REPORT on the implementation of the Updated New Industrial Strategy for Europe: aligning spending to policy

19.7.2022 - (2022/2008(INI))

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Rapporteur: Tom Berendsen
PR_INI

CONTENTS

Page

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

MINORITY OPINION

ANNEX: LIST OF ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE INTERNAL MARKET AND CONSUMER PROTECTION

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT AND TOURISM

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the implementation of the Updated New Industrial Strategy for Europe: aligning spending to policy

(2022/2008(INI))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in particular Articles 9, 151, 152, 153(1) and (2) thereof, as well as Article 173 thereof, which concerns EU industrial policy and refers to, among other things, the competitiveness of the Union’s industry,

– having regard to the Treaty on European Union, in particular to Article 5(3) thereof and to Protocol No 2 thereof on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 11 December 2019 on the European Green Deal (COM(2019)0640),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 19 February 2020 entitled ‘Shaping Europe’s digital future’ (COM(2020)0067),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 10 March 2020 entitled ‘A New Industrial Strategy for Europe’ (COM(2020)0102),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 10 March 2020 entitled ‘An SME Strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe’ (COM(2020)0103),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 11 March 2020 entitled ‘A new Circular Economy Action Plan – For a cleaner and more competitive Europe’ (COM(2020)0098),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 8 July 2020 entitled ‘A hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe’ (COM(2020)0301),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 5 May 2021 entitled ‘Updating the 2020 New Industrial Strategy: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe’s recovery’ (COM(2021)0350),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 14 July 2021 entitled ‘“Fit for 55”: delivering the EU’s 2030 Climate Target on the way to climate neutrality’ (COM(2021)0550),

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 19 January 2022 entitled ‘Industrial ecosystems, strategic autonomy and well-being’,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Committee of the Regions of 2 December 2021entitled ‘Updating the 2020 New Industrial Strategy: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe’s recovery’[1],

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 5 May 2021 entitled ‘Annual Single Market Report 2021’ (SWD(2021)0351),

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 5 May 2021 entitled ‘Strategic dependencies and capacities’ (SWD(2021)0352),

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 5 May 2021 entitled ‘Towards competitive and clean European steel’ (SWD(2021)0353),

– having regard to the 2019 report of the Commission’s High-Level Group on Energy-Intensive Industries entitled ‘Masterplan for a Competitive Transformation of EU Energy-Intensive Industries – Enabling a Climate-neutral, Circular Economy by 2050’,

– having regard to the International Energy Agency special report of 2021 entitled ‘Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector’,

– having regard to Council conclusions of 21 November 2018 on ‘A future EU Industrial Policy Strategy’,

– having regard to the Council conclusions of 27 May 2019 on an EU industrial policy strategy: a vision for 2030’,

– having regard to the Council conclusions of 16 November 2020 on a recovery advancing the transition towards a more dynamic, resilient and competitive European industry,

– having regard to the Council conclusions of 17 December 2020 on making the recovery circular and green,

– having regard to its resolution of 15 January 2020 on the European Green Deal[2],

– having regard to its resolution of 17 April 2020 on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences[3],

– having regard to its resolution of 25 November 2020 on a new industrial strategy for Europe[4],

– having regard to its resolution of 16 December 2020 on a new strategy for European SMEs[5],

– having regard to its resolution of 10 February 2021 on the new circular economy action plan[6],

– having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2021 on a European strategy for hydrogen[7],

– having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2021 on a European strategy for energy system integration[8],

– having regard to its resolution of 24 November 2021 on a European strategy for critical raw materials[9],

– having regard to the agreement adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris on 12 December 2015 (the Paris Agreement),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 30 September 2020 entitled ‘A new ERA for Research and Innovation’ (COM(2020)0628),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 25 November 2020 entitled ‘Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe’ (COM(2020)0761),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 26 January 2022 entitled ‘Establishing a European Declaration on Digital rights and principles for the Digital Decade’ (COM(2022)0027),

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 8 April 2019 entitled ‘Technology Infrastructures’ (SWD(2019)0158),

– having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2016 on a coherent EU policy for cultural and creative industries[10],

– having regard to Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/1749 of 28 September 2021 on Energy Efficiency First: from principles to practice – Guidelines and examples for its implementation in decision-making in the energy sector and beyond,

– having regard to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report of 4 April 2022 entitled ‘Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change’,

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinions of the Committee on International Trade, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Committee on Regional Development,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A9-0214/2022),

A. whereas it is crucial to enable industry to implement the twin transitions, while creating high-quality jobs and ensuring competitiveness and its capacity to develop and produce clean products, services and production processes;

B. whereas the aim of the Industrial Strategy must also be to strengthen the single market and foster technological breakthroughs in order to make the EU a world leader in green and digital technologies;

C. whereas industrial and manufacturing processes represent the backbone of the EU labour market and should foster the creation of high-quality jobs;

D. whereas in a changing geopolitical world, strengthening strategic autonomy and reducing EU dependencies on critical materials, products, energy, manufacturing capacities and technologies is vital, while maintaining an economy as open as possible and as closed as necessary;

E. whereas the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has shown once again that the EU is highly dependent on energy supply from third countries; whereas the EU needs to refocus its industrial and energy policies with the aim of diversifying its energy sources as quickly as possible , increasing energy savings and energy efficiency measures, as well as deploying massive volumes of renewables and adopting a much stronger circular economy approach across industries based on resilient and sustainable supply chains;

F. whereas a high level of energy supply dependency, such as on Russia, and high energy prices can be detrimental to the production capacities of European companies; whereas the availability of materials and components, and of manufacturing capacity in Europe is essential to avoid replacing the EU’s energy dependency with an accrued dependency for the supply of rare-earth minerals, other critical metals, equipment, or manufacturing capabilities;

G. whereas the EU is home to world leading research institutes, companies and skilled people and has the potential to be a world leader in industrial innovation;

H. whereas the Commission, having identified its strategic dependencies in the most sensitive industrial ecosystems, has announced that it will propose concrete systemic (economic and regulatory) measures to reduce these dependencies, including by securing and promoting production and investment in Europe;

I. whereas the EU needs to address the resilience of supply chains, while creating an attractive, innovative high-value manufacturing and supply ecosystem, aligned with Europe’s research and development (R&D), innovation, climate and environmental goals;

J. whereas CO2 emissions from industry have fallen by 35 % since 1990, in part owing to the relocation of production;

K. whereas the estimated economic potential of reducing final energy consumption by 2030, compared to business as usual, is of 23.5 % for European industry[11];

L. whereas the Commission has recognised that more economic sectors such as the health sector, the agri-food sector, the mining and raw materials extraction industry and the digital technology industry are crucial to achieving the EU’s strategic autonomy;

M. whereas the Commission has recognised in the new updated industrial strategy that unsustainable market policies, including on public procurement, could lead to market consolidation;

1. Welcomes the update of the industrial strategy; stresses that for the Green Deal to be a true sustainable and transformational growth strategy, reduce dependencies and maintain a level playing field for European industry during the twin transitions, it needs to be accompanied by ambitious industrial policy in order to become a competitive front runner in a net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and sustainable economy, and to create synergies between businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups, and that it needs to be supported by an ambitious R&D policy and SME-friendly framework; stresses that this need has increased significantly as a result of the ongoing climate and energy crisis and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine; highlights, in this regard, the need for targeted relief measures for vulnerable customers in the industrial context, in particular vulnerable SMEs and micro-enterprises, which have also been strongly affected by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic;

2. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to consider the impact of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine on European industry and its capacities in current and future initiatives and objectives, and to adopt a holistic approach when it creates incentives to support strategic industrial sectors and their supply chains, which are facing a sharp increase in the costs of energy, transport and raw materials; recognises that there are numerous measures that can help reduce these impacts, while also reducing GHG emissions and air pollution;

3. Stresses that a functioning European single market is an important asset to strengthen industrial resilience, Europe’s attractiveness as an investment destination and the competitiveness of the EU, as well as to enhance the twin transitions as a base for new growth in industrial sectors;

