COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS For a European Industrial Renaissance
Date: 2014-01-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU industrial policy, competitiveness, economic growth, economic recovery, globalisation, industrial integration, industrialisation, innovation, research and development, secondary sector, single market, small and medium-sized enterprises













EUR-Lex - 52014DC0014 - EN











|



52014DC0014

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS For a European Industrial Renaissance /* COM/2014/014 final */









COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
For a European Industrial Renaissance
1. INTRODUCTION
The
European Union is emerging from its longest-ever recession. EU28 GDP grew by
0.2% in the third quarter of 2013. The upturn in business sentiment and
confidence indicators suggests that structural reforms, macroeconomic
governance improvements and measures in the financial sector have succeeded in
stabilising Europe’s economy. The EU is on the right track, but the recovery
remains modest, with Commission forecasts of 1.4% GDP growth for the EU28 in
2014 and unemployment rates close to 11% for the next two years. That is why fostering
growth and competitiveness to sustain and strengthen recovery and to achieve
the goals of the Europe 2020 agenda have become the top priority for the
Commission and EU Member States.
The
crisis has underlined the importance of the real economy and a strong industry.
Industry’s interactions with the rest of Europe’s economic fabric extend far
beyond manufacturing, spanning upstream to raw materials and energy and
downstream to business services (e.g. logistics), consumer services (e.g.
after-sales services for durable goods) or tourism. Industrial activities are
integrated in increasingly rich and complex value chains, linking flagship
corporations and small or medium enterprises (SMEs) across sectors and
countries.
The
economic importance of industrial activities is much greater than
suggested by the share of manufacturing in GDP. Industry accounts for over 80%
of Europe’s exports and 80% of private research and innovation. Nearly one in
four private sector jobs is in industry, often highly skilled, while each
additional job in manufacturing creates 0.5-2 jobs in other sectors.[1] The
Commission considers that a strong industrial base will be of key importance
for Europe’s economic recovery and competitiveness.
Overall,
EU industry has proved its resilience in the face of the economic crisis. It
is a world leader in sustainability and returns a EUR 365 billion surplus in
the trade of manufactured products (EUR 1 billion a day),[2]
generated mainly by a few high- and medium-technology sectors. They include the
automotive, machinery and equipment, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, aeronautics,
space and creative industries sectors, and high-end goods in many other sectors,
including food.
Nonetheless,
the legacy of the crisis is severe: since 2008, 3.5 million jobs have been lost
in manufacturing; the share of manufacturing in GDP has fallen from 15.4 %
to 15.1 % in the last year[3];
and the EU’s productivity performance continues deteriorating in comparison to
that of our competitors.
Two
recent Commission reports[4]
have identified a number of weaknesses hampering growth. Internal demand
remains weak, undermining European companies’ home markets and keeping intra-EU
trade subdued after the crisis. The business environment has improved in
the EU overall but progress remains uneven. Inflexible administrative and
regulatory environments, rigidities in some labour markets and weak integration
in the internal market continue to hold back the growth potential of firms,
especially SMEs. Investment in research and innovation remains too low,
holding back the necessary modernisation of our industrial base and hampering
future EU competitiveness. EU firms face higher energy prices than most
of our leading competitors,[5]
and have difficulties to access basic inputs such as raw materials,
qualified labour and capital in affordable conditions.
Against
this background, the Commission has been pursuing an integrated industrial
policy approach as outlined in the Industrial Policy Communications of 2010 and
2012[6] and
has issued growth-enhancing recommendations to Member States in the context of
the European Semester. Full implementation of this policy approach at
European and national levels is critical to ensure our future competitiveness
and to increase our growth potential. To be effective, policy actions must be
well co-ordinated and consistent from regional to the EU-level.
As
a contribution to the European Council debate on industrial policy, this
Communication sets out the Commission’s key priorities for industrial policy. It
draws on the Annual Growth Survey, provides an overview of actions already
undertaken and puts forward selected new actions to speed up the attainment of
these priorities. It shows that industrial policy and other EU policies are
getting gradually more and more integrated as indicated in the flagship
industrial policy communication in 2010 and why this mainstreaming process must
continue. Most importantly, this communication stresses the importance of full
and effective implementation of industrial policy in the EU and aims to
facilitate this.
In
this process of implementation of reforms to improve competitiveness, Member
States will play a capital role. The development of new instruments such as the
“Partnerships for Growth, Jobs and Competitiveness”, can be very helpful to
improve effectiveness in the implementation of those reforms.[7] 
2.
AN INTEGRATED, SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET: CREATING AN ATTRACTIVE PLACE FOR
ENTERPRISES AND PRODUCTION
The
internal market remains the centrepiece of the EU’s economic success. In the
mid-1980s, the internal market changed the outlook for the European economy and
after the crisis, the internal market can once again play this role to
revitalise the EU economy making the EU a more attractive location for the
production of goods and services.
The
internal market provides EU companies with a large home market, facilitates
productivity improvements by reducing input costs, allowing efficient business
processes and increases returns on innovation. But the internal market still
has significant potential for growth and further simplification of internal
market rules can further improve economic efficiency. Deepening the internal market
can bring about faster technological change. Integrating EU firms more firmly
into regional and global value chains is key for productivity gains.
Well-designed, timely European standards will accelerate the diffusion of
innovations and EU reforms in the field of intellectual property rights will
also encourage creativity and innovation. But releasing the full potential of
the internal market requires better integration of infrastructure networks,
better implementation and simplification of rules for goods and services, and a
predictable, stable regulatory framework, combined with modern, efficient
public administration.
2.1.
Completing the integration of networks: information networks, energy and
transport
The
internal market cannot work seamlessly without an integrated infrastructure.
The Single Market Act II put forward four actions to foster the development of
maritime, air and rail transport, as well as an initiative to strengthen the
implementation and enforcement of the Third Energy Package to liberalise and
integrate European energy markets. Early in 2013, the Commission proposed the
Fourth Railway Package to make it easier for rail operators to enter and
operate in the EU market.[8]
In the maritime sector, the Commission set out plans in July 2013 to ease
customs formalities for ships, reducing red tape, cutting delays in ports and
making the sector more competitive. The Commission is also taking steps to
enforce the Single European Sky obligations in Member States.[9] At
present, the adoption, full implementation and/or enforcement of these
initiatives are suffering delays.
