After key industry and government leaders gathered in Antwerp yesterday to discuss the future of European industry, EU leaders are expected at the informal EU summit in Alden Biesen (Limburg) on Thursday.
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PM De Wever hosts informal EU summit on European competitiveness
Colin Clapson
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It’s seen as a crucial meeting. In the imposing setting of the Alden Biesen Limburg commandery, the leaders including the French president and the German chancellor will discuss how Europe can once again compete economically with the US, China and the Middle East.
On the eve of the EU gathering, at the Antwerp Industry Summit, PM De Wever called on EU Member States to take responsibility: ‘The situation is dramatic in countries like Belgium and Germany,’ he told his audience.
After a meeting behind closed doors, the Belgian Prime Minister took the floor beginning his speech with an overview of the situation. ‘Europe has expressed its ambitions in recent years, but these have not yet achieved the desired results.’
‘In the past four years, the number of closures in the European chemical industry has increased sixfold. Europe has lost 10 per cent of its chemical production capacity.’
‘In countries like Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and France, the situation is dramatic. This is an existential crisis, and the reasons have been mentioned here several times: overregulation, high energy prices and Chinese dumping.’
Mr De Wever called on European member states to take responsibility. He also sees three concrete areas for action: the EU must invest more in ‘innovation, productivity and competitiveness.’
If it were up to Prime Minister De Wever, the task for the EU leaders meeting on Thursday in Alden-Biesen is crystal clear. Speaking on Wednesday he said: ‘Industry has put its priorities on the table today, and those should also be our priorities tomorrow,’.
De Wever hopes that his colleagues feel the same way, but he is prepared to act as a bridge between industry and politics. ‘I grew up in Antwerp and speak the language of industry. I am on first-name terms with business leaders. We trust each other.’
De Wever is heading to Alden-Biesen in good spirits: ‘Decisions have to be made there. We need to draw up a roadmap for European industry, because we are in an existential crisis.’
What are European industry’s 5 top priorities?
In a joint action plan entitled “From ambition to delivery”, European business leaders gathered in Antwerp lisedt their main concerns. They demand greater administrative simplicity and fewer national regulations. They also hope that politicians will finally find a solution to high energy costs without losing focus on green energy.
Europe must be able to compete industrially with China and the US, but according to business leaders, this cannot be achieved without maintaining good relations with those countries. The impact of geopolitical conflicts on industry must be minimised.
Finally, they hope that innovation and entrepreneurship will be further encouraged. In their view, labour costs in Europe are far too high and the capital market is too fragmented.