4. Underlines that the EU cannot be dependent on non-EU countries for products, energy, manufacturing capacities and technologies that are essential to our economy and for our society of the future; stresses that the EU needs to regain a strong position in crucial global value chains and secure the supply of critical raw materials in times of crisis, also through the increased use of circular business models; highlights the benefit of shorter supply chains for the resilience of our economy and for achieving the EU’s climate ambitions;

5. Highlights the importance of international collaboration, equal partnerships and open global fair trade for the European economy, noting that one of the most efficient ways to strengthen European industrial resilience and reduce dependences is to diversify supply chains through ambitious trade policy measures, including strategic trade and investment agreements;

6. Calls on the Commission to present clear and science-based transition pathways for the industrial ecosystem as soon as possible, including by identifying the needs for a successful transition in terms of infrastructure, technologies and skills; calls on the Commission to ensure consistency, coordination and synergies across all initiatives, objectives, funding and regulatory instruments that will support industry through the transitions; highlights the need for alignment between the transition pathways, the industrial technology roadmaps and the Strategic Research and Innovation Agendas of the European Partnerships under Horizon Europe; calls for annual monitoring and reporting on the competitiveness, technological progress, employability and resilience of our industrial ecosystems and on the progress of individual sectors’ transition pathways, including their consistency with the EU climate goals, so that instruments can be adapted swiftly when needed; stresses that all stakeholders in the value chain, including civil society, the academic community, consumer organisations, trade unions and the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change should be involved in a transparent manner in the process of the transition pathways ensuring a continuous, science-based monitoring of progress;

7. Calls on the Commission to present a strategy focused on the transition of the most energy-intensive industries that would allow them to preserve their competitiveness and at the same time support greater EU strategic autonomy, as these industries are often of strategic importance;

8. Recalls that Europe’s industrial competitiveness to a large extent depends on its capacity for innovation; notes that the EU is outperformed by other economic powers in R&D expenditures as a percentage of GDP; reiterates the importance of an ambitious level of investment in R&D to improve the EU’s competitive position in the world; regrets that the target of 3 % of GDP investments in R&D has still not been achieved in the vast majority of Member States; calls on the Commission to coordinate Member States’ efforts in further committing to increased national R&D investment targets, in particular for national public and private funding for industrial innovation and research to move towards curiosity-driven and low technology readiness level research to maintain and improve the knowledge base which sustains Europe’s industrial innovation; highlights, in this regard, the role open science partnerships can play; calls on the Commission to ensure that investment in R&D is also geared towards the participation of micro-enterprises;

9. Points to the need for Horizon Europe’s work programmes and the public-private partnerships to take account of the new circumstances resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in particular clusters 4 and 5 on ‘industry, digital and space’ and on ‘climate, energy and mobility’, and to focus industry-oriented R&D on the replacement of fossil fuels and on reducing  the reliance of EU industries on energy imports;

10. Calls on the Commission to contribute to closing the investment gap with global competitors for key enabling technologies; welcomes, in this regard, the Commission’s proposal for a European Chips Act and the establishment of the European Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge and Cloud; calls on the Commission to swiftly kick off the delayed work of the European Industrial Alliance for Processors and Semiconductor Technologies; calls on the Commission to extend swiftly these initiatives to other research, development and innovation (RDI) instruments and to key enabling technologies, such as batteries, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, automation and robotics, biotechnology, edge computing, photonics and quantum computing and technology;

11. Welcomes the Commission’s efforts in relation to the European semiconductor ecosystem, including increased local production capacity, pilot lines and first-of-a-kind manufacturing sites for advanced chip technology, chip and system design; stresses the need to ensure that the funding of European Chips Act will not lead to decreased funding for other existing related EU programmes; welcomes the Staff Working Document accompanying the European Chips Act (SWD(2022)0147); nevertheless calls on the Commission to produce an impact assessment, including the environmental impact, and a comprehensive analysis of the future needs for chips, the competitive advantage of different types and the potential for chip production in Europe;

12. Highlights the importance of fully implementing the existing Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) of the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking (KDT JU), as this is a crucial agenda for the Union’s strategic autonomy in several key enabling technologies; considers that redirecting the funding of the KDT JU towards research specifically on chips should primarily happen within the framework of the existing SRIA;

13. Stresses the need to strengthen ‘Made in EU’ and accelerate the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies, particularly by SMEs; calls on the Commission to embed the ‘Made in Europe’ partnership strongly in the Horizon Europe programme and to do so by fostering SMEs’ cooperation with universities and research and technology organisations; emphasises that ‘Made in Europe’ should stand not only for quality and innovation, but also for highly sustainable and socially fair industrial products, processes and services, and promote the recovery of quality employment and manufacturing opportunities throughout the Union, in order to support the balanced and sustainable development of all EU regions;

14. Stresses the importance of the Industrial Forum established by the industrial strategy and notes that, among the five task forces that were created, one is directly relevant for the single market and analyses the horizontal aspects of the single market and the removal of barriers, while another has a specific focus on advanced manufacturing as an horizontal enabler for a wide range of ecosystems;

15. Underlines the importance of the Union’s zero pollution ambition and of a fully integrated circular economy to create an efficient and decarbonised industry; calls on the Commission to undertake analyses on recycling and reintroducing into the product cycle; calls on the Commission to give particular consideration to funding and tender opportunities to projects of companies that are innovative front runners in the circular economy, as well as to the need to stimulate the development of lead markets; considers that waste prevention and the reduction of waste-related energy and resource consumption, as well as closed loop recycling along whole industrial sectors, are indispensable for a circular economy; further highlights the importance of standards, purchasing mandates, quotas, sustainability and reparability by design facilitating the recycling and reuse of important (critical) raw materials, as well as of the enhanced use and longevity of products;

16. Welcomes the Commission’s announcement issuing guidance on public procurement and its efforts to promote reciprocity in access to public procurement markets; stresses that public procurement is an essential instrument for national and economic security, industrial policy, social and ecological sustainability and for supporting the uptake of and demand for sustainable products and services; underlines that public procurement mechanisms should further support the transformation of Europe’s industry by fostering the production of eco-innovative, cost-effective and sustainable goods and services, and increasing the demand for secondary raw materials stemming from the deployment of circular production processes; calls, in this regard, on the Commission to review public procurement and competition rules where needed, while ensuring the proper functioning of the single market; recalls the importance of the guidelines developed by the Commission on how Member States should include performance goals and quality criteria, as well as the Most Economic Advantageous Tender (MEAT) criterion, in the contracts awarded; calls on the Commission to safeguard access for SMEs and to combat procurement criteria that set requirements or qualifications beyond the core elements of the service or goods purchased, so that SMEs have a fair chance to participate in the substantial market for public procurement; calls for the highest level of vigilance with regard to non-European actors acquiring critical infrastructure;

17. Recalls the role of sustainable procurement practices in preventing medicines shortages, ensuring security of supply and securing manufacturing investments; urges the Commission to support Member States by developing targeted EU rules on the procurement of medicines, under the current public procurement directive, aimed at ensuring long-term sustainability, competition, security of supply and stimulating investments in manufacturing;

18. Calls on the Commission to assess the joint procurements launched during the COVID-19 outbreak, to compare them with the advanced purchased agreement, and to make use of the lessons learned to improve this tool by avoiding any internal market disruption;

19. Highlights the importance of including education, upskilling and reskilling in the transition pathways as important tools in the transformation of EU industry and in the efforts to achieve higher productivity, taking into account the needs of the labour market of regions in the process of economic revitalisation, in order to prevent regions becoming impoverished; calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop a strategy for vocational education and business-education partnerships together with social partners, particularly within regional industrial clusters, to boost skills and enhance the uptake of ready-for-market innovations by SMEs, and by establishing incentives for SMEs to train and improve the skills of their personnel and workers, especially in the field of digital skills; highlights the need to strengthen cooperation between R&D and industry, especially in the form of technology transfers to SMEs; stresses that the promotion of gender equality, gender mainstreaming, equal opportunities and women’s labour market participation and entrepreneurship should be ensured;