The
development of an internal market for energy requires both full implementation
of the legislative framework by all Member States and integrated energy
networks, which should promote competition within the internal market and
reduce energy costs for European companies. Significant investments are
required to modernise Europe’s energy infrastructure to connect energy
‘islands’, enabling flows of energy within the internal market, and enabling EU
industry to benefit from more security of supply and lower prices.[10]
EU
infrastructure must respond to social demands and accommodate technological
change. The emergence of clean vehicles and waterborne vessels
is a key challenge for EU industry as it tries to maintain its competitive
edge. Such development depends both on the supply of new technology and on the
installation of the necessary infrastructure for users. The adoption of the
proposed Directive[11]
on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure will mandate Member
States for a minimum coverage of alternative fuel infrastructure, including
electric recharging stations with common interface standards.
The
Commission calls on the Council and the European Parliament to adopt this proposal
early in 2014.
As
stated in the conclusions of the October 2013 European Council, digital
products and services are very important for the upgrading of European
industry. To support the development of communication services, the Commission
proposed in September 2013 an ambitious programme towards a single market in
telecommunications that aims at promoting investment and taking steps to
further reduce regulatory fragmentation in the EU while promoting competition
in broadband provision.
Beyond
infrastructure developments, the convergence of information and
communication technologies with energy and logistics networks is creating
new opportunities and challenges for industry. The challenge is to roll out
digitally enabled networks with the level of security and resilience required
to support the businesses in their operations. The impact of these changes is
starting to emerge and will provide market opportunities, notably for key
enabling technologies. The layout of intelligent networks will also require a
fit for purpose regulatory framework as well as the development of appropriate
interoperability standards. The EU, Member States, regions and industry have all
a role to play in fostering the digitalisation of business processes and in developing
the industrial dimension of the digital agenda.
Space
infrastructures and related industrial and service applications offer
the potential to enhance industrial competitiveness, generate growth and create
jobs. The EU has a substantial role to play in this domain, as the high cost of
space projects renders it more economical for Member States to pool investments
and jointly benefit from the opportunities arising from them. In cooperation
with the Member States and dedicated organisations and agencies (such as
European Space Agency and the European Agency for the Global Navigation
Satellite System (GSA), the Commission is completing the space infrastructures
of its flagship projects, Galileo and Copernicus, during the next multi-annual
financial planning framework. It will propose rules creating the technological
and regulatory conditions for their commercial exploitation.
As
a matter of priority, the Commission invites the Council and the Parliament to
adopt and implement the aforementioned measures and legislation on information,
energy, transport, space and communications networks in the EU, following the
proposals made by the Commission.
Delaying
the deployment of these infrastructures will hamper our future competitiveness.
As the current economic environment is not favourable for long-term investment,
the Commission will make further use of project bonds to facilitate the
financing of these infrastructure projects.
2.2.      An
open and integrated internal market in goods and services
The
Commission provided new impetus to market integration across the EU through
Single Market Acts I and II and calls on the co-legislators to adopt the
proposals in these, especially on initiatives such as the market surveillance
and product safety package.
The
Commission continues actively promoting a seamless market for goods. The Review
of the Internal Market for industrial goods has shown that the internal market
for industrial goods is fit for purpose[12]. Industry
has benefited from its development and intra-EU trade in manufactured goods has
increased over the years.
The
Single Market for Green Products initiative proposes a set of actions to
overcome problems in the free circulation of these products.[13]
However, unless Member States take further steps on implementing the current
framework, business will continue facing unnecessary higher costs and cost
differences that risk growing. The Commission will ensure that harmonisation is
enforced and will, first and foremost, concentrate on implementing and
enforcing the legislative framework in place and facilitate the
participation of SMEs in the internal market.
The
Communication “A vision for the internal market for industrial products”
presents actions to achieve a more integrated internal market based on
rationalising the existing regulatory framework. The Commission will consider
elaborating a legislative proposal on how to streamline and harmonise economic
sanctions of an administrative or civil nature for non-compliance with Union
harmonisation legislation to ensure equal treatment of all businesses
throughout the internal market for industrial products. To strengthen support
for SMEs in the internal market and further develop assistance for access to
finance, to improve their energy and resource efficiency and to increase the
innovation management capacity of SMEs, the Enterprise Europe Network will be
reinforced.
Industry
trades both goods and services. Full implementation of the Services Directive
remains important for Europe’s industrial competitiveness. There is a clear
imbalance between the level of integration in goods and services markets, and
for industry to be able to modernize effectively the functioning of the
internal market for services must be further improved.[14] 
Much
has been achieved but Member States must still deliver reforms and improve
implementation of Internal Market rules in some areas. Already in its 2012
Communication[15],
the European Commission invited the Member States to make additional efforts
towards an ambitious implementation of the Services Directive. Full
implementation of the Services Directive would significantly improve the smooth
functioning of the internal market, in particular for small and medium sized
countries and for consumers. Enhancing competitiveness could lead to an
additional total economic gain of about 2.6% of the EU GDP. Progress is being
monitored in the European Semester and the Commission has established a
dialogue with Member States to achieve politically agreed targets.
The
competitiveness of industry would benefit from a more integrated internal
market for services, particularly for business services that represent about
12% of EU value added. This is a good example of an area where the
mainstreaming of industrial competitiveness can contribute to increase the
overall competitiveness of the EU economy. Business services should be properly
taken into account in the design and implementation of industrial policy strategies.
Following the 2012 Industrial Policy Communication, the Commission set up in
the beginning of 2013 a High Level Group on Business Services. The Commission
will examine the need for further action when this group issues its
recommendations in March 2014.
The
recently updated European Standardisation System will be closely
monitored in order to assess whether it needs to be further adapted to the
fast-changing environment so that it can continue to contribute to Europe’s
strategic objectives, in particular in the field of industrial policy, services,
innovation and technological development.
In
addition, effective standard setting and the protection of intellectual
property (which represents 50 % of total intangible assets in the EU) are
crucial for promoting innovation and the development of new technology areas.
The Commission will closely follow the ongoing debate about the use and role
of IPR in standards and assess whether it needs to address the issue in a
dedicated initiative.
2.3.
Business Environment, Regulatory Framework and Public Administration in the EU
The
EU’s competitive strength has always been built on a solid and predictable
institutional environment, quality infrastructure, a strong technological
knowledge base and a healthy and educated labour force. Europe has
traditionally ranked well as a place for business and industrial production,
but is now losing competitiveness as compared to other regions in the world.[16]
The
fact that the internal market (particularly in services) is not fully
integrated is an important factor holding back productivity gains. As a whole, Europe has not been sufficiently adaptable to changing circumstances. Administrative
burdens and regulatory complexity are being eliminated too slowly and unevenly
and some labour markets are not flexible enough. Following the financial
crisis, the legacy of deleveraging is further affecting business sentiment and
holding back further investment and fresh credit to business thereby hurting
the modernisation of EU industry.
