Czech Business Today

April plenary of the EESC adopted its opinion on European industrial renaissance. The economic crisis has demonstrated the importance of industry for economic stability, employment, innovation and the international performance of European economies.

Industry accounts for over 80 % of Europe’s exports and 80 % of private research and innovation. About 15% of jobs in the EU are in industry; in addition, each industrial job creates up to 1.5- 2 jobs in other sectors. Moreover, industrial jobs are nowadays high-quality jobs and wages are above the average. Industry is not an aim in itself, but a vehicle for employment and for maintaining good standards of living. 

The EESC welcomes the Commission’s communication “For a European industrial renaissance” (COM/2013/14), coming as it does against the backdrop of economic crisis and increasing concern about the competitiveness of European industries. The challenges facing industry are not dwindling – quite the opposite. The global business environment is continually changing, and at an ever faster pace that our companies need to be able to respond to. Without competitive industry, Europe will not be able to secure higher growth and more jobs. In light of the serious situation, the EESC would have expected a stronger set of proposals for EU industrial policy with a clear vision and urgent measures. Clear messages are needed to convince businesses that Europe will be an attractive region for new investments in the future.

The communication now covers few new features compared with the 2010 and 2012 communications. It is mainly a stocktaking of past and planned action in the main priority areas of industrial policy, as set out above. This reveals much unfinished work and underlines the need for implementation at both EU and Member State levels. The EESC supports the communication’s conclusions, including the 20% target for industry’s share of GDP, although it would qualify its support for this: the 20% target is purely quantitative, while it would be more in line with EU aspirations for socially and environmentally sustainable competitiveness to add qualitative aspects. The 20 % target should be accompanied by other targets, which the EESC calls on the Commission to explore further, in particular reflecting issues which will provide added value in an international context. The EESC particularly welcomes the Commission’s clear message on the importance of European companies’ integration into international value chains. In reality the highly specialized, very complex and dynamic nature of industrial activities today could be better described as value networks. Companies are globally competing for key positions in these networks. 

The goal of European industrial policy should be to enhance European companies’ possibilities of achieving such key positions and to maximize the value capture for Europe. Greening European industry is necessary as a priority and seems to be progressing well, even if it has not delivered the new jobs expected. Greening alone is, however, far from enough to ensure industrial growth and jobs. What Europe needs is a move towards more knowledge-based and new technology-based, higher value- added, competitive and sustainable industrial and service sectors.

Vladimíra Drbalová
EESC Member – Employers Group
Vice President of SOC Bureau