20. Stresses the importance of proactive education and training policies that foster recruiting and retaining talent in the EU; calls on the Commission and the Member States to support world-class researchers and teachers in the EU to lead the education, research, development and training agenda of the future workforce and to enhance collaboration between education and training, research and the business sector;

21. Stresses the need for Member States to implement the Pact for Skills and the Union’s other initiatives aimed at creating reskilling and upskilling opportunities for the workforce, to equip individuals with the required skills leading to professional diversification and to address labour and skills shortages and speed up the re- and upskilling of workers and the unemployed, especially the workers who are most vulnerable in terms of the transition; highlights the need to implement the initiatives aimed at reinforcing the European Research Area, the European Education Area and the European Innovation Ecosystems, aimed at building a strong European internal market for research and innovation;

22. Stresses that less qualified workers are especially vulnerable; highlights, in this regard, the relevance of the Just Transition Fund, despite its limited scope;

23. Underlines that SMEs and start-ups play a central role in EU industrial ecosystems, especially in the digitalisation of the EU, and are a critical source of sustainable and socially responsible business models and product innovation; stresses the need to improve their access to national and EU financing, in particular in traditional sectors where digitalisation has not been developed yet; regrets the financing gap for entrepreneurs caused by gender, sexual orientation or origin; highlights the role of the European Innovation Council to foster a European start-up and investment ecosystem more conducive to the development of deep-tech and high-risk, high-reward innovations;

24. Is of the opinion that the initiatives to achieve the Digital Decade will contribute to the digital transformation of businesses, especially SMEs, which still lag behind large companies on digital skills and on the digitalisation of their operations;

25. Highlights the need to address the existing barriers in the single market that are hindering the growth of SMEs and start-ups in Europe, as well as the need for an improved legal and regulatory framework and consequently to introduce SME-friendly policies;

26. Stresses the need to modernise and future-proof the regulatory framework in order to ensure regulatory stability and predictability, which facilitates innovation, investments, the approval of innovative products and services, and enables the transformation to a net-zero GHG economy and to secure Europe’s competitiveness and high-quality jobs, while taking into account the economic, environmental, gender and social aspects; calls on the Commission to include roadmaps in the transition pathways, with binding quantitative and qualitative targets, after concluding an impact assessment, and to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens for European businesses, especially SMEs; stresses the ‘one in, one out’ principle;

27. Highlights the need to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens for companies, especially for SMEs and start-ups, while maintaining the highest standards for consumers, workers, health and environmental protection; stresses that Europe is experiencing a turning point as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic; calls on the Commission to assess whether new legislative proposals would place undue regulatory or administrative burden on companies;

28. Recalls the role that the public administration plays to ensure a business-friendly economic environment and to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens on enterprises, while ensuring the highest standards of transparency and workers’ safety; believes that e-government tools, digital innovation policies and the enhancement of digital skills should be promoted within the public sector and among its employees;

29. Underlines the national and regional dimensions of industrial policy and the role of regional smart specialisation strategies, in particular in terms of employment and economic and industrial development throughout the territory of Member States; calls, in this regard, for an analysis of the achievements of smart specialisation strategies as a platform for future measures at regional level; stresses the need for transparent participation of all local stakeholders, including civil society and community representatives, in the preparation and implementation of regional smart specialisation strategies; calls on the Commission to include instruments to increase the use of ‘Made in EU’ at a regional level;

30. Calls on the Commission to build on regional ecosystems that embrace their own smart specialisation, help to bridge regional disparities and involve the public administration, higher education institutions, scientists, civil society and industry to combine their knowledge and co-create content, context and learning experiences;

31. Insists on the need to ensure the social fairness of industrial transition and to develop adequate measures to support the re-industrialisation of regions in transition through strategic interregional investment projects and through re-development plans for vulnerable regions, especially rural and remote areas;

32. Stresses the need for a fundamental reorientation of our European energy policy in response to Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine; calls for a significantly reduction in the EU’s energy dependence, especially on Russian gas, oil, coal and nuclear fuel; calls on the Commission and the Member States to accelerate the production capacities of sustainable, affordable, secure and abundant renewable and transitional low-carbon energy, and to increase energy savings and energy efficiency measures; calls on the Commission to more effectively support the development of energy sources that will allow the increasing electricity needs to be met and to increase the coordination of the planning and financing of the needed infrastructure, in particular for the needed electricity, energy, smart grids, hydrogen, CO2 and heating/cooling infrastructure;

33. Stresses that a stable supply of energy is essential to the proper functioning of the European industrial ecosystem; warns that an energy supply contraction could have damaging consequences for productive infrastructure; highlights, in this regard, the need for a coordination system that would systematically monitor the availability of gas in times of crisis, in order to facilitate common European strategies to deal with the crisis;

34. Points to the fact that the processes of heating and cooling remain one of the most significant energy uses in the industrial sector; underlines that, in order to accelerate the reduction of GHG emissions in industry, the energy efficiency potentials in industrial heating and cooling need to be fully tapped; stresses the need to make better use of unavoidable waste heat and cold, as well as industrial clusters and symbioses offering significant synergies and energy-saving potentials in many sectors, including textiles, chemicals, food processing and machinery;

35. Calls on the Commission to step up its efforts in unlocking the potential of the circular bio-economy, where sustainable and renewable resources are used in order to promote competitive and resilient industries in the long term; highlights, in this regard, that the use of biomass waste can effectively substitute fossil fuels, while allowing  the CO2 footprint to be reduced; urges, therefore, the EU, national and local authorities to encourage such a circular approach in all policies;

36. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to bring down the time needed to issue permits substantially and create fast-track permitting procedures for infrastructure that supports industry in the transition to a climate-neutral circular economy, without prejudice to the transparency, legitimacy and legality of the existing procedures; emphasises, in this context, the need for the development of a hydrogen backbone in Europe, to further develop the interconnections across our continent and to support the widespread deployment of energy-saving technologies such as the installation of highly efficient local renewable energy generation facilities and co-generation, in particular for SMEs;

37. Reiterates the need for an enabling framework to develop sustainable mobility and to support sector coupling;

38. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to accelerate the implementation of all EU RDI, infrastructure and digital programmes and instruments in a smart and selective way, including important projects of common European interest to target market failures, and industrial alliances, as well as technology infrastructures to test, validate and upscale new technological solutions, particularly those that develop the innovative breakthrough technologies needed for the twin transitions, particularly those related to energy production, fuels and key enabling technologies, and for the implementation of an efficient circular economy, such as clean steel, clean aviation, e-fuels, clean fertilisers, and e-cracking;

39. Stresses that a swift assessment of important projects of common European interest (IPCEI) applications by the Commission is crucial for the resilience of European industry; calls on the Commission to establish clear, effective, simple and comprehensive guidelines regarding IPCEIs; reiterates the importance of the de-risking of funding, such as through InvestEU or the Innovation Fund, which is essential for enhancing the EU’s manufacturing capabilities in key strategic sectors, such as the solar industry, enabling it to rebuild a solid European manufacturing base;

40. Highlights to the great potential of Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs) as a vital instrument to trigger emissions reductions and reduce dependency on fossil fuels in industry; considers their importance in particular for hard-to-abate sectors, upscaling technologies and for supporting their diffusion within sectors; emphasises that CCfDs should be proportionate, in line with EU legislation, WTO-compliant and should not lead to undue distortions of the EU’s internal market;

41. Welcomes the Commission analysis on strategic dependencies and capacities, in line with the aim of strategic autonomy; calls on the Commission to finalise the analyses and industrial technology roadmaps as soon as possible and propose actions to reduce dependence on the identified critical products, including recycling and resource-efficiency actions, and supplies, including energy suppliers; highlights the importance of assuring the uninterrupted access of essential medical and healthcare equipment to the EU common market, following the experience gained from the initial shortages at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic; highlights the necessity of a strategy based on further in-depth analysis of mutual dependencies to strengthen the EU’s capacity in critical value chains and manufacturing; while remaining committed to multilateralism and free trade;