The
Commission monitors the EU’s competitiveness performance and business
environment on a regular basis, notably through the European Semester process
and the Member States’ Competitiveness Report under Article 173 of the TFEU.
Recent reports show signs of improvement as structural reforms start to have an
effect, but progress remains uneven across Member States.
From
2014, the ‘Report on Member States’ Competitiveness Performance and Policy’
under Article 173 TFEU will be strengthened to evaluate and clearly link
the impact of improvements in the business environment on the progress in
Member States’ actual competitiveness performance, and the scope of its annual
reports will be extended to monitor efforts at national level to mainstream
competitiveness aspects into other policy fields.[17]
At
EU level, the Commission continues improving the quality of legislation and the
regulatory environment to make it fitter, more stable and predictable. The
implementation of the Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT)
and the follow-up to the Top 10 regulatory burdens (as perceived by business
organisations and stakeholders) will simplify EU legislation and reduce
regulatory burden on businesses. Competiveness Proofing has been fully
integrated into the Commission’s impact assessments for all major proposals
with significant effects on competitiveness. Studies on cumulative Cost
Assessments have been conducted in a number of sectors (steel, aluminium)
and will be performed in others (e.g. chemicals and forest-based industries) in
an effort to estimate ex-post the joint costs of different strands of national
and EU regulations on industrial sectors. A fitness check of legislation
in the oil-refining sector will be finalised in 2014. In the future, the
Commission will gradually undertake comprehensive reviews of the
competitiveness and regulatory frameworks in each of the main industrial value
chains, using fitness checks and cumulative cost assessments.[18]
The
Commission calls on Member States to take comparable measures at national level
to help ensure that policy efforts increase competitiveness throughout the EU.
The Commission will monitor progress in this area.
There
are significant variations in the 28 Member States' public administration's
approach towards the private sector. To enable all Member States to tap into
the experiences of others, the Commission will present an initiative on
Growth-Friendly Public Administration, providing a comprehensive overview
of best practices in public administration available across the EU, in
particular with regard to e-government tools and public procurement.
3.
INDUSTRIAL MODERNISATION: INVESTING IN INNOVATION, NEW TECHNOLOGIES, PRODUCTION
INPUTS AND SKILLS
With
scarce natural and energy resources and ambitious social and environmental
goals, EU companies cannot compete on low price and low quality products. They
must turn to innovation, productivity, resource-efficiency and high value-added
to compete in global markets. Europe’s comparative advantage in the world
economy will continue to lie in high value-added goods and services, the
effective management of value chains and access to markets throughout the
world. Thus, innovation and technological advancement will remain the main
source of competitiveness for EU industry. For this reason, further efforts are
needed to achieve the Europe 2020 target of spending 3% of GDP on research and
development (R&D).
In
particular, digital technologies are at the heart of increases in productivity
of European industry. Their transformative power and growing impact across all
sectors is redefining traditional business and
production models and will result in a range of potential new product and
notably service innovations by industry (‘servitization of industry’).  A digital transition is underway across the global
economy and industrial policy needs to integrate new technological
opportunities such as cloud computing, big data and data value chain
developments, new industrial applications of internet, smart factories,
robotics, 3-D printing and design.
3.1.
Stimulating investment in innovation and new technologies
Since
the onset of the economic crisis, dramatically reduced levels of investment in
innovation are a major concern for Europe’s industrial future.
The
Commission has put an increasing share of its policy, regulatory and financial
levers at the disposal of Member States, regions and industry to foster
investment in innovation. The Horizon 2020 Programme, in particular
through its industrial leadership pillar, will provide close to EUR 80 billion
for research and innovation. This includes support for key enabling
technologies that will redefine global value chains, enhance resource
efficiency and reshape the international division of labour. To facilitate the
commercialisation of research results, Horizon 2020 will also finance
closer-to-market prototypes and demonstration projects than  hitherto. A key
element of the new Framework Programme is joining forces with the private
sector through public-private partnerships in key industrial  domains, so
as to leverage further private investment. 
In
addition, with the adoption of the new multiannual financial framework
2014-2020 at least  EUR 100 billion of European Strucutral and Investment Funds
(ESIF) are available to Member States to finance investment in
innovation, in line with industrial policy priorities In 2014-2020, investments
in innovation by ESIF will be guided by the concept of ‘Smart
Specialisation’, to allow Member States and regions to concentrate
investment on their comparative advantages and to encourage the creation of
cross-European value chains. Many of the themes proposed under Smart
Specialisation Strategies by the Member States and regions are related to the
six strategic areas identified under industrial policy, putting a comprehensive
financing package at the disposal of regions.
As
Member States increasingly look to stimulate investment in strategic industrial
areas, the Commission is modernising the State Aid Framework for
R&D&I and reforming public procurement rules to create a
critical mass on the demand side and improve efficiency in the allocation of
resources in full respect of competition and internal market rules.
The
need to speed up investment in breakthrough technologies in fast-growing areas
was the main reason the Commission decided to identify in the 2012 Industrial
Policy Communication the six areas in which investment should be encouraged.
These
strategic, cross-cutting areas are: advanced manufacturing, key enabling
technologies, clean vehicles and transport, bio-based products, construction
and raw materials and smart grids. The work of the six task forces that were
set up a year ago has enabled the Commission to identify opportunities as well
as obstacles to innovation requiring further policy action. Based on this work,
the Commission will pursue the following priorities:
·        
Advanced
manufacturing: implementing the Knowledge and Innovation
Community on value-added manufacturing and establishing a Public Private
Partnership on Sustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy
Efficiency, Factories of the Future, Photonics and Robotics, upgrading
innovation capacity and competitiveness of Europe's manufacturing sector. The
integration of digital technologies in the manufacturing process will be a
priority for future work in light of the growing importance of the industrial
internet. The use of “big-data” will be increasingly integrated in the
manufacturing process.[19]
·        
Key
Enabling Technologies (KETs): this task-force is working on the identification of potential KETs  projects of
European interest in a
number of
areas,
e.g. batteries, intelligent materials, high performance production and
industrial bio-processes; facilitating pan-European access of SMEs to
technological infrastructure; and exploiting further the possibilities of the
Memorandum of understanding signed with the European Investment Bank.
·        
Bio-based
products:
granting access to sustainable raw materials at world market prices for the
production of bio-based products. This will require the application of the
cascade principle in the use of biomass and eliminating any possible
distortions in the allocation of biomass for alternative uses that might result
from aid and other mechanisms that favour the use of biomass for other purposes
(e.g. energy).[20]
·        
Clean
Vehicles and Vessels: adoption and full implementation of the
Commission’s proposal on alternative fuels infrastructure, implementing the
Green Vehicle Initiative and other H2020 initiatives promoting clean and energy
efficient transport, pursuing global standards for electric cars and
implementing the priorities identified under CARS 2020.
