After the college of commissioners failed to agree on many of the details of the Industrial Accelerator Act again on Monday, it will now be published in more limited form. Plans to bar non-EU producers from government contracts and funding have been delayed by six months.
Wester van Gaal
The EU Commission will present the Industrial Accelerator Act on Wednesday (3 March) following multiple delays.
After the college of commissioners failed to agree on many of the details again on Monday, the legal text will be published in a more limited version.
A draft seen by Euobserver shows that chips, biotech, robotics and artificial intelligence will now all be excluded from the list of ‘strategic sectors’ that must be sourced (in part) from European producers.
What remained were heavy industrial products such as low-carbon steel and cement, aluminium, and plastics used in construction and automotive sectors, which would also be favoured in public contracts.
Plans to bar non-EU producers from government contracts and funding have been delayed by six months.
The act, which aims to support the EU’s so-called strategic autonomy, targets sectors including electric vehicles, solar and wind energy, setting thresholds for how much of a qualifying product must be manufactured on European soil to be eligible for public contracts or state support.
Electric vehicles would need at least 70-percent of components (excluding the battery) to come from European production, while batteries and solar panels must gradually increase the share of EU-made components over three years.
Talks ran well past their deadline, with commissioners still haggling on Tuesday over a text they are due to adopt on Wednesday.
The publication itself was delayed previously due to fierce disagreement over how wide-ranging the legislation should be.
Most of the criticism had to do with the plan’s perceived departure from Europe’s traditionally open-market approach.
Some member states, including Ireland, Finland and Germany, have objected to the ‘Made in Europe’ plans, fearing could disrupt trade with other blocs, most crucially the United States and China.
The wide-range of earlier drafts also drew criticism for others.
Brussels-based think tank Bruegel recently cautioned that ‘Made in Europe’ requirements could raise costs for export-oriented industries, and would actually slow down Europe’s industrial transformation, and ultimately, the clean-energy transition.
But with entire industries dropped, the current version of the act is essentially left unfinished, with much change to the final text expected by the time it clears the Council, representing member states, and the European Parliament.