42. Calls on the Commission to adopt a holistic value chain approach when analysing strategic dependencies across the 14 critical industrial ecosystems it has identified in its 2021 Annual Single Market Report; recommends that these in-depth examinations be extended to all sectors considered as strategic; asks the Commission to take into account the impact of the extraterritorial measures taken by non-EU countries on EU industries, particularly in terms of export controls; points out that to avoid creating new dependencies and vulnerabilities, the Updated New Industrial Strategy should be driven by European resources and technological capabilities;

43. Underlines that recycling has to play a critical role in increasing the supply of raw and secondary materials, thereby reducing the EU’s reliance on imports from non-EU countries; calls on the Commission to further support measures to limit the increase in demand for primary raw materials, such as promoting the circular economy, supporting R&I for material substitutions, including sustainable supplies in trade agreements, and through strategic partnerships for raw materials;

44. Calls on the Commission to broaden the scope of the Observatory of Critical Technologies to include continuously monitoring, evaluating and reporting on resilience indicators for EU industries, such as mutual dependencies in key technologies, manufacturing capacities, an early warning system for potential shortages, strategic dependencies and foreign subsidies in strategic sectors;

45. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to create ad hoc incentives for investments in the production of critical goods, such as essential medicines, to achieve its open strategic autonomy, as well as for manufacturing technology with a view to any kind of crisis, including a war, while ensuring long-term resilient supply chains;

46. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the measures proposed in the EU Pharmaceutical Strategy ensure the role of the EU as an innovator in R&D, as well as guarantee competitiveness, provide reliable and affordable supplies, access to modern medicines and that they stimulate innovation and investment in R&D; notes that attracting a strong research-based pharmaceutical industry to the EU will also support EU resilience; stresses the need to support dedicated investments in R&I, the manufacturing of medicines and active ingredients in the EU and maintaining vibrant research-based and production facilities on its territory;

47. Is strongly concerned about unfair competition, investments and takeovers by non-EU state-financed companies on the single market, especially in strategic sectors such as energy supply, needed to ensure the Union’s independence and energy security; calls on the Commission to analyse this interference, to guarantee a level playing field, especially for SMEs, to develop suitable and legally sound measures to prevent interference, while, overall, ensuring that the well-established framework of EU competition policy is not be undermined and fair competition is promoted among non-EU and EU companies alike operating in the EU single market;

48. Welcomes the Commission’s proposals aimed at establishing a level playing field for both European and non-European companies; stresses the need to maintain European companies’ export competitiveness in connection with these proposals;

49. Calls on the Commission, with a view to the next review, to broaden the scope and definitions of the framework for foreign direct investment to address the effect of foreign subsidies on economic security in the EU and of technology transfers by EU companies in non-EU countries in strategic sectors;

50. Calls on the Commission to promote the transfer of environmental technologies to developing countries in order to facilitate the green transition on a global scale;

51. Is concerned about the increasing dependence on non-EU producers for security equipment in vital and sensitive parts of our society, such as border- , cyber-, and defence security; stresses the need to designate security technology and equipment a strategic sector; calls for an action plan to boost this EU industry, including through adapted public procurement rules;

52. Highlights the conclusions of the European Court of Auditors’ report on delays in implementing 5G networks and the risks associated with non-EU vendors[12]; calls on the Commission to stimulate a coordinated 5G roll-out in the EU and reduce external dependencies and interference risks in 5G and 6G communication technology through coordinated support to enable European players to build the R&D capacities for 6G systems and develop lead markets for 5G infrastructure as a basis for the digital and green transformations; calls on the Commission to ensure an adequate level of competitiveness in the field of 5G technologies, while guaranteeing the security of 5G networks;

53. Highlights that the cultural and creative industries and sectors are central to the New European Bauhaus movement which will be a crucial initiative; notes that cultural and creative sectors are a driving force for innovation and development in Europe; calls on the Commission to develop a comprehensive, coherent and long-term industrial policy framework for the cultural and creative sectors;

54. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a Data Act and the development of a common European data spaces initiative; underlines the role that interoperable, competitive and Europe-wide data spaces will play for several industrial sectors, including artificial intelligence development, mobility, the environment, health and smart manufacturing; emphasises the need for a differentiated approach that takes the characteristics of each sector into account; believes that the leading role of non-EU/European Economic Area companies in the EU data spaces initiatives may water down the goal of strengthening the EU’s technological sovereignty; stresses the importance of the data economy and asks the Commission to accelerate all data-related initiatives and support the emergence of a European data space ecosystem based on trustworthiness, competitiveness and interoperability, and to foster the creation of shared European infrastructures to facilitate the use and the exchange of data across industrial sectors, strengthening the data, cloud and edge ecosystems and reinforcing investments in high-speed communications; stresses, in this regard, the importance of legal certainty which is key for the innovative capacity of EU companies;

55. Highlights the need to ensure the resilience of communication networks and the security of dataspaces, thereby encouraging the swift deployment of fibre networks that could ensure multiple pathways and resilience to physical and cyberattacks;

56. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the digital transition makes use of state-of-the-art methods and best practices to reduce GHG emissions, computational complexities, increase energy efficiency and the efficiency of data of the systems in productive use; stresses, in this regard, the necessity for a method to include an environmental sustainability assessment in the digital transition, including on energy use, over the entire life cycle of products and systems;

57. Calls on the Commission to introduce measures to prevent non-EU ownership of EU notified bodies, which are designated by an EU country to assess the conformity of certain products before being placed on the market;

58. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative for a European standardisation strategy that aims to support the digital transformation and the green transition, and shares the ambition to take a more proactive approach towards strategy setting for standards, including at international level, with key trading partners;

59. Notes that, in order to achieve strategic autonomy, the EU needs to develop its defence capabilities; stresses the importance of providing policy direction and developing ambitious public programmes to support and boost investments in the space and defence industries; believes that it is of the utmost importance to operationalise a reliable, modest and efficient European defence equipment market, including a high degree of technological sovereignty;

60. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

European industries are crucial for the prosperity of our societies of today and tomorrow. They do not only provide 35 million jobs, but also create and produce innovations, sustainable materials and the products we need for our economy and society of the future.

 

To address climate change we need a fast energy transition, accelerated research and development in new technologies and processes, and a quick adoption and implementation of the necessary solutions. The Rapporteur believes that competitive and innovative European industry policy is a necessity in order to achieve the ambitious EU climate goals.

 

The EU needs to deliver on its promise of the Green deal to be a growth strategy, fostering both the green and the digital transition. A central aspect will be the creation of a framework of cooperation between industry and Member States that enables world leading European innovations to be developed, deployed and exported. This results not only in effective reduction of emissions but also in simultaneous development of the technologies, goods, and services our society and the rest of the world need. This is creating a true European growth strategy.

 

The plans for EU’s industrial transformation present several challenges. It is clear that, throughout the transition, the EU and its Member States need to commit to facilitate, coordinate and defend industry where needed. To make change happen, tailor-made solutions and instruments need to be put in place, which suit the different industrial ecosystems that exist in the European Union.

 

With public commitment on clean energy infrastructure investments, a strategic innovation programme, reduction of administrative burden and the use of public funds, we also expect reciprocity by long-term commitment of receiving companies to invest in their regions, their people and their environment to benefit local societies.

 

Competitive & Clean

 

Boosting industrial competitiveness in the European Union is a necessity in a fast-paced changing world. The EU is home to world leading research institutes, companies and highly skilled people. European companies have great potential for the creation of jobs, exports and sustainable growth. The European strengths in global value chains need to maintained and enhanced in a world where the geopolitical reality is changing.

 

European cooperation between industry, universities and other educational institutions, research & innovation entities and governments are crucial in order to roll out the needed infrastructure and develop the necessary breakthrough technologies to produce everyday necessities such as clean steel, clean chemicals, clean fertilizer, e-fuels, solar panels, wind turbines and essential medicines. We need transition pathways for each ecosystem that form a common agenda for the development and deployment of these breakthrough technologies.