·        
Sustainable
construction and raw materials: setting up a EUR 25 billion EIB
lending capacity for energy efficiency in residential housing; and improving
recycling and sustainable waste management in construction.
·        
Smart
Grids and Digital Infrastructures: defining further targets for
the development of smart grid components; revising and broadening
standardisation mandates and development and guidance on performance
indicators.[21]
The infrastructure and connectivity software for industrial internet is a
priority area in the light of its growing importance and should help integrate
high performance processes including cloud computing.
Building
on the work of the task forces, the Commission proposes to Member States to
combine regional and industrial policy tools to create Smart Specialisation
Platforms to help regions roll out smart specialisation programmes by
facilitating contacts between firms and clusters, enabling access to the
innovative technologies and market opportunities.
Finally,
based on an analysis of Europe’s industrial strengths and main assets, the
Commission will explore areas of industrial activity in which Europe is likely
to have a comparative advantage in future.  In addition, the monitoring of
investment trends will play an increasingly important role in the assessment
carried out in the European Semester.
3.2.
Increasing productivity and resource efficiency and facilitating access to
affordable production inputs
EU
firms need to have access to essential inputs in a sustainable way and on the
best possible terms, but there are still significant problems in capital,
energy and raw material markets.
a)
Access to finance
Regulatory
reforms in financial markets, a judicious monetary policy and the new
supervisory structure provided by the Banking Union have succeeded in restoring
financial stability. But bank deleveraging is making it harder for firms to
access bank credit, especially for SMEs in Member States where the crisis has
had a particularly severe impact.
Policy
actions are contributing to alleviating capital needs for specific purposes. In
2014-2020 cohesion policy will continue providing  access to finance to
enterprises through financial instruments. The new programing period envisages,
in addition to traditional financial instruments set up at national/regional or
transnational or cross-border level, the possibility to contribute resources to
financial instrument set up at Union level. This includes the SME initiative
which is a risk-sharing instrument with EU guarantees, as requested by the
October 2013 European Council. It is the result of an initiative proposed
by the  Commission and EIB which allows Member States, on a voluntary
basis, to use the ESIF to support financial instruments providing lending to
SMEs. Member States are invited to contribute European Structural and
Investment Funds from their national allocations to this initiative, so
that the instrument can achieve critical mass and have a significant impact to
increase lending to SMEs.
The
adoption of the COSME and Horizon 2020 programmes will also multiply the
financing capacity of public sector funds with equity investments through
financial intermediaries, such as venture capital funds and a well-functioning
pan-European venture capital market. The full implementation of the Late
Payments Directive [22]
will also improve financing for companies. Recent legislative changes will
facilitate SMEs’ access to finance. For example, the Capital Requirements
Regulation includes a correcting factor lowering the capital requirements
related to credit risk on exposures to small  and medium enterprises; the
revised Market in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) will create dedicated
trading platforms labelled "SME growth markets"; the revised
Transparency Directive abolishes the requirement to publish quarterly financial
information; and the new rules on European Venture Capital Funds and European
Social Entrepreneurship Funds create a special EU passport for fund managers
investing in start-up SMEs and social businesses.
Despite
these measures, access to finance is expected to remain problematic. Although
large corporations have increasingly sought financing in bond markets, European
SMEs are still heavily dependent on banks as their main source of financing,
much more so than in other parts of the world. The crisis has fragmented the
internal market for bank credit in the EU and borrowing rates have risen
disproportionally in some countries. An internal market for capital where
SMEs can have cross-border access to finance still remains an objective to
achieve.
Against
this background, efforts continue to improve credit transmission channels and
to diversify corporate financing sources. Progress has been made in several
initiatives included in the 2012 industrial policy update. The analysis of the
replies to the Green Paper on Long-Term financing will now lead to
proposals for measures to diversify sources of financing for SMEs and
facilitate long-term investments.
Additional
measures are also needed to reduce the impact of financing shortages faced by
some firms and the Commission will continue working with the EIB Group and
support bi-lateral initiatives between Member States addressing these shortages.
b)      Energy
Despite efficiency gains and the progressive opening of energy markets
to competition that have led to reduced wholesale electricity and gas prices, retail
prices for these essential energy inputs to industry have increased. EU retail
electricity prices for industry grew on average by 3.5% a year and gas prices
1% between 2008 and 2012. As a result, EU industrial electricity prices are
estimated to be twice higher than in the USA and Russia and 20% higher than in China according to the International Energy Agency data[23]. The price gap is greater in gas: EU
gas is three to four times more expensive for EU industry than for US, Russian
and Indian competitors, 12% more expensive than in China but cheaper than in Japan. Nevertheless, the prices effectively paid by industrial users may vary from one Member State to another.
The Energy Price Communication and its accompanying Staff Working
Document present a well-documented account of the evolution of energy prices
and their three main components i.e. energy, network costs and taxes and levies,
including RES support. The energy cost element remains the largest component,
though its share is diminishing, and there are notable differences across
Member States. Network costs and taxes and levies are the main drivers of
energy price increases taking a greater share of the final retail price. [24]
The evolution of energy costs is a matter of concern for the
competitiveness of energy intensive industries. Energy costs account for
considerable shares in the total costs of paper and printing products, chemical
goods, glass and ceramics, iron and steel and non-ferrous metals, although
there are variations across plants, technologies and countries.
Industrial competitiveness and energy efficiency remain major
objectives of the Union as acknowledged in the Europe 2020 strategy. Different EU
policies work to achieve our objectives in the most cost efficient way.
-       
On the supply side, the Horizon 2020 provides funding directly
available to energy and climate-related research and innovation, mainly through
the ‘Secure, clean and efficient energy’ Societal Challenge and industrial
leadership initiatives, such as SPIRE (Sustainable Process Industry through
Resource and Energy Efficiency), the SET (Strategic Energy Technology) Plan and
SILC II (Sustainable Industry Low Carbon Scheme), which aim to develop and
promote the uptake of breakthrough technologies needed to reach climate and
energy goals.
-       
Completing a fully integrated internal market for energy and
increasing competition in energy markets will allow industrial and residential
users to benefit from lower wholesale prices for energy.
-       
The further development of an efficient pan-European
infrastructure for gas and electricity as well as for transporting major
feedstock building blocks such as ethylene and propylene would help reduce
transport costs and risks for energy-intensive sectors. Existing pipelines
should be linked in particular with Southern and Eastern Europe to improve
synergies between industries from different Member States and achieve higher
energy efficiency across Europe.
