Von der Leyen announced the plan at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The debate on how the EU should compete with other trading powers without disrupting the internal market has occupied member states for a long time. France, in particular, wants strong action and supports the granting of “massive state aid” for strategic sectors, Minister Bruno Le Maire (Finance) said in Brussels.
The measures that the EU now wants to take are particularly important in the fight against the many current crises, says Winand Quaedvlieg, head of the VNO-NCW Brussels. ‘At the end of last year, companies’ worries have been piling up. You’ve seen extreme energy prices, high inflation, many climate transition-related costs, and faltering manufacturing in China, meaning supplies have been lost. Added to this are worries about a recession and a flood of European laws that have increased administrative burdens. Then came the American Inflation Reduction Act.’
As a result, European industry felt ‘not heard’, says Quaedvlieg. Now that this plan has been announced by von der Leyen, the industry feels that support is finally coming from the EU. The steps Von der Leyen wants to take aren’t quite concrete yet, but parts of the plan are clear. “For example, Von der Leyen wants European licensing procedures to be speeded up,” says Quaedvlieg.
State aid easier
According to the head of the VNO-NCW in Brussels, this is important for the EU’s climate goals. ‘It is important to achieve these goals, but then you need other energy sources, such as wind, hydrogen, the sun and heat pumps. This must also be stored in batteries. This requires large investments, which often take a long time to materialize. That’s why that acceleration is needed.’
In addition to the faster authorization period, the EU also wants to relax member states’ state aid options. However, Quaedvlieg is concerned about this. “These stringent state aid rules are precisely to protect small Member States from larger Member States such as Germany and France. It is understandable that business support is provided, but as the Netherlands you have to keep an eye on the fact that this is temporary and does not come at the expense of the internal market and our competitive position.’
Chinese competition
There must also be a European fund to finance green industry developments from there. The steps the EU wants to take are also important in light of competition from China, says Quaedvlieg. “One of the reasons von der Leyen came up with this plan is because extra mass is needed against competitive pressure from China.”