ERT’s Vision for Europe’s Industrial Policy Future
Executive Summary
- In a world of sharper geopolitical competition, state-backed industrial strategies and weaponised dependencies, Europe needs a more resilient economic model that strengthens its competitiveness and gives companies the confidence to invest, innovate and scale in Europe.
- ERT supports a more active EU-level industrial policy which is designed as a coherent competitiveness agenda and avoids a collection of misaligned measures. Europe can only rebuild its industrial strength if industrial, trade, competition, energy, sustainability, and funding policies pull in the same direction.
- The starting point must be a stronger Single Market and less regulatory complexity. Without this foundation, new industrial policy tools will not overcome Europe’s persistent productivity gap or economic overdependencies.
- European Preference measures, as proposed in the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), can support more predictable demand in strategic value chains but can only complement – not replace – more fundamental competitiveness priorities. European Preference measures must be strategic, proportionate, targeted, and sector-specific. A close dialogue with affected industries is critical.
- Europe’s competition frameworks must better reflect today’s global competitive and economic security environment. The EU’s revised Merger Guidelines must turn the Commission’s welcome shift in principle into a real change in enforcement practice, so that scale, innovation, investment and resilience are consistently reflected in merger decisions. Merger control, state aid, FDI screening and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation should work coherently, with faster procedures and fewer overlapping reviews.
- EU funding should be consolidated into fewer, larger and more mission-driven programmes that prioritise speed, scale, research, innovation and industrial deployment. Strategic coherence is essential to help bridge Europe’s investment deficit.
- ERT stands ready to contribute practical market knowledge so that EU policy avoids unintended consequences and creates the right framework conditions for European industry to thrive.
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