-       
It is important to avoid disproportionate cost energy increases
due to taxes, levies or other instruments introduced by Member States to
implement different policies. This is essential to ensure cost effectiveness
and contribute to improving EU competitiveness.
Alongside with this communication, the Commission has adopted a
package on climate and energy defining its position until 2030[25].
Except in one case, it is a non-legislative package that will allow discussions
in the European Council and the European Parliament to contribute to finalising
the position of the European Union as regards the fight against climate change
and how that interacts with energy policy and the competitiveness of the EU
economy.  
c)
Raw materials and resource efficiency
EU
industry is mostly dependent on the supply of raw materials from international
markets,[26]
especially unprocessed minerals and metals. It faces a number of challenges
regarding access to both primary and secondary raw materials throughout the
whole value chain (exploration, extraction, processing/refining, recycling and
substitution). The Commission has been engaged in a raw materials strategy (the
‘Raw Materials Initiative’) since 2008. The Commission is also fostering the
efficient use of resources and the development of circular business and
production models.
The
Commission’s Raw Materials Initiative has a strong external dimension to ensure
fair and reliable access to raw materials worldwide, ensuring a level playing
field for all actors in the raw materials trade. The EU has been successful in
negotiating rules on export of raw materials in bilateral and multilateral
trade agreements and in monitoring and enforcing rules on trade barriers
affecting raw materials. .
The
Commission will continue using all instruments at its disposal, including a
mapping exercise of raw materials diplomacy currently underway, to safeguard
access to raw materials in a sustainable way. Special attention will be paid to
this chapter in ongoing and future trade negotiations.
The
Commission will consider elaborating a Communication on the European Innovation
Partnership (EIP) on raw materials to explain how the European Commission,
Member States, industry and academia intend to work together to take forward
the 2013 Strategic Implementation Plan of the partnership towards improvements
in research and innovation, legislative environment or standardisation.
Concrete
targets will include the launch of up to 10 pilot projects to promote
technologies for the production and processing of primary and secondary raw
materials, to find substitutes for at least three applications of critical and
scarce raw materials, as well as to create better framework conditions for raw
materials in Europe[27].
To
facilitate industry in making this shift, the Commission will present in 2014 a
legislative initiative on resource efficiency and waste. The initiative will
build on progress in the implementation of the Roadmap to Resource Efficient
Europe and set out the key building blocks needed to unlock EU economic
potential to be more productive whilst using fewer resources and advancing
towards a circular economy. It will include conclusions drawn from the
development of suitable indicators and targets, and the review of the key
targets in EU waste legislation (in line with the review clauses in the Waste
Framework Directive, the Landfill Directive and the Packaging Directive) and
carry out an ex-post evaluation of waste stream directives, including an assessment
of options to enhance coherence between them.
In
addition and based on preliminary assessments, the Commission will wherever
necessary propose measures to eliminate  price distortions that prevent EU
firms to have access to key inputs for industry at international market
prices. The Commission will ensure policy neutrality in access to biomass
for different purposes to enable efficient application of the cascade principle
in the use of the biomass to ensure an efficient and sustainable use of natural
resources. Also if deemed necessary, it will consider measures to enable
industry to have access at global market prices to key inputs such as
bio-ethanol or starch for bio-based industrial activities emerging from
traditional sectors such as chemicals, paper and other forest-based industries.[28]
3.3.
Upgrading skills and facilitating industrial change
Skills
feature as a major policy element in the Europe 2020 agenda. The Commission has
put in place an overall strategy for improving education and training systems
via anticipation and investment in human capital supported by EU financial
instruments, tools to monitor skills and training needs and trends, and
specific initiatives to bring together the relevant actors dealing with
apprenticeships, especially those with crucial information and communication
technologies skills, including the social partners. 
Skills
mismatches and training issues are likely to
remain a key challenge for EU industry in the coming years, especially as
progress in manufacturing technologies will increase demand for specific skill and
training sets. There are significant differences in skills achievements and in
the effectiveness of vocational training systems across Member States. These,
as well as the high unemployment rates in crisis-hit Member States require
immediate action to invest more in education and training. It also requires improving
cross-border mobility. To this end, the Commission has adopted a comprehensive reform
of EURES that will lead to tighter cooperation among the European Public
Employment Services of the EU and EEA with a view to facilitating mobility and
skills-based matching, through a range of new services and products.
The
contribution of apprenticeships to supporting industrial competitiveness is
widely recognised. Large differences in skills achievements and in
effectiveness of vocational training systems across Member States
correlate with acute unemployment in crisis-hit Member States. Initiatives such
as the European Alliance for Apprenticeships will continue supporting the
development of quality and effective apprenticeships resulting from strong
partnerships between employers and education across the EU.
In
addition, the Commission is developing a new generation of the Erasmus for
young Entrepreneurs programme, as well as other instruments to make available traineeships
in firms on a cross-border basis[29]
through the active involvement of industry and SMEs. The Rethinking Education
Communication[30]
calls for a strong focus on aligning skills supply with labour market needs
across Europe, now reinforced and supported by the new Erasmus+ funding
programme.  The Commission invites the Member States to support these
efforts.
Currently,
only 0.3 % of the EU’s population moves to another Member State annually for professional purposes, compared to 2.4 % in the USA. The EU has a unique role to play, to facilitate learning mobility between both education
and training institutions through the Erasmus+ programme at all levels:
apprenticeships, traineeships, and higher education exchanges. Industry and
SMEs’ participation in such initiatives will be further encouraged. In emerging
sectors and areas of economic activity, Knowledge and Innovation Communities
will help to make available the skills needed in these new markets.
Stakeholders
at all levels should strive to anticipate and manage skills and training needs.
Industrial policy must also facilitate industrial change and help modernise
industrial structures to avoid drastic, wasteful restructuring situations. .
Since
the impact of restructuring is most directly felt at regional level, managing
and anticipating change requires regions to be actively involved. In the vein
of successful ‘smart specialisation’ strategies, policy initiatives at that
level (on infrastructure, training, research and innovation) should therefore
take into account the effects of forthcoming restructuring.
To
help regions modernise the industrial base through the channelling of resources
towards more productive sectors and to support efforts that minimise possible
social impacts, the Commission will propose a comprehensive approach to
anticipating and facilitating industrial change at regional level.
Finally,
the Commission will present early in 2014 a Communication on job creation in
the green economy to focus efforts on key economic sectors with job creation
potential and the development of related emerging skills. [31]
4.
SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EU
industrial policy has traditionally paid much attention to SMEs, which have
been mainstreamed into our policy approach. By the end of 2013, the
Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) had assisted financial
institutions in providing about EUR 30 billion of new finance for more than 315
000 SMEs and have created or maintained directly about 380 000 jobs. In
addition, in the same period, Structural Funds provided some EUR 70 billion in
support of enterprises, predominantly SMEs. Nearly
200 000 projects have been funded supporting several SMEs each, including 78
000 start-ups and the creation of at least 268 000 permanent jobs (and
safeguarding many more).
Regulatory
and administrative costs can impact SMEs up to
ten times more than larger companies. The Commission has systematically
promoted simplification for SMEs through exemptions for micro-enterprises and
the application of the Think Small First principle. Framework conditions for
SMEs have been improved considerably since the Small Business Act (SBA) was
adopted five years ago. The average time and cost of starting up a business
have been cut (from nine to five days and from EUR 463 to EUR372). However, the
time and cost to obtain all the licences required to start commercial
operations remain very high in some Member States.
The
new financial perspectives for 2014-2020 make available new, more powerful
instruments in support of entrepreneurship and SMEs. For the first time, they
include a programme, COSME, specifically targeting SMEs. It has a budget of EUR
2.3 billion to add to the contributions made by other EU policies. The new
cohesion policy pays particular attention to SMEs’ competitiveness. A dedicated
instrument in Horizon 2020 provides funding for early-stage, high-risk research
and innovation by SMEs. The new rural development policy further boosts
start-ups and the competiveness of SMEs in rural areas.[32]
In
addition to this financial support, the Risk Finance State Aid Guidelines are
particularly sensitive to the problems that SMEs face in financing their
activities.
Still,
to release their full potential, SMEs must overcome the barriers that limit
their growth. The average SME is smaller in Europe than in the U.S. There
are also differences between SME-sizes within the EU: The average SME in
Germany has 7.6 workers, compared to 3.6 workers in Spain and 3.2 in Italy.
This has significant consequences: the smaller the company, the greater its
difficulty in investing in innovation, exporting and integrating global value
chains, thus compromising their competitiveness.
The
potential of clusters to create favourable innovation ecosystems for
mutually reinforcing groups of SMEs needs to be better exploited as a means of
promoting growth. The Commission will facilitate the matchmaking of SMEs
wishing to integrate into world-class clusters aiming for excellence and cross-European
value chains. The focus will not be limited to industrial sectors, but on
facilitating cross-sectoral and cross-border collaboration and innovation.
Value-added
chains, from the procurement of raw materials to business services and
distribution, as well as links with research, training and education centres
must be better integrated. Cluster-facilitated demonstration projects for value
chain innovation will also be financed through Horizon 2020 in support of the
implementation of smart specialisation strategies. In addition, the Commission
will reinforce the Entrepreneurship Action plan to develop entrepreneurial
skills and attitudes and to facilitate individuals in developing new ideas
commercially.
An
updated Small Business Act (SBA) could create more synergies with the reform
process under the European Semester, helping SMEs to grow and create jobs. The Commission
will consider actions and if appropriate propose new legislative measures, to
ensure that it is possible to start up a company in any Member State at a
maximum cost of EUR 100 and within three days. A target of one month to
have the necessary licences will also be considered. Finally, the Commission is
studying measures to reduce the duration of court litigation on credit recovery
for companies, to recover from financial difficulties and avoid insolvency by
having access to cost-effective debt restructuring procedures and to give a
second chance to honest entrepreneurs and to facilitate the transfer of
business. The Commission strongly requests Member States to introduce an SME
Test or an equivalent system in their decision-making process and to reduce the
administrative burden.[33]
Finally,
the Commission is exploring further possibilities to help SMEs develop
cross-border synergies while maintaining a flexible and light regulatory
framework for SMEs. Business networks present interesting business
opportunities in particular to strengthen cross-border cooperation. Through
enhanced intra-community specialization, business networks could also be an
important factor contributing to innovation. The Commission will explore to
what extent, e.g. by way of practical guidelines, some targeted measures could
be proposed (e.g. standards issues, terminology or labelling) which can foster
the development of business networks.
5.         INTERNATIONALISATION
OF EU FIRMS
EU's
exports and trade surplus have played an important role in mitigating the
impact of the crisis. With an estimated 90 % of global growth coming from
overseas by 2015, access to third country markets will remain a key feature for
Europe’s competitiveness. EU industry has largely remained competitive on
international markets, yet continued strong export performance cannot be taken
for granted. European firms need to stay innovative and to integrate into the
growing web of value chains extending around the world. Integration in the
global economy must go hand-in-hand with promoting open, fair markets
worldwide.
Trade
policy is at the core of the EU’s internationalisation agenda, not only to open
markets but also to defend EU interests and actively promote a level playing
field in third markets. The EU is committed to further promoting free trade
through WTO, as shown by the recently adopted agreement on trade facilitation.
In parallel, the EU is pursuing an unprecedented bilateral trade and investment
agenda with Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that is currently the most important
means to improve market access. The completion of on-going FTA negotiations
could potentially boost EU GDP by 2% (EUR 250 billion). The Commission has also
proposed an amendment of the Trade Defence Instruments (TDI) and calls on the
Council and Parliament to reach rapid agreement to reinforce the TDI system and
reduce associated costs to make it more effective in enforcing fair competition.
5.1.
Market access
Following
the advances in common foreign policy, the start of Missions for Growth and the
development of the Market Access Strategy the EU should step up its efforts to
engage in economic diplomacy, based on solidarity between Member States, and to
speak with a stronger voice to economic partners to defend European investments
and interests abroad. Competition conditions are not even across global markets
and unfair conditions are imposed on European companies operating in key
emerging markets.
The
European public procurement sector is the most open in the world, yet EU firms
encounter difficulties entering public procurement markets abroad. In recent
FTAs the EU has obtained good improvements in accessing procurement markets. For
example, bilateral negotiations with Canada have yielded significant advances
in the opening of procurement markets at sub-federal levels. Similar advances
will be pursued in other bilateral negotiations, notably with the United States
and Japan.
On
top of that, the Commission has proposed a new instrument that will, if
approved by Member States and the European Parliament, allow the EU to tackle
imbalances in international public procurement markets.[34]
Through this procedure, contracting authorities in Member States would be able
to exclude bidders for large contracts that use goods and services originating
in a non-EU country where procurement markets are highly protected. This is a
good example of how reciprocity can deliver positive results for the EU in an
international context.
Services
represent about 40% of the value added in European manufactures exports. About
a third of the jobs generated by these exports are actually located in
companies that supply the exporters of goods with auxiliary services.
