A plan for EU competitiveness and decarbonisation
President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Europe is not only a continent of industrial innovation, but also a continent of industrial production. However, the demand for clean products has slowed down, and some investments have moved to other regions. We know that too many obstacles still stand in the way of our European companies from high energy prices to excessive regulatory burden. The Clean Industrial Deal is to cut the ties that still hold our companies back and make a clear business case for Europe.”
The Commission is also taking actions to make our regulatory environment more efficient while reducing bureaucratic hurdles for businesses. Today’s measures are the results of the active engagement with industry leaders, social partners and civil society in the context of the Antwerp Declaration for a European Industrial Deal and the European Commission’s Clean Transition Dialogues.
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_550
Main elements of the Clean Industrial Deal
Affordable energy
Affordable energy is the foundation of competitiveness. To lower energy bills for industries, businesses and households, while promoting the transition to a low-carbon economy, the Commission adopted the Affordable Energy Action Plan to:
- speed up the roll-out of clean energy, accelerating electrification
- complete the internal energy market with physical interconnections
- use energy more efficiently and cut dependence on imported fossil fuels.
Boosting demand for clean products
The Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act will increase demand for EU-made clean products, by introducing sustainability, resilience, and ‘made in Europe’ criteria in public and private procurements.
The Commission will also review the Public Procurement Framework in 2026 to introduce sustainability, resilience and European preference criteria in public procurement for strategic sectors.
Financing the clean transition
The Clean Industrial Deal will mobilise over €100 billion to support EU-made clean manufacturing. The Commission will:
- adopt a new Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework to accelerate the approval of state aid to roll out renewable energy, decarbonise industry and ensure sufficient manufacturing capacity of clean tech
- strengthen the Innovation Fund and propose an Industrial Decarbonisation Bank, aiming for €100 billion in funding, based on available funds in the Innovation Fund, additional revenues resulting from parts of the ETS as well as the revision of InvestEU
- launch a dedicated call under Horizon Europe to stimulate research and innovation in these areas
- amend the InvestEU Regulation to increase the amount of financial guarantees that InvestEU can provide to support investments. This will in turn mobilise up to €50 billion for the deployment of clean tech, clean mobility and waste reduction.
Circularity and access to materials
Critical raw materials are key for our industry. The EU needs to secure access to such materials and reduce dependence on unreliable suppliers. Integrating circularity in our decarbonisation strategy is crucial to making the most of the EU’s limited resources. The Commission will:
- set up a mechanism enabling European companies to come together and aggregate their demand for critical raw materials
- create an EU Critical Raw Material Centre to jointly purchase raw materials on behalf of interested companies which will create economies of scale and offer more leverage to negotiate better prices and conditions
- adopt a Circular Economy Act in 2026 to accelerate the circular transition and ensure that scarce materials are used and reused efficiently, reduce our global dependencies and create high-quality jobs. The aim is to have 24% of materials circular by 2030.
Acting on a global scale
The EU needs reliable global partners more than ever. In addition to ongoing and new trade agreements, the Commission will:
- launch the first Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships to diversify supply chains and forge mutually beneficial deals
- ensure the EU industry is economically secure and resilient, in the face of global competition and geopolitical uncertainties, through a range of trade defence and other instruments
- simplify and strengthen the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the EU’s tool to put a fair price on the carbon emitted during the production of carbon intensive goods.
Skills and quality jobs
The EU’s workforce must have the necessary skills to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, including skills in clean technologies, digitalisation, and entrepreneurship.
The Commission will establish a Union of Skills that invests in workers, develops skills and creates quality jobs.
Erasmus+ will reinforce education and training programmes to develop a skilled and adaptable workforce, and address skills shortages in key sectors, with up to €90 million in funding.
The Clean Industrial deal will also focus on horizontal enablers necessary for a competitive economy:
- cutting red tape,
- fully exploiting the scale of the Single Market,
- promoting quality jobs,
- better coordinating policies at the EU and national levels.
https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/clean-industrial-deal_en
Ekotox webpages on chemicals management: https://ekotox.eu/chemicals-management/