In the first EU Industry Days event since 2019 – and the first in the Covid-era - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen kicked off the week’s proceedings with a speech championing the contribution that innovation and industry have made to European culture and identity over the years and looked to what is next for the bloc’s industrial direction.
Ursula von der Leyen, EU Industry Days 2021
Photo: European Commission
Recalling a visit she had made to a family-owned textile factory during her time as a minister in Germany, the president said how the owner could explain the workings of every machine and knew the personal stories of his employees.
“When the pandemic hit, that same company converted its production lines and started making facemasks,” she said, underlining how so many companies across the continent had pivoted production to help out during the crisis, adding: “At the same time, they have adopted the latest environmental standards, because this is what European customers expect today.”
“European industry,” she told her virtual audience, is “a world of old traditions and constant innovation. And this is what makes Europe a global leader in so many fields from automotive to agri-food, from farmer to fashion. All across the world “Made in Europe” means top quality.”
Read more: EU Industry Days: 23-26 February 2021
Continuing to highlight the strengths of European industry and the direction of its movement, she described the continent as being at the forefront of green innovation.
“Since the beginning of the century, we have produced over 60,000 high-value green inventions. More than any other global power. And six times more than China. One-quarter of industrial robots in the world are produced in Europe. We are global leaders for collaborative robots – robots that do not replace workers on the production line but enhance their skills. This is the kind of innovation that will keep Europe competitive in today’s world.”
Inevitably, the Commission President addressed the events of the previous year and described how the lessons of the pandemic could be used as opportunities to learn, so that the scenes from 2020, where border closures and queues of trucks became common sights, as nations began to lock down as coronavirus spread, would not happen again.
“To be prepared for future crisis we need to look beyond these ad hoc measures. We need to have a structural solution in place. This is why we are working on a single market emergency instrument. It will ensure the free movement of goods, services, and people. With greater transparency and coordination. It will fast-track decisions whenever a critical situation emerges.
“The single market makes Europe strong,” she added, “So we must preserve it and make it work in all circumstances, especially when we need it the most.”
Addressing something that has for some time been an albatross around the neck of European manufacturing, she moved her speech on to raw materials, and used the example of vaccine production to illustrate it, before bringing up how vital the issue is to move forward.
“Green and digital technology currently depend on a number of scarce raw materials. We import lithium for Electric vehicles, platinum to produce clean hydrogen, and silicon metal for solar panels. 98% of the rare earth elements we need come from a single supplier – China. And this is not sustainable.
“We must diversify our supply chains and at the same time, we must invest in circular technologies that reuse resources instead of constantly extracting them. This is the goal of our action plan on critical raw materials. This is why we have proposed to create a European raw materials alliance.”
The alliance was first proposed in March last year, before the continent started going into lockdown, and was officially launched in September.
Read more: EC hopes to slash EU greenhouse emissions by 55% by 2030
“Our strategy is still designed to ensure that industry can lead the twin green and digital transitions. But what has changed is both the speed and the scale of it. We want to make sure that our industry does not only keep pace with that change, but also drive it.”
The theme of opportunity ran through Ms von der Leyen’s speech. After acknowledging that the pandemic had seen some industries suffer while others thrived, she said the world had now entered a new phase, in the race to recovery.
“Over the course of history wars and pandemics have shaped our societies and economies. Take the Spanish flu a century ago. It caused great human and economic suffering. But it was followed by a great expansion of growth, innovation and technological transition, also known as the roaring ‘20s.
“Our ambition is to make sure that we have that same period of tech growth and innovation. To achieve this Europe needs to harness the potential of the digital transformation, and make industry a key player in that. This requires significant public and private investment. With Next Generation EU, we have a historic opportunity to provide the public funding, but we have to make the right choices.”
The need for investment was a further ongoing theme of the speech. Investment is necessary for continent-wide high-speed internet infrastructure, automation, and enabling SMEs to use technology to cut costs, speed up production and reach new markets, she told listeners.
To woo investors and give them confidence in the bloc’s direction, Ms von der Leyen went on to say that clear, predictable and common rules for all EU countries needed to be set, in particular rulebooks for green investments and bonds, and promised the coming months would see the publication of details rules to help finance the transition to carbon neutrality, “so investors can make informed decisions”.
As her speech began drawing to a close, she set out the Commission’s vision for how the EU can move forward.
“I want to build on this experience. I believe we should move from crisis mode to a new cruising speed of cooperation with European industry, building new and agile alliances where the public sector joins forces with industry.”
Read more: EU Commission calls for strategic battery value chain
She used the of the Commission’s flagships, the Battery Alliance as an example, saying: “It has brought together over 500 industries, research centres and investors. EU institutions have put on the table substantial resources, as have our member states. Less than a month ago we approved almost €3 billion in new public investment. In parallel you have helped us develop new rules on battery technology.
“Thanks to the alliance, the most innovative, long-lasting and clean batteries for electric cars will soon be made in Europe. This common investment will create one million new jobs by the end of next year,” claimed Ms von der Leyen, adding: “I want Europe to invest in this approach by building new alliances and partnerships with the private sector.”
Before closing, she spoke of how the pandemic had changed the nature of the workplace and highlighted the importance of the workforce and providing the skills necessary in such an evolving labour market.
“This is how Europe should always work. We shouldn’t just work for our industry but with our industry. And this is why the Industry Days are so important. We are here to work together. We’re here to discuss the way forward. We’re here to chart the future of our alliances. And, we’re here to find out how we can make the most of Next Generation EU.
“So, we need your ideas, your passion and your dedication.”
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