For a European industrial renaissance

The European Commission has come up with an array of proposals on how to modernise the EU’s industrial base to boost its competitiveness and economic growth.

ACT

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: For a European industrial renaissance (COM(2014) 14 final of 22 January 2014 - not published in the Official Journal).

SUMMARY

In this very detailed set of policy proposals, the European Commission is calling on EU countries to recognise the key importance of industry in boosting competitiveness and economic growth across the EU. The proposals are designed to provide a clear signal of the EU’s commitment to modernising Europe’s industrial base.

The proposals cover a wide variety of areas. They include:

• taking measures in the internal market and at international level to secure access to energy and raw materials at affordable prices that reflect international conditions;
• combining EU and national funding to pursue innovation, investment and reindustrialisation goals;
• making it easier for EU firms (and SMEs in particular) to gain access to global markets in more favourable competitive conditions.

Developing infrastructure

One of a long list of priority areas that the Commission mentions in its conclusions is to develop infrastructure. This is about creating an attractive environment for companies and production. Here, the Commission wants the EU to put in place measures and legislation on information, energy, transport, space and digital communications networks. The Commission argues that delaying the deployment of such infrastructure will hamper the EU’s future competitiveness.

Upholding intellectual property rights

Another example of a set of proposals relates to intellectual property rights. In a world where competitiveness often derives from first-mover advantage and branding, it is increasingly important for EU companies to uphold their industrial property rights in all relevant markets, especially in creative industries where counterfeiting is a serious problem. Here, the Commission has already expanded its industrial property rights helpdesks network to ASEAN (south-east Asia) and Mercosur (South America) to offer services across a broader geographical area, and is considering extending such support services to other parts of the world.

For further information, see also:

• the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry’s website on industrial policy communication 2014;
• the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry’s website on mission growth;
• press release.

Last updated: 11.06.2014