EN Official Journal of the European Union C 247/38

Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions — A European strategy for industry: the role and perspective of regional and local authorities

(2018/C 247/07)

Rapporteur: Heinz Lehmann (DE/EPP), Member of the Saxony regional parliament Reference document: Commission Communication: ‘Investing in a smart, innovative and sustainable Industry — A renewed EU Industrial Policy Strategy’ (COM(2017) 479 final)

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

2. calls for an industrial policy strategy at European level that responds to current and future challenges, opportunities and factors with regard to industrial competitiveness in a global context, and is of the opinion that this strategy — equipped with a clear vision — should be shaped with a view to European industry in the medium term and should be further developed to focus on 2030 and beyond;

3. urges that a strong territorial dimension be included within this strategy, while taking account of regional smart specialisations. The Committee recalls the shared and continuous task of conducting an effective European industrial policy, as set out in Article 173 TFEU, and signals its willingness to support the Commission, Council and Parliament in a spirit of partnership, particularly as implementing the strategy will require joint commitment and effort by all stakeholders at all levels;

4. calls for a horizontal industrial strategy with objectives, strategic measures and indicators, rigorous impact assessments, and an appropriate framework for monitoring and steering. It also calls for sector-specific measures to be implemented, in a targeted way, for sectors undergoing economic change and those that have high growth potential. The Committee underlines that the strategy should place particular emphasis on innovation, key enabling technologies (KETs), important projects of common European interest (IPCEIs), digitalisation, and SMEs, due to their cross-cutting significance;

Europe’s industry in a new age

5. underlines that industry is vitally important for Europe’s regions and cities — as a source of 50 million jobs, exports and innovation — and that ensuring the future competitiveness of European industry in a rapidly changing global context is crucial for balanced and sustainable development;

6. draws attention to the relatively major importance of foreign trade in generating GDP (83,05 % in 2015) ( 7 ) . On this basis, the Committee calls for greater attention to be paid to stimulating domestic consumption, which will ensure that EU industry can function stably and will accelerate growth;

7. believes that, for social harmony to be preserved, endogenous growth must be possible everywhere so that all regions — including rural areas — can participate in value creation and have the opportunity to create and retain skilled local jobs;

8. supports the creation of an environment that is conducive to innovation, while also encouraging economic challenges to be tackled so as to improve society’s acceptance of industrial activities at all levels: from nursery schools to businesses to administrations;

9. notes the fact that changes to business models brought about by progressive digitalisation are increasingly at the centre of future development, meaning that in future States should distinguish not just between sectors, but between business models as well;

Making Europe’s industry stronger

10. calls for the strategic objective of industry making up 20 % of GDP as of 2020 to be retained;

11. is of the opinion that European technological sovereignty offers Europe the chance to maintain and expand a globally competitive industry;

12. calls for a level playing field in European and global competition to be attained and safeguarded, also for the sake of technologies which are strategically important for Europe (e.g. microelectronics, battery cells);

13. recalls that framework conditions from other regulatory areas that only constrain businesses in the EU (e.g. certain regulations relating to materials) can cause operations in some sectors to cease or move to third countries, which affects the whole value chain in the EU;

14. emphasises the strategic importance of IPCEIs for European industry’s competitiveness and calls on the Commission to make good use of the potential that they offer. It welcomes the Commission’s proposal to aid preparations by establishing strategic forums in order to improve international coordination of stakeholders, and calls for the IPCEI concept to be further developed consistently and in a timely manner, taking previous experience into consideration;

15. welcomes the Commission’s comments on the defence industry, and supports a coordinated, strategic approach due to its major importance in relation to economic, technological and security policy. The European Defence Fund should also be able to be used for research and should have its own budget heading;

16. emphasises the important role of the maritime industries in tackling the challenges of the blue economy and in harnessing its full potential, and welcomes achievements in areas such as passenger ships and marine renewable energy. The Committee calls for the possibility, once the LeaderSHIP 2020 initiative is complete, of drawing up a roadmap to support maritime industries by involving all European policy areas;