 

A separate and enormous challenge is to assure that we can meet the energy needs for our industries in the future. It has become clear that renewable energy produced in Europe cannot do it alone. Therefore, we need to engage in ‘Energy Diplomacy’ with other countries to ensure for instance supply of synthetic fuels.

 

Resilient

 

The COVID-crisis further opened our eyes to the fact that the European Union is too dependent on other parts of the world for crucial products and resources. For too long our approach to domestic production prioritized short-term costs over security, sustainability and resilience. We cannot let the availability and affordability of products and technologies that are essential in our economy and for our society of the future be heavily dependent on other parts of the world. The European Union has to regain a strong position in crucial global value chains and secure the supply of critical materials in times of crisis.

 

For too long the EU has ignored the reality that China, Russia and other nations play by a different set of rules. Some countries are not shy of using strategic public investments combined with sheltering to create industrial champions. It is not possible in the EU to state-finance all sectors, that is why a defensive toolbox is needed to maintain the level playing field of European industry on our own market, combat disruptive foreign subsidies, prevent unfair competition of foreign state-subsidized companies and protect crucial European sectors and technologies. This should be accompanied by bold strategic interventions to strengthen EU capabilities.

 

A competitive, clean and resilient industry is crucial for next generations in the European Union.

 

 

MINORITY OPINION

Deindustrialization hit regions throughout the European Union severely. In view of maximizing profits and so-called competitiveness, corporations shut down or relocated manufacturing capacity at will. Moreover, industry continues to be a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions. By leaving fundamental decisions to the market and the corporations, EU industrial policies so aggravated regional inequalities, social and climate crises. Unfortunately, this report does not break with the traditional EU-approach to Industrial Strategy, in which profit maximization, rather than social and climate needs, sets the agenda. The report supports the massive transfer of public subsidies to private corporations, subsidizing dividends, without a guaranteed fair return on investment for society or conditionalities on public funding. The proposed “boost’ for military industry will create neither peace nor security. But things do not have to be this way. For people and planet, we need - and can - to turn things around. By putting the public interest in the driver’s seat, combining public initiative and public investment, industrial strategy can guarantee quality jobs throughout the Union, and make industry an asset in the struggle against climate change. We need an ambitious public plan for strategic sectors such as health, transport, housing, digitalisation and energy.

 

Marc BOTENGA

Marisa MATIAS

Sira REGO

Sandra PEREIRA

Giorgos GEORGIOU

 

 

 

ANNEX: LIST OF ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

The following list is drawn up on a purely voluntary basis under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur. The rapporteur has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the draft report:

 

Entity and/or person

Alstom

ASD

ASML

BASF

Cecimo

Damen Shipyards

E3G

ECFR

EFPIA

ERT

Eurometaux

FME

France Industrie

HydrogenEurope

Industriall

Katapult

NXP

SeaEurope

SEMI Europe

Signify

SolarPower Europe

Tata Steel

TenneT

TNO

UNIFE

VNO-NCW

 

 

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE (19.5.2022)

for the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

on the implementation of the updated new industrial strategy for Europe: aligning spending to policy

(2022/2008(INI))

Rapporteur for opinion: Angelika Winzig 

 

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on International Trade calls on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Considers that for the EU to keep its prominent place in the world economy, regain its previously strong position in important global supply chains and be competitive in open markets, every sector must be given sufficient and targeted support to develop a sustainability-oriented technological base and increase and facilitate research and innovation efforts carried out by public and private stakeholders;

2 Considers that the EU industrial strategy must be implemented in a consistent and coordinated way in line with ambitious objectives in order to strengthen EU supply chains; stresses that free, fair, sustainable and value-based trade that properly balances the need for open markets and strategic sovereignty which respect international law, as well as efforts to develop strategic solidarity with like-minded partners on topics such as international standard setting, will reinforce the EU’s industrial base; urges the Commission to deliver an ambitious trade agenda in line with the Paris Agreement, the European Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals;

3. Notes that EU industry and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the EU economy and its success; highlights the central role of SMEs in achieving the green and digital transitions; underlines the need to fully support industry and SMEs through the twin transition and the development of new technologies by providing them with tailor-made access to finance and sufficient funds and targeted support for research and development, innovation and education in digital skills for employees, a large scale change that can only be achieved if the necessary incentives for innovative climate and digital solutions are provided;

4. Underlines the need for regulatory stability and predictability that promotes and rewards innovation and investments in new technologies; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts to strengthen cybersecurity measures at all levels; underlines the importance of carrying out an ambitious EU digital agenda to build strategic international partnerships such as the EU-US Trade and Technology Council, ensuring a leading position for the EU in digital trade; requests the continuation of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on e-commerce, which should pay particular attention to SMEs and consumers; welcomes the Commission chips act initiative, which will secure the supply of semiconductors to the EU, thereby helping it to gain strategic autonomy; also proposes that a strategy on materials, which are critical for the twin transition, be developed, including but not limited to rare earths; emphasises that such initiatives need to be placed within a broader framework that should identify and monitor key supply chain dependencies as a crucial milestone of an integrated and sustainable EU industrial strategy, a key component of the European Green Deal;

5. Is concerned that both the current and the proposed EU legislation involves too many administrative and bureaucratic hurdles for EU businesses; underlines the need to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens and cut red tape for EU businesses, and SMEs in particular; welcomes the ‘one in, one out’ principle; calls on the Commission to fully implement the existing EU better regulation agenda and to include roadmaps with quantitative and qualitative targets to reduce administrative burdens for EU businesses, especially SMEs, by at least 30 %; emphasises the need to monitor and provide forward-looking regulatory and financial incentives to facilitate the shift to sustainable economic activities; reminds the Commission to apply the ‘think small first’ principle and to include the SME test in its impact assessments and legislative work, especially concerning the energy transition sector and export-oriented economic sectors;

6. Highlights that it is important to promote the ‘quadruple helix’ model of cooperation between universities, research centres, businesses and the public sector; stresses that the Commission and the Member States should work together on the design and implementation of the EU industrial strategy in order to guarantee increased alignment with the EU’s trade policy by diversifying and exploiting synergies and in order to make different sectors more competitive at international level; calls on the Commission to draw up implementation reports to be presented to Parliament;

7. Welcomes the intention of the Commission to issue guidance on public procurement; emphasises that public procurement is an indispensable instrument for national and economic security; stresses in this regard the need to signal to non-EU countries that EU public procurement markets will remain open while focusing efforts on creating a level playing field and on limiting bureaucratic burdens for businesses and contracting authorities;

8. Stresses that key EU policy initiatives like the European Green Deal, Europe’s Digital Decade and the EU’s resilience goals need to be implemented, taking into consideration the competitiveness of EU industry, in view of recent developments at international level, in particular Russia’s aggression against Ukraine;

9. Reiterates its support for a multilateral trade negotiation agenda and urges WTO members to agree at the upcoming 12th ministerial conference on a work plan to update the WTO rule book and restore fair competition conditions for businesses and employees;

10. Highlights the importance of further negotiations to secure ambitious, modern, future-oriented and sustainable free trade agreements with ambitious and enforceable trade and sustainable development chapters, and to pursue the goals of a level playing field and reciprocity vis-à-vis other major trading partners through the use of the EU trade toolbox, including the International Procurement Instrument, due diligence, anti-coercion and foreign subsidies; highlights the importance of international collaboration and open global trade for the EU economy;

11. Points out that sustainable inward and outward investment, trade and access to non-EU markets are crucial for supporting the EU’s economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and for ensuring long-term resilience, with the aim of strengthening the EU’s sovereignty through an ambitious strategic autonomy plan and reducing dependencies on non-EU countries, ensuring optimal use of internal EU production, bolstering an EU and global circular economy, diversifying its supply chains, friend-shoring, near-shoring or re-shoring where relevant, guaranteeing its independence from any single producer, especially concerning critical raw and intermediate products and materials, including agricultural food and products, and securing sustainable supply chains in line with the Paris Agreement;