Therefore, better, cheaper services are a key variable in the industrial
competitiveness equation. Improving EU firms´ integration in global value
chains will facilitate access to high quality services and improve the
competitiveness of EU goods and services exports.
Efforts
to increase the internationalisation of SMEs stand out as a particular
priority. In the EU, the top 10 % of exporting firms typically account for
70-80 % of export volumes and the Commission will seek to increase not
only export volumes, but also the number of exporting firms to facilitate the
integration of EU firms in global value chains.
Enhancing access to markets requires the use of a mix of trade
policy instruments that address the concrete problems faced by our companies
when exporting or investing in third countries. The Market Access Strategy
plays a key role in addressing these challenges through the joint efforts of
the Commission, Member States and Business. Strengthening cooperation among the
different stakeholders will increase effectiveness and success in tackling
those barriers.
To
promote access to markets around the world, the Commission will:
•
continue within our overall FTA negotiating strategies with key bilateral trade
partners, inter alia the U.S., Canada, Japan and India, to pursue improved
market access for European industry and follow up on existing FTAs through
regular monitoring, assessment and implementation.
•
continue to pursue Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement negotiations and
agreements on accreditation and acceptance of industrial products between the
EU and Southern Mediterranean countries and the countries of the Eastern
Partnership.
•
continue to work within the WTO bodies to prevent and counter third countries
creating technical barriers to trade, including through the use of dispute
settlement when needed.
•
reinforce Missions for Growth and capitalise on the services of the Enterprise
Europe Network to promote the internationalisation of SMEs and to support the
organisation and follow-up actions of Missions for Growth.
•
conduct SME dialogues and foster cooperation with our international partners —
bilaterally with the U.S., China, Russia, and Brazil and multilaterally in the
Eastern Partnership, the EU-MED Industrial Cooperation, the enlargement and ACP
countries.
•
continue implementing the Market Access Strategy as an instrument to address
the concrete problems face by European companies, with a particular focus on
SMEs, which often face the greatest challenges in addressing trade barriers in
third countries.
5.2.
Standardisation, regulatory cooperation and intellectual property rights 
The
Commission will continue to promote international standards and regulatory
cooperation, building on the EU’s role as a de facto standard setter and to
take a leading role in reinforcing the international standardisation system.
Regulatory cooperation with other countries will continue to be a priority,
especially in on-going bilateral negotiations with the United States and Japan
where the primary focus will be on ‘behind-the-borders’ obstacles to trade and
investment. Raising the level of transparency and regulatory convergence will
significantly enhance overseas opportunities for EU companies and help reduce
the costs of accessing markets.
In
a world where competitiveness often derives from first-mover advantage and
branding, it is increasingly important for EU companies to uphold their
industrial property rights in all relevant markets, especially in creative
industries where counterfeiting is a serious problem. To extend support
provided to businesses, the Commission has already expanded its industrial
property rights helpdesks network to ASEAN and MERCOSUR to offer services
across a broader geographical area and will consider further geographical extensions
of such support services.
6. Conclusion
Europe
urgently needs to strengthen the basis for post-crisis sustainable growth
and modernisation. To that end, it must send a clear signal of its
commitment to reindustrialisation, the modernisation of Europe's industrial
base and the promotion of a competitive framework for EU industry.
The
importance of the challenges ahead for Europe’s future calls for attention and
policy guidance at the highest political level, the European Council. This is
vital to ensure the coherence and prioritisation of all instruments at the EU’s
disposal. An industrial strategy cannot be put into practice as a stand-alone
policy as it has numerous interactions and overlapping effects with many other
policy areas.
Consequently,
the Commission calls on Member States to recognise the central importance of
industry for boosting competitiveness and sustainable growth in Europe and for
a systematic consideration of competitiveness concerns across all policy areas.
To
that end, the Commission considers that the following priorities should be
pursued to support the competitiveness of European industry:
·        
Continue deepening the mainstreaming of industrial
competitiveness in other policy areas to sustain the competitiveness of the EU
economy, given the importance of the contribution of industrial competitiveness
to the overall competitiveness performance of the EU. For instance, particular
attention must be paid to increasing productivity in business services to
increase industrial competitiveness and the competitiveness of the EU economy
in general.
·        
Maximising the potential of the internal
market by developing the necessary infrastructures, offering a stable,
simplified and predictable regulatory framework favourable for entrepreneurship
and innovation, integrating capital markets, improving the possibilities for
training and mobility for citizens and completing the internal market for
services as a major contributing factor to industrial competitiveness.
·        
Decisively implementing the instruments of
regional development with national and EU instruments in support of innovation,
skills, and entrepreneurship to deliver industrial change and boost the
competitiveness of the EU economy.
·        
To encourage investment, businesses
require access to critical inputs, and in particular, energy and raw materials,
at affordable prices that reflect international cost conditions. The design and
implementation of policy instruments for different objectives both at EU and
national levels must not result in price distortions that imply
disproportionately higher relative prices for these inputs. Action should also
be taken in the internal market and at international level to ensure the
adequate provision of these inputs, as well as to increase energy and resource
efficiency and to reduce waste.
·        
Do the utmost to facilitate the
integration of EU firms in global value chains to boost their competitiveness
and ensure access to global markets on more favourable competitive conditions.

 Finally,
     the objective of revitalization of the EU economy calls for the
     endorsement of the reindustrialisation efforts in line with the
     Commission´s aspiration of raising the contribution of industry to GDP to as
     much as 20% by 2020.

[1] Rueda-Cantuche, José M.a,
Sousa, Nb., Andreoni, Va. and Arto, Ia.
"The Single Market as an engine for employment growth through the external
trade", Joint Research centre, IPTS, Seville, 2012. In this Communication,
manufacturing refers to Section C and divisions 10 to 33 of NACE Rev. 2.
Industry refers to a broader set of activities including also mining and
quarrying and energy activities. 
[2] Estimate based on Eurostat trade statistics. This figure refers to
manufactured products only and therefore, it does not include trade flows of
energy and raw materials where the EU presents a negative trade balance.
[3] It is worth noting that while in some countries (Slovakia,
Lithuania, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands) the share of manufacturing in
GDP has increased since 2007, it has fallen in the rest.
[4] European Competitiveness Report 2013 ‘Towards knowledge-driven
Reindustrialisation’ at http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/industrial-competitiveness/competitiveness-analysis/european-competitiveness-report/files/eu-2013-eur-comp-rep_en.pdf
and ‘Member states Competitiveness Performance and Implementation of EU
Industrial Policy’ at http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/industrial-competitiveness/monitoring-member-states/files/scoreboard-2013_en.pdf.

[5] For both electricity and gas, the price differential with external
competitors (with the main exception of Japan) is increasing.