A deeper and fair single market: empowering people and businesses

17. agrees that a well-functioning single market in goods and services can facilitate the integration of companies in global value chains and is therefore essential for the success of Europe’s industry;

18. recalls that the European market is more important than the global market for the regions and therefore calls for the Single Market Strategy ( 8 ) to be implemented, single market legislation to be effectively applied, and bilateral measures within the EU that result in fragmentation (e.g. intra-EU BITs) to be clearly opposed. The Committee stresses that competitive business services are increasingly important intermediaries in terms of promoting the manufacturing industry’s productivity and cost competitiveness;

19. calls for more flexible public procurement to enable it to be made more innovation-friendly and open to technology;

20. welcomes the adoption of the European Pillar of Social Rights but stresses the need to complement it with a strong European social agenda, which would, inter alia, pave the way to real wage convergence in line with productivity;

21. underlines that professionals and managers who have qualified via vocational training constitute the productive backbone of many companies, in particular SMEs. The Committee recalls that high qualifications requirements and a sensible balance between practical experience and theoretical training are crucial for highly specialised, technology- and knowledge-intensive industries;

22. points out the national and regional responsibility for drawing up strategies to acquire and retain key competences;

Upgrading industry for the digital age

23. emphasises that the fundamental concern of a digital future must be to make industry and society as a whole more future-proof;

24. recalls local and regional authorities’ duty to further develop all infrastructure necessary for digitalisation with an eye to the future, remaining open to all technical solutions and paying attention to a good balance of broadband, radio spectrum and digital management systems and their compatibility;

25. recalls that good examples of calculating the cost/benefit ratio when introducing digital technologies in established companies can lower barriers to introduction and use and can support changing business models, and calls for infrastructure to be promoted that provides digitalisation support for SMEs (digital innovation hubs);

26. calls on the Commission to enshrine the leading role of European industry as a goal in the ninth Framework Programme for Research and Innovation as well. The Committee suggests stepping up efforts to meet the target of spending 3 % of GDP on R & D and strengthening industry’s capacity for change and innovation by means of further thematic platforms for industrial modernisation, e.g. partnerships for new manufacturing processes, sustainable manufacturing, 3D printing, and Industry 4.0;

Building on Europe’s leadership in a low-carbon and circular economy

27. shares the view of the Commission, the Parliament and the Council that Europe’s leadership in a low-carbon and circular economy should be stepped up so as to make a major contribution to implementing the Paris Climate Agreement; recalls its call for environmental, climate and energy policy instruments at EU and national level to be shaped in such a way that energy-intensive manufacturing and foreign trade-dependent industries are not unduly burdened or hindered in terms of their international competitiveness;

28. calls for the domestic raw materials sector to be effectively promoted by means of support for exploration, acquisition and use of raw materials, closing material life cycles in a way that makes sense holistically speaking, and engaging in substitution so as to reduce dependence on imports of raw materials. The Committee urges European cooperation on resource efficiency and additive manufacturing to be improved, and calls for functional and collaborative business models to be mainly supported via positive incentives;

29. agrees that the development and manufacture of energy storage systems is vitally important to the functioning of a low-carbon economy in the EU. The Committee calls for no obstacles to be put in the way of this sector that needs to be built up in Europe, and for the balance between CO 2 savings targets and security of supply to be safeguarded;

Supporting industrial innovation on the ground

30. welcomes the smart specialisation concept developed by the Commission and calls for new potential to be harnessed — e.g. by means of cross-innovation — because internationality, interdisciplinarity and a variety of perspectives constitute vital building blocks of holistic innovation processes;

31. recalls that regional and interregional networks such as the MERGE lightweight construction cluster or the Vanguard Initiative can break the vicious cycle of emigration, skilled labour shortages and a small-scale economy, boost a region’s image as a centre for innovation, increase incentives to encourage companies to be established and move to the area, and stimulate the emergence of new value chains;