12. Underlines the need to facilitate foreign direct investment that contributes to achieving the EU climate goals; points out the need to address market diversification, in particular with like-minded partners, and maintain an ambitious trade agenda with global partners;

13. Strongly insists that the fight against illicit trade, the prevention of unfair competition, the phasing-out of subsidies for economic activities that are extremely harmful to the environment and strategic investments that would run counter to national security or public order must remain a key priority in order to safeguard the EU’s industrial autonomy and competitiveness; also raises the necessity of dealing with the existing regulatory gap regarding the EU’s participation in foreign-based joint ventures; urges the Commission to pursue a trade and investment agenda to tackle unfair policies and practices;

14. Calls on the Commission to step up its efforts to secure the necessary energy supply for EU industry by diversifying energy sources and suppliers and reducing external dependencies – especially by building upon links with like-minded partners – and by reducing the EU’s fossil energy dependencies in the light of the war in Ukraine, in particular on Russian coal, oil and gas;

15. Underlines in particular the need for the EU to phase out its dependencies on oil, coal and gas imports by speeding up the transition to renewable energy and meeting its intermediate climate targets, and the need for it to gradually phase out subsidies for fossil fuels in order to reach its long-term climate goals;

16. Calls on the Commission, in this regard, to immediately commence negotiations on trade and cooperation agreements with potential international partners for the production and trade of sustainable hydrogen in order to ensure the future supply of renewable fuels of non-biological origin to the EU’s industry, heating and transport sectors;

17. Stresses the need to upgrade the EU’s existing gas infrastructure and connectivity between Member States, including the necessary terminals with sufficient capacity to enable the import and transport of ammonia and hydrogen across the EU, in order to enable the hydrogen economy to grow; underlines that the development of efficient and integrated logistics networks and infrastructure ensures smoother access to transport, energy and digital services, increases the competitiveness of businesses and reduces trade barriers by promoting open and rule-based trade with the rest of the world;

18. Underlines that the twin transition will require the securing and massive scaling-up of access to mining and processing of strategic and critical raw materials such as lithium, rare earths and cobalt, which will need to be imported and for which there will be growing geopolitical competition;

19.  Also proposes that a European rare earth act be drawn up.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Date adopted	16.5.2022
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	37 0 5

 

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

37	+
ECR	Geert Bourgeois, Emmanouil Fragkos, Dominik Tarczyński, Jan Zahradil
ID	Herve Juvin, Danilo Oscar Lancini
NI	Tiziana Beghin, Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó, Ernő Schaller‑Baross
PPE	Anna‑Michelle Asimakopoulou, Daniel Caspary, Arnaud Danjean, Christophe Hansen, Danuta Maria Hübner, Gabriel Mato, Massimiliano Salini, Sven Simon, Jörgen Warborn, Angelika Winzig, Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez
RENEW	Jordi Cañas, Svenja Hahn, Karin Karlsbro, Samira Rafaela, Catharina Rinzema, Marie‑Pierre Vedrenne
S&D	Paolo De Castro, Agnes Jongerius, Miapetra Kumpula‑Natri, Bernd Lange, Margarida Marques, Inma Rodríguez‑Piñero, Mihai Tudose, Kathleen Van Brempt
VERTS/ALE	Anna Cavazzini, Heidi Hautala, Sara Matthieu

 

0	-

 

5	0
ID	Markus Buchheit, Roman Haider
S&D	Raphaël Glucksmann
THE LEFT	Emmanuel Maurel, Helmut Scholz

 

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

 

 

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE INTERNAL MARKET AND CONSUMER PROTECTION (20.6.2022)

for the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

on the implementation of the Updated New Industrial Strategy for Europe: aligning spending to policy

(2022/2008(INI))

Rapporteur for opinion: Maria da Graça Carvalho

 

 

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection calls on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

New industrial strategy in a post-COVID era

1. Recalls that the new industrial strategy was updated to reflect the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and to boost the recovery of the single market, and that this strategy will be key to enhancing EU competitiveness, delivering on the green and digital transitions and ensuring that the single market is better equipped to face future crises; recalls that a strong governance system and a digitalised market surveillance system are essential in order to relaunch and ensure the proper functioning and deepening of the single market; calls on the Commission to focus on ensuring that the industrial strategy helps to remove unjustified barriers to the single market and helps to avoid further fragmentation and diverging national approaches, while at the same time taking into account the need to strengthen consumer protection; recalls the importance of eliminating excessive bureaucracy and costs for SMEs and micro-enterprises operating in the single market;

2. Highlights the need for key Union policies to be considered in a holistic way within the industrial strategy, which should aim at aligning the different instruments and be fully integrated with existing initiatives; further stresses that the industrial strategy must be coherent and must safeguard and favour industrial competitiveness in all areas of European policy, while also ensuring consumer protection and progress towards environmental objectives; recalls, in this context, the importance of maintaining and further developing European leadership in strategic sectors, particularly for those sectors that proved to be essential during the COVID-19 pandemic; emphasises that European industrial policy must benefit all Member States; underlines the importance of maintaining an open dialogue with all industrial sectors and relevant stakeholders;

3. Recalls the uncoordinated restrictions that seriously disrupted the proper functioning of the internal market during the pandemic and led to major disruptions of supply chains in many industrial ecosystems, particularly in the food and pharmaceutical sectors; in this respect, underlines the need to prevent imbalances in the European food supply chain and to ensure food security, and to guarantee resilience with regard to pharmaceutical and medical production; also recalls that border controls and closures led to difficulties for cross-border or seasonal workers and underlines the importance of barrier-free movement; calls on the Commission to further assess the pandemic-related disruptions in cross-border value chains as the industrial strategy must provide for the completion of value chains in certain industries in order to promote the open strategic autonomy of the EU;

4. Welcomes the publication by the Commission of the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles; recalls that the textile industry faces a slow recovery from the downfall during the pandemic, being affected also by the massive re-location of production sites in third countries; underlines the need to target SMEs as the main players in the sector;

Industrial strategy and the situation in Ukraine

5. Underlines that Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine increases the urgency to build a more resilient, sustainable and robust economic base in the EU and complete the single market in key industrial and strategic sectors; underlines, in this context, the importance of diversification of supplies and preventing over-dependency in areas such as energy, raw materials and critical products as this may lead to vulnerabilities and reduce the EU’s ability to act; stresses the need for a coordinated European approach in the areas of energy production and transport infrastructure (TEN-T) while improving resource efficiency and promoting the circular economy, in order to strengthen the industrial strategy;

6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt a holistic approach when it creates incentives to support strategic industrial sectors and their supply chains, such as food, pharmaceuticals and others, which are facing a sharp increase in the costs of energy, transport and raw materials on account of the war in Ukraine; calls on the Commission, in particular, to implement a strategy on critical raw materials and resources needed for the key enabling technologies, digitalisation and the green transition; furthermore, supports targeted relief measures for vulnerable customers and companies in the industrial context, in particular vulnerable SMEs and micro-enterprises, to alleviate the worst economic and social impacts of high-energy prices;

Enhancing open strategic autonomy

7. Reiterates the need to enhance European open strategic autonomy by addressing disruptions and vulnerabilities of supply chains and ensuring their resilience and by investing in skills, professional qualifications, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, the data economy and key technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G and 6G, microprocessors and semiconductors, batteries, 3D production, high-performance computing and quantum technologies; highlights the urgency of scaling up innovative breakthrough industrial technologies across the Union, in particular for critical energy-intensive industries, also with a view to closing carbon loops across the value chains of energy intensive-industries by reusing and recycling resources; notes the need to make full use of artificial intelligence in a responsible way; underlines that rural, remote and outermost areas must also benefit from these investments;

8. Emphasises the importance of improving the availability of data, while respecting data protection rules, and advocates a single market for data to support the EU’s industrial development, to foster innovation and to strengthen the digital single market as a whole; asks the Commission to accelerate progress on all data-related initiatives, improving data sharing and exchange, supporting the development of common European data spaces and fostering the creation of shared European infrastructure; believes that the EU should cooperate effectively with international partners to achieve compatible digital standards;

