Brussels, 07 January 2020

WK 31/2020 INIT

LIMITE

COMPET

WORKING PAPER
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MEETING DOCUMENT
From: General Secretariat of the Council
To: Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth (Industry)
Subject: A long-term strategy for Europe's industrial future - Powerpoint presentation
(Compcro WP 07.01.2020)

WK 31/2020 INIT
LIMITE EN
 A LONG-TERM STRATEGY
FOR EUROPE’S INDUSTRIAL FUTURE

Hearing of the Industry4Europe Coalition

by the Council COMPCRO WP (Industry)

Brussels
7 January 2020
THE COALITION

• 151 European federations

representing all industrial sectors

• Created in 2017 → keeps growing!

 THE CONTEXT

• Strengths and assets of European industry (jobs, skilled

workforce, export, innovative SMEs and larger
suppliers, global reputation for sustainability and
quality, digitalisation)

• But: Europe still below employment levels seen before

the 2008 financial crisis with jobs vulnerable to
worrying international trends (cf. increasing
protectionism)

• Other global regions – such as China, India and the USA

– have already put industry at the very top of their
political agenda
A MUCH-AWAITED EU INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
 THE NEW JOINT PAPER
• Released on 26 November 2019
after 7 months of intense work

• A whole series of cross-sectoral

recommendations

• Input to future EU industrial

strategy announced by EC
President Ursula von der Leyen
for 4 March 2020

• Active dissemination among

decision-makers
 BUILDING CONSENSUS AMONG SECTORS

• 7 Working Groups led by 2 co-Rapporteurs to draft the 7 thematic Chapters:

❖ Business-Friendly Policy Environment

❖ Sustainability

❖ Skills & Training

❖ Research and Innovation

❖ Investment and Access to Finance

❖ European Single Market

❖ Trade and International Market Access

BUSINESS-FRIENDLY POLICY ENVIRONMENT

• A political commitment to foster a strong industrial base in Europe

• Stable, predictable and coherent legislation

• Better regulation

• Accompanying the digital transformations of industry

SUSTAINABILITY
• Sustainability as a competitive opportunity for Europe

• Circular economy – recognising value

• Transition to low carbon economy – incentivising value, communication and

action for all stakeholders

• Global level playing field – safeguarding competitiveness

• Fit for purpose policy cycles and implementation

• Governance of sustainability and low carbon delivery in Europe

• Generation and use of sustainable energy sources

 SKILLS & TRAINING
• Skills challenges faced by industry
• Recommendations to address skills challenges
Recommendations for the Commission
✓ Erasmus+ and European Social Fund
✓ Blueprints for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills
✓ Wide-reaching skills audits
✓ Best practices between Member States
✓ CEDEFOP
✓ ESCO
Recommendations for the Member States
✓ Life-long learning programmes in co-operation
with national industry and social partners
✓ Clustering and synergies to improve learning
outcomes
✓ Integration of technical, analytical, and soft-
skills training into curricula
✓ Lifelong careers guidance programmes
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

• R&I as a driver for industrial growth

• R&I to support the EU sustainability objectives

• Integration of digital technologies

• Ambitious scaled-up investments in R&I

• A forward-looking R&I Framework Programme, with a significant budget

increase and a strengthened collaborative research-model

• Synergies between innovation-related EU and national Programmes

• Strengthened connection between research infrastructure and industrial R&I

• Accelerated market uptake for innovation

• An effective and predictable IP framework

INVESTMENT AND ACCESS TO FINANCE

• Supporting investment in new technologies and sustainable solutions

• Leveraging private capital and bridging the investment gap

• Strengthening the existing funding mechanisms

• Simplification of administrative procedures

• Unleashing regional investment opportunities

• Achieving a level playing field globally

EUROPEAN SINGLE MARKET

• A complete Single Market

• Effective transposition and implementation of EU law

• Stronger market surveillance

• A level playing field in the EU Single Market

• Harmonised standards

• The key importance of Public Procurement

• Ensuring compatibility between the EU Single Market and sustainability

policies

• Digital tools as enabler to the Single Market

• Facilitating access to information for SMEs and start-ups

TRADE AND INTERNATIONAL MARKET ACCESS

• An open rule-based multilateral trading system with a modernised WTO

• Achieving a level playing field to improve market access

• An ambitious bilateral trade agenda and better implementation and

monitoring of FTAs and Association Agreements
NEXT STEPS

• Thanking the Croatian EU Presidency for today’s invitation and looking

forward to our joint event on 21 January in Brussels

• Next COMPET Councils on 27-28 February and 28-29 May + Informal

COMPET in Zagreb on 19-20 March: Industry4Europe Coalition stands at
your disposal!
NEXT STEPS (2)

• Willingness to meet with EC Executive Vice-

Presidents Dombrovskis and Vestager and
Commissioner Breton to share our views

• Importance to work closely as well with the European Parliament

➢ Preparation by ITRE Committee of an own-initiative Report on EU
industrial strategy (under the leadership of Rapporteur MEP Carlo
Calenda)

➢ New EP Intergroup “Competitive European lndustry: Long term &

sustainable investment”)