32. underlines the facilitation proposed for start-ups and scale-ups ( 9 )

33. acknowledges the comprehensive aid reform of 2014, which has led to much simpler procedures for businesses and local and regional authorities, but calls for support for cluster initiatives (Article 27 GBER) to be significantly improved by raising funding rates. The Committee calls for cross-border clusters and cluster networks, as well as blending, to be prioritised in future, especially for pilot infrastructure and flagship projects;

The international dimension

34. is aware of the importance of the integration of European industry in global value chains, and that only free trade agreements, mutual recognition of standards and the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade can ensure free and fair access to global markets;

35. welcomes, in particular, measures to strengthen trade defence instruments so as to create a level playing field in global trade, especially for traditional industries such as steel ( 10 )

36. calls for the COP countries to be urged to fully and swiftly write the agreed reduction targets into national standards, and expects all stakeholders to take action to prevent environmental dumping, with all its negative consequences;

37. calls for local and regional authorities to be involved in deciding on strategic areas where it is important to screen foreign direct investment;

Partnership with Member States, regions, cities and the private sector

38. underlines the centrality of regions and regional ecosystems, where the dialogue between SMEs, universities and research centres and local authorities is conducted effectively, to industrial modernisation and calls for a place-based approach to European industrial policy. The Committee underlines that regional and local authorities have important powers and competences in policy areas such as research and innovation, education and skills, export support, infrastructure, SMEs and regulation;

39. sees itself as an active partner of the Commission, Parliament and Council. It welcomes the Commission’s proposal for an annual Industry Day — in particular, the thematic focus on KETs and IPCEIs that is planned for 2018 — and its proposal to set up a high level industrial round table, and calls for regional and local authorities to be closely involved in the debate about defining KETs that are strategically important for Europe. The Committee calls for regional stakeholders, such as entrepreneurs, social partners and civil society, to be actively involved, and welcomes the pilot actions that are helping regions, in a spirit of partnership, to handle the challenges of structural change.

Brussels, 23 March 2018. The President of the European Committee of the Regions Karl-Heinz LAMBERTZ

(1) Commission Communication: ‘Investing in a smart, innovative and sustainable Industry — A renewed EU Industrial Policy Strategy’ (COM(2017) 479 final).

(2) European Council Conclusions of 15 December 2016 and 22-23 June 2017.

(3) European Parliament Resolution of 5 July 2017 on ‘Building an ambitious EU industrial strategy as a strategic priority for growth, employment and innovation in Europe’ (2017/2732(RSP)).

(4) Conclusions on a future EU industrial policy strategy, Competitiveness Council, 29 May 2017 (283/17); Conclusions on a renewed EU Industrial Policy Strategy, Competitiveness Council, 30 November 2017 (705/17).

(5) CoR opinion of 11 April 2013 on ‘A stronger European industry for growth and economic recovery’

CoR opinion ‘Steel: Preserving sustainable jobs and growth in Europe’, adopted on 15 June 2016, COR-2016-01726-00-00-PAC-TRA (EN)

(6) Joint Warsaw Declaration on the occasion of the fourth Ministerial Conference of the Friends of Industry, Warsaw, 22 April 2016;

Berlin Declaration: Joint declaration on industrial policy on the occasion of the fifth Ministerial Conference of the Friends of Industry, Berlin, 30 June 2017.

(7) World Bank Data, Trade (% of GDP), [https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.TRD GNFS.ZS], 7.1.2018.

(8) Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions on Upgrading the Single Market, April 2016 (rapporteur: Alessandro Pastacci (IT/PES)); Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions on The services package: A services economy that works for Europeans, October 2017 (rapporteur: Jean-Luc Vanraes (BE/ALDE)).

(9) Boosting start-ups and scale-ups in Europe: regional and local perspective, COR-2017-00032-00-01-AC-TRA

(10) Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions on Steel: Preserving sustainable jobs and growth in Europe, June 2016 (rapporteur: Isolde Ries (DE/PES)).