Green and digital transition

9. Recalls that in order to achieve open strategic autonomy, the green and digital transitions must be accelerated across the EU; underlines the massive investment gap in the technology industries enabling the digital and green transformation of our society and reiterates the need to strengthen investments in digital and green technologies; calls on the Commission, as well as the Member States, to fully support such a horizontal approach, in order to ensure that Europe remains a global leader in crucial enabling technologies;

10. Recalls that the Green Deal can only be achieved with an increase in the production and use of renewable energy while at the same time recognising the importance of energy efficiency measures, which will lead to reductions in primary energy consumption, and of ensuring sufficient access to affordable, secure and diversified clean energy in order to further the green transition of European industry and its global competitiveness; additionally, welcomes the launch of the New European Bauhaus Initiative in the context of the industrial strategy in order to promote and develop sustainability, in particular when it comes to the architectural, construction and housing sectors, while also focusing on sustainable city planning and development and ensuring the inclusion of all European citizens;

11. Underlines that the industrial strategy should address the key obstacles to a faster development of renewables and increase sustainable consumption, inter alia by finding ways to better connect SMEs and energy producers in the system; underlines that reliable and verifiable environmental information, as well as information on the durability and reparability of products, is key to transforming consumption patterns in a sustainable direction;

Strengthening the internal market

12. Calls for a relaunch of the single market strategy in order to further unlock the potential of the single market by de-fragmenting regulatory approaches, adopting proportionate legislation, modernising public administrations and easing bureaucratic burdens for business, overcoming existing barriers to investment in order to reduce regulatory compliance costs, stimulating competition, favouring market-led innovation and promoting the EU as a world leader in consumer protection; stresses that the EU’s industrial competitiveness relies on a fully functioning and resilient single market that delivers benefits for all Member States and their citizens, in particular by focusing on consumer rights, as well as the needs of businesses, including SMEs, micro-enterprises and start-ups;

13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to enhance cooperation among themselves and with economic operators and to use new technologies for removing unjustified regulatory and non-regulatory barriers and administrative burdens in the single market, including in services; stresses the economic benefits of completing the single market, noting in particular estimates made by the Commission that further improvements in the single market for industrial products could generate between EUR 183 billion and EUR 269 billion a year, while profits from further integration of services markets could reach EUR 297 billion a year, which alone would increase the economic benefits from 8-9 % to around 12 % of additional GDP[13];

14. Calls on the Commission to come forward with an ambitious Single Market Emergency Instrument that strengthens resilience and ensures a well-functioning single market in times of crisis while also developing strong crisis preparedness measures without undermining efforts to eliminate unjustified barriers in the single market; furthermore asks the Commission to improve the effectiveness of existing governance tools;

15. Recalls that in addition to vertical ecosystems, there is a need to have horizontal approaches, such as on enabling technologies, and that the digital ecosystem must be integrated with all other industrial ecosystems horizontally; recalls that the tourism ecosystem was hit hardest during the pandemic, and several other ecosystems also face a slow recovery, such as the textile industry and the cultural and creative industry, meanwhile the digital ecosystem increased its turnover during the crisis; stresses the importance of the Industrial Forum established by the industrial strategy and notes that among of the five task forces that were created, one is directly relevant for the single market and analyses the horizontal aspects of the single market and the removal of unjustified barriers, and another one has a specific focus on advanced manufacturing as a horizontal enabler for a wide range of ecosystems;

16 Underlines the need to include in the industrial strategy the gaming industry as one of the industries with the highest development potential, recalling that most game producers and developers are not European actors; calls for clear pathways at the European level to enable the industry to accelerate and become a leader in the sector;

Promoting standardisation

17. Acknowledges the European standardisation strategy and underlines that harmonised standards along with innovation can increase economic, societal and environmental welfare, including the health and safety of consumers and workers; considers that well-performing standards are therefore essential for a well-functioning single market, the safety of products, global competitiveness and the green and digital transitions and the protection of consumers; underlines the importance of transparency and inclusiveness and of avoiding excessive bureaucracy in standardisation; considers that the standardisation strategy should aim to help improve material reuse and recycling and foster secondary resource uptake;

18. Stresses that it is crucial that the standardisation strategy continues to attract the best experts and encourages a more coordinated approach in terms of international standard-setting, and that strategic objectives are discussed and agreed with the active participation of all relevant stakeholders involved;

19. Calls for ambitious proposals from the Commission concerning the upcoming customs reform, including on the Union Customs Code; underlines the importance of ensuring that custom controls throughout the EU follow the same standards; calls for a reform which ensures open, fair and sustainable trade and protects consumers against dangerous and non-compliant products; calls on the Commission to take into account for its reform the Report by the Wise Persons Group on the Reform of the EU Customs Union[14];

Public procurement and the competitiveness of SMEs

20. Underlines the need to strengthen the competitiveness of SMEs, micro-enterprises and industry by addressing supply risks, dependencies, disruptions and vulnerabilities, especially in the green and digital economies; stresses that an effective, open, fair and cooperative public procurement framework alongside public investment can play an important role in supporting jobs, sustainable growth, competitiveness, innovative investments and fostering sustainable consumption and the uptake of sustainable products; calls on the Commission and the Member States to continue working on the proper implementation of EU public procurement legislation which reflects economic, social and environmental considerations, in order to create a well-functioning and harmonised single market; recalls the importance of the Commission’s guidance on green public procurement, which will help the EU’s efforts in becoming a resource-efficient economy and will help stimulate demand for more sustainable goods and services while also fostering eco-innovation;

21. Recalls the importance of the guidelines developed by the Commission that give practical indications about how Member States should include performance goals and quality criteria, such as the Most Economic Advantageous Tender (MEAT), in the contracts awarded through public procurement and how to better involve a plurality of manufacturers, including SMEs and micro-enterprises; calls on the Commission and the Member States to consider closely the position of SMEs when it comes to participation in public procurement; underlines the importance of SMEs for competitiveness and innovation in the internal market while recognising their position as producers and also as providers of industrial services to other manufacturers; calls on the Commission to support SMEs, micro-enterprises and start-ups in improving access to finance while helping to decrease buyouts and takeovers of European companies, where such buyouts or takeovers threaten European innovation, and to provide clear guidance on how to comply with EU sectoral rules, where relevant;

22. Recalls the importance of effective and sustainable public procurement practices, especially in the context of the health ecosystem; urges the Commission to support Member States in the development of targeted rules, regarding the joint procurement of essential goods such as medicines, aiming to ensure long-term sustainability, security of supply, fair competition and investment in manufacturing capabilities;

23. Recalls the importance of competition rules adapted to new dynamics of the EU market and to a changing global context to guarantee effective and fair competition in the single market and to enhance consumer choice;

Research, innovation and breakthrough technologies

24. Recalls the commitments to increase R&D investments to 3 % of GDP and to strengthen the European Research Area to develop a single market for research and innovation; welcomes the establishment of industrial alliances in different sectors and underlines that such alliances along with public-private partnerships are important to develop breakthrough technologies; stresses that increased investment in R&D is an absolute necessity if the EU is to remain competitive; underlines that R&D investment should focus on all industrial sectors, and not only the manufacturing sector, and calls on the Commission and the Member States to facilitate greater participation of SMEs and micro-enterprises in the R&D market; calls on the Commission to ensure transparency, inclusiveness, consistency and synergy in all initiatives, funding and regulatory instruments supporting industry, SMEs and micro-enterprises, particularly when it comes to the green and digital transitions; calls on the Commission to develop a European Innovation Area that aims to turn scientific results into commercial products, supporting start-ups and SMEs and retaining businesses within the Union’s single market;

25. Highlights the need to implement the initiatives aimed at reinforcing the European Research Area, the European Education Area and the European Innovation Ecosystems, aiming at building a strong European internal market for research and innovation;

