Industry in the Netherlands is declining and this is a cause for great concern. For example, companies – particularly due to high energy prices – would not rule out a move abroad. According to the director general Hans Grünfeld of the Association for Energy, Environment and Water (VEMW), the Netherlands must do everything possible to prevent an exodus.
Grünfeld therefore shares the concerns that President Ingrid Thijssen of the employers’ organization VNO-NCW expressed to the BNR yesterday. “We have seen for several months that the output of industry – and especially energy-intensive industry – is significantly lagging behind,” says Grünfeld. ‘Now the same is observed in the turnover data, while we have noticed it in the production data for much longer. The difference lies, for example, in the purchase of semi-finished products. As a result, turnover remains reasonably level, but production itself in the Netherlands is lagging behind.’
He talks about a reduction in production of more than 30 percent, ‘and if this continues, it’s a big concern. Especially since – as already indicated by the Council of Ministers in a letter to the Chamber last December – industry is the driving force for making our society more sustainable. If industry leaves the Netherlands, we will also lose an important incentive to make society more sustainable.”
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Even if only a small part of heavy industry leaves the Netherlands, or even Europe, it will have major consequences, according to CDA member of parliament Henri Bontenbal. And that has everything to do with earning power. “We also need to be able to earn money in the future,” he says. “You could say that this is possible with new companies, but I think it’s good to realize that these companies are always part of a cluster, a kind of ecosystem.”
According to Bontenbal, if some companies are eliminated, the rest will not continue to operate at the usual level. “Companies depend on each other, just like small SMEs depend on large companies.”
Strategic autonomy
He points out that the war in Ukraine has made it clear that the Netherlands does not want to depend on non-European countries when it comes to energy or raw materials. “That’s why we talk about strategic autonomy in the Chamber, and I personally look at it through a European lens,” she continues. “But the question is simply: where do we want to get our steel and fertilizers from in the future?”
He admits, however, that there could be opportunities in moving parts of the industry to Scandinavia where energy prices are lower. “I think you should be very careful with easy answers, because this discussion is far from settled,” she continues. ‘That’s why I really look at it through a European lens. There are interesting ideas from that perspective.’
Europe is the most important thing
According to Bontenbal, the most important focal point is therefore that the industry must not disappear from Europe. “I think we have a unique opportunity to make a sustainability move with the industry that we currently have,” she says. ‘The Netherlands is responsible for less than 0.4 per cent of global emissions, Europe for around ten per cent. So if we really want to focus on sustainability, we have to do it with a significant flywheel effect.’
With this he intends to develop European technologies that can be used worldwide. ‘That’s why I say that in the Netherlands or in Europe we should focus on developing the clean steel of the future, or clean fertilizer, and so on. From a climate point of view, it is therefore also important to have the industry”.
Source: BNR
Andrew Dwight is an author and economy journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of financial markets and a passion for analyzing economic trends and news. With a talent for breaking down complex economic concepts into easily understandable terms, Andrew has become a respected voice in the field of economics journalism.
