Today the European Commission published its proposal for an Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA). This comes at a crucial time, with many industries feeling the strain of a deficit in the competitiveness of Europe’s economy and aggressive industrial strategies and economic coercion used by certain third countries. The proposal can bring solutions, but it can also create new problems if it is not well balanced and carefully designed.
BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer said:
“The provisions related to industrial permitting and demand creation for low-carbon products through public procurement provide interesting concepts and proposals, but it remains to be seen whether this can be realistically implemented and become a real game changer.
We will review with great caution but an open mind the introduction of European preference in public procurement and public support schemes, while making sure that the risks are properly assessed and fully understood. Europe’s growth and prosperity are intrinsically linked to its ability to trade with partner countries, including those in our neighbourhood.
Despite efforts to narrow the scope, the provisions on Foreign Direct Investments remain problematic. They raise legitimate questions about the consistency of this proposal with the newly adopted FDI screening regulation and could put Europe’s attractiveness for foreign direct investment into question.
We will now carefully assess the proposal together with our members and provide more detailed comments going forward.”
