Welcoming back our European industry

The EPP Group wants to strengthen the business case for industrial decarbonisation in Europe. Today, members of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy approved a report drafted by the EPP Group MEP Christian Ehler on the EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act, a law proposed by the European Commission to increase and strengthen Europe’s manufacturing output in technologies needed to reach the EU’s climate targets, so-called 'net-zero technologies'.

“Today, we showed that we are serious about making Europe future-fit for industrial manufacturing. The Net-Zero Industry Act could be a crucial element in preventing Europe from taking the path of decarbonisation through deindustrialisation. We can still reverse that course, and this law will help. It is an important step towards a real market-based industrial policy and will facilitate the creation of business cases to scale-up production for net-zero industries in Europe,” Ehler says.

“We substantially broadened the scope of the law with an extensive list of net-zero technologies and included the full supply chain. We also reduced time limits for permitting," Ehler, who is also the EPP Group's Spokesman on Industry, Research and Energy, adds. "The original proposal was part of the EU's answer to the American Inflation Reduction Act, which had shown that the regulation-based approach of the Green Deal alone could not achieve it. The Net-Zero Industry Act is part of the solution to make the Green Deal more feasible for industry.”

For the EPP Group, this Act is only the first step in welcoming back industry to Europe. "These are the first rays of light after a long night of industrial neglect. For European industry to flourish again, we will need more action in the next parliamentary term. The importance of the Net-Zero Industry Act goes beyond just this file; it sets the tone for the next parliamentary term," Ehler finishes.

The text will have to be approved by the European Parliament's plenary in November. Subsequently, negotiations with Member States on the final legal text can begin.