[6] COM(2012) 582 final "A
Stronger European Industry for Growth and Economic Recovery" of 10.10.2012
and COM(2010) 614 final "An Integrated Industrial Policy for the
Globalisation Era Putting Competitiveness and Sustainability at Centre
Stage" of 28.10.2010. Several Member States including France, Spain,
Germany or the UK have also defined industrial policies or strategies at
national and regional level in recent years.
[7] These
mutually agreed contractual arrangements by Member States could support the implementation
of relevant aspects of industrial policy reflecting the economic policy
priorities identified in the European Council's shared analysis of the economic
situation in the Member States and the euro area as such on the basis of the
country-specific recommendations.
[8] The package is a major step to create a functioning Single European
Rail Area, where standardised trains and rail components progressively replace
the wide array of customised rolling stock and rail vehicle authorisation
procedures are streamlined. The Shift2Rail joint undertaking will support this
process by pooling public and private funds to speed up the development and
deployment of new technologies and solutions.
[9] In the road haulage sector, better enforcement of market access
provisions is necessary for further market opening. Harmonisation of safety and
technical rules in road haulage has already taken place setting the stage for a
possible liberalisation of this sector at EU level.
[10] On 14 October 2013, the Commission adopted a list of 248 key energy
infrastructure projects, which on the basis of the new guidelines for
trans-European energy infrastructure (TEN-E) will benefit from faster and more
efficient permit granting procedures and improved regulatory treatment. In
addition, the Council and the European Parliament agreed in December 2013 on
the creation of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), a €33.2-billion fund
to finance and attract investment to improve Europe's transport, energy and
digital networks. The CEF will contribute to create high-performing and
environmentally-sustainable interconnected networks across Europe. In the CEF,
€5.85 billion have been allocated to trans-European energy infrastructure for
the period 2014-20 that will contribute to market integration and supply
security in the EU's energy system.
[11] COM(2013) 18 final of 24.1.2013
"Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on
the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure".
[12] Commission Communication COM (2014) 25 final of 22.01.2014 ‘A
vision for the internal market for industrial products’ of 22.01.2014.
[13] This initiative proposes common methods to measure the
environmental performance of products and organisation. By providing comparable
and reliable environmental information about products will facilitate the
integration of markets for those goods across the EU.
[14] Single Market Integration Report at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2013:0785:FIN:EN:PDF

[15] Communication of 8 June 2012 (COM (2012) 261 final "A
partnership for new growth in services 2012 –   2015)
[16] In 2008, the World Bank’s Doing Business listed eight Member States
in the top 20, three of them in the top 10. In 2013, there were only 6 Member
States in the top 20, and two in the top10.
[17] See Competitiveness Council Conclusions of 2-3 December 2013. 
[18] In addition, other initiatives are undertaken to facilitate the
implementation of regulations in specific areas. For instance, EU waste
legislation is under review with a view to make it clear and easily enforceable
and to facilitate the recycling of secondary raw materials.
[19] See forthcoming Staff Working Document "Advancing
Manufacturing – Advancing Europe.
[20] For a description and interpretation of
the cascading principle, see 
 http://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/pdf/201202_commision_staff_working.pdf
- Commission Staff Working Paper that is accompanying the Commission's
Communication on the Bioeconomy Strategy – see pages 25-26, 2nd paragraph in
section 1.3.3.1. and          http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+REPORT+A7-2013-0201+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN
– European Parliament Opinion on the Commission Communication on the Bioeconomy
Strategy – see item 28 on pages 6 & 7. 
[21] The Commission recently selected two smart grid projects as
Projects of Common Interest for trans-European energy infrastructure.
[22] European Directive 2011/7/EU on combating
late payment in commercial transactions of 16.2.2011 at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:048:0001:0010:en:PDF

[23] These prices are not corrected by quality differences, as EU
electricity supply is more reliable with fewer cuts than in these countries. 
[24] COM (2014) 21 final of 22 January 2014 "Energy Prices and
Costs in Europe". See this Communication for a detailed account of the
evolution of energy costs and prices. 
[25] COM(2014)
15 final “A Policy Framework for Climate and Energy in the period from
2020-2030”, COM(2014)
20 final “Proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of
the Council concerning the establishment and operation of a market stability
reserve for the Union greenhouse gas emission trading scheme amending directive
2003/87/EC”, COM(2014)
23 final, “On the exploration and production of hydrocarbons (such as
shale gas) using high volume hydraulic fracturing in the EU” and C(2014) 267 final
“Commission recommendation on minimum principles for the exploration and
production of hydrocarbons (such as shale gas) using high volume hydraulic
fracturing in the EU”, all of 22.01.2014.
[26]
Materials costs represent more than 40% of the manufacturing costs on average
according to the VDI (The Association of German Engineers) "Cost Structure
of the Manufacturing Sector". It is estimated that resource efficiency
improvements could reduce material inputs needs by 17 to 24% by 2030. See
"Macroeconomic modelling of sustainable development and the links between
the economy and the environment" (2011), GWS et al for the Commission at      
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/enveco/studies_modelling/pdf/report_macroeconomic.pdf

[27] In the context of the second pillar of the Raw Materials Initiative
the Commission will publish a Report on National Minerals Policy Indicators in
2014 on Member States performance on the permit licensing and the land use
planning as well as launching a public consultation in order to explore with
all stakeholders the political options towards a possible harmonisation of some
aspects of permitting procedures and land use planning. 
[28] See sections on the chemicals and forest-based industries in the
accompanying Staff Working Document.
[29] See the Proposal for a Council Recommendation on a Quality
Framework for Traineeships, of 4 December 2013, COM (2013) 857 final
[30] COM (2012) 669 final, “Rethinking Education
Investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes”
of 20.11.2012.
[31] Employment and social aspects of anticipation of change and
restructuring have been dealt with in the 13 December 2013 Commission
Communication (COM/2013) 882 final).
[32] For the specific potential of "blue growth" see COM(2012)
494  final  "Blue Growth  - opportunities for marine and
maritime sustainable growth"  of 13.9.2012.
[33] These proposals will be coordinated and complement other actions in
preparation in the field of Justice to facilitate cross-border debt recoveries.
Also in that field and as a follow-up to the 2012 Communication on “A new
approach to business failure and insolvency”, minimum standards will allow
companies in financial difficulties to restructure efficiently their debts and
avoid their insolvency.
[34] COM(2012)
124 final of 21.3.2012, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament
and of the Council on the access of third-country goods and services to the
Union’s internal market in public procurement and procedures supporting
negotiations on access of Union goods and services to the public procurement
markets of third countries.