together” at a time when “the industry is going through a profound and disruptive transition.” He argued that the situation in the member states is problematic, “with announcements\u00a0<\/span>every day that projects are suspended or cancelled on the path to electric<\/strong>,” with plans to build\u00a0gigafactories\u00a0being cancelled, and with announcements of plant closures and worker layoffs multiplying in recent months.<\/span><\/p>\n

Towards a reform of the carbon tax<\/i>?<\/h3>\n

Another point on which Italy is trying to convince its European partners is the Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism<\/strong> (CBAM), otherwise known as the carbon tax<\/i>. Rome is working on another non-paper together with France, Poland, and “other countries”\u00a0<\/strong>to revise the parameters set by the Commission since these, Urso explained, “are clearly inadequate to sustain the competitiveness of Europe’s energy-intensive industries<\/strong>, starting with steel and chemicals.”<\/p>\n

“We don’t have an ideological view but a pragmatic and responsible one<\/strong>,” he added, anticipating that the informal document will also mention “support for exporters to make the product made in Europe competitive in global markets compared to products made in other countries that do not abide by the rules we have set for ourselves.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MIMIT holder Adolfo Urso presented his colleagues from the Twenty-Seven with a non-paper asking the Commission to review certain standards and deadlines related to the automotive sector as part of the strategy to cut climate-changing emissions. Five other countries have signed the Rome proposal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7876,"featured_media":409203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"0","show_view_counter":"0","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25705],"tags":[26324,26779,26298,29083,25915],"class_list":["post-409250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-adolfo-urso-en","tag-automotive-en","tag-emissioni-co2-en","tag-autonomy-strategic-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7876"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409250"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":410126,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409250\/revisions\/410126"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}