26. Calls on the Commission to establish clear, effective, simple and comprehensive guidelines regarding the existing instruments that should address the policy priorities in several industrial sectors, notably the Important Projects of Common European Interest, the various alliances (industrial data, space launchers, zero emissions aviation, batteries, and others), the European Digital Infrastructure Consortia, and others; stresses the importance of ensuring the right synergies between the different instruments, programmes and funds, from the Recovery and Resilience Facility to the structural funds, and underlines the need to better integrate them with the joint undertakings and other initiatives derived from Horizon Europe, such as the European Institute of Technology and Innovation and the European Innovation Council;

Boosting skills

27. Calls on the Commission to develop concrete measures to support Member States in addressing the skills mismatch in certain sectors while also promoting decent working conditions; calls for re-balancing within the single market the drain of talent, technological experts and know-how and for improving funding for research, innovation and technological development; furthermore, stresses the need for Member States to take decisive action through their national frameworks to properly implement the Pact for Skills and other EU initiatives aimed at creating reskilling and upskilling opportunities for the workforce; recalls the importance of strengthening education and training, in particular to develop the skills needed to support the green and digital transitions of the single market;

28. Highlights the need for a permanent dialogue among relevant authorities and economic operators to ensure that the workforce is better prepared for the new industrial needs; recalls that the green and digital transitions of the industrial sectors require the mutual recognition of the professional qualifications of highly skilled and skilled professionals;

29. Highlights that the problem of the lack of women employed in the industrial sector contributes to the gender pay and pension gap; calls for action to be taken in the context of the industrial strategy to address the gender gap in European industries and the lack of opportunities for women, particularly in STEM fields; furthermore recalls that the digitalisation of traditional industries could lead to job creation in new industries, but could also disrupt current jobs and could lead to precarious working conditions in certain cases; recalls that these challenges require action and appropriate financial investment in the context of the industrial strategy.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Date adopted	16.6.2022
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	36 0 6
Members present for the final vote	Pablo Arias Echeverría, Alessandra Basso, Brando Benifei, Adam Bielan, Andrea Caroppo, Anna Cavazzini, Dita Charanzová, Deirdre Clune, Alexandra Geese, Sandro Gozi, Maria Grapini, Krzysztof Hetman, Virginie Joron, Eugen Jurzyca, Arba Kokalari, Marcel Kolaja, Andrey Kovatchev, Maria-Manuel Leitão-Marques, Adriana Maldonado López, Beata Mazurek, Leszek Miller, René Repasi, Christel Schaldemose, Andreas Schwab, Tomislav Sokol, Ivan Štefanec, Róża Thun und Hohenstein, Kim Van Sparrentak, Marion Walsmann
Substitutes present for the final vote	Marco Campomenosi, Maria da Graça Carvalho, Geoffroy Didier, Malte Gallée, Karen Melchior, Tsvetelina Penkova, Antonio Maria Rinaldi, Marc Tarabella, Kosma Złotowski
Substitutes under Rule 209(7) present for the final vote	Nicola Beer, Rosanna Conte, Vlad Gheorghe, Ondřej Kovařík

 

 

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

36	+
ECR	Adam Bielan, Beata Mazurek, Kosma Złotowski
PPE	Pablo Arias Echeverría, Andrea Caroppo, Maria da Graça Carvalho, Deirdre Clune, Geoffroy Didier, Krzysztof Hetman, Arba Kokalari, Andrey Kovatchev, Andreas Schwab, Tomislav Sokol, Ivan Štefanec, Marion Walsmann
RENEW	Nicola Beer, Dita Charanzová, Vlad Gheorghe, Sandro Gozi, Ondřej Kovařík, Karen Melchior, Róża Thun und Hohenstein
S&D	Brando Benifei, Maria Grapini, Maria-Manuel Leitão-Marques, Adriana Maldonado López, Leszek Miller, Tsvetelina Penkova, René Repasi, Christel Schaldemose, Marc Tarabella
VERTS/ALE	Anna Cavazzini, Malte Gallée, Alexandra Geese, Marcel Kolaja, Kim Van Sparrentak

 

0	-

 

6	0
ECR	Eugen Jurzyca
ID	Alessandra Basso, Marco Campomenosi, Rosanna Conte, Virginie Joron, Antonio Maria Rinaldi

 

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

 

 

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT AND TOURISM (21.6.2022)

for the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

on the implementation of the Updated New Industrial Strategy for Europe: aligning spending to policy

(2022/2008(INI))

Rapporteur for opinion: Carlo Fidanza

 

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Transport and Tourism calls on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

– having regard to the Commission communication of 10 March 2020 entitled ‘A New Industrial Strategy for Europe’ (COM(2020)0102) and the corresponding European Parliament resolution of 25 November 2020[15],

– having regard to the Commission communication of 10 March 2020 entitled ‘An SME Strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe’ (COM(2020)0103),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 9 December 2020 entitled ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – putting European transport on track for the future’ (COM(2020)0789),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 5 May 2021 entitled ‘Updating the 2020 New Industrial Strategy: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe’s recovery’ (COM(2021)0350),

– having regard to its resolution of 25 March 2021 on establishing an EU strategy for sustainable tourism[16],

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 5 May 2021 entitled ‘Annual Single Market Report 2021’ (SWD(2021)0351),

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 5 May 2021 entitled ‘Strategic dependencies and capacities’ (SWD(2021)0352),

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 21 June 2021 entitled ‘Scenarios towards co-creation of transition pathway for tourism for a more resilient, innovative and sustainable ecosystem’ (SWD(2021)0164),

– having regard to the Commission policy report ‘Transition Pathway for Tourism’ published on 4 February 2022,

A. whereas the tourism and transport industry has been the most affected by the restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which in 2021 resulted in a 72 % decrease in international tourist arrivals compared with pre-pandemic levels[17];

B. whereas the tourism sector represented 11.6 % of all jobs in 2019; whereas the World Travel & Tourism Council reported that 3.6 million tourism-related jobs were lost in Europe in 2020[18]; whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the tourism sector, as it sharply reduced tourism flows and thus the revenues of tourism-related businesses; whereas the overall contribution of tourism to total GDP in Europe halved from 9.9 % in 2019 to 4.9 % in 2020; whereas the transport sector and transport infrastructure are the lifeblood of the European economy; whereas robust infrastructure networks and viable transport businesses are fundamental prerequisites for all aspects of a society’s competitiveness;

C. whereas economic conditions in the transport sector have a direct impact on industrial businesses, since the costs of transporting raw materials, input goods and finished products affect product prices, which ultimately have to be borne by consumers; whereas in light of the recent sharp increases in fuel and energy prices, which add to inflation and undermine household purchasing power, a common strategy is required at EU level, harmonised with robust measures at Member State level, to moderate the increase in prices and the negative economic impact on the competitiveness of European businesses and the purchasing power of European households;

D. whereas small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-enterprises form the majority of businesses in the transport sector, and whereas they are particularly sensitive to cyclical fluctuations, price changes and increased regulatory burdens; whereas the European industrial strategy must pay due regard to conditions for small businesses and be designed in accordance with the ‘think small first’ principle;

E. whereas the Commission’s policy report ‘Transition Pathway for Tourism’ highlights the need to further accelerate the green and digital transition of the tourism ecosystem in the Member States, and whereas more than 99 % of businesses in the EU tourism sector are SMEs and micro-enterprises; whereas there is a need for measures to re-employ workers who have left the sector, unemployment schemes for workers and fair labour conditions in the sector;

F. whereas travel patterns have changed because of the health emergency, with travel tending towards uncrowded and local destinations; whereas there are new challenges caused by the geo-political situation;

G. whereas the Commission’s policy report ‘Transition Pathway for Tourism’ emphasises that Member States’ tourism strategies should be built on sustainable development principles ensuring economic, environmental and social sustainability;

H. whereas tourism is an important and multifaceted industry with significant multiplier effects on other industries, which makes it a priority in the EU Agenda, and yet whereas tourism needs to be further included in financial programmes and EU policies;

I. whereas destinations in peripheral regions, rural areas and islands, including the EU’s outermost regions, face specific challenges relating to the transport options available and thus they are also more vulnerable to any negative socioeconomic impacts of the green transition;

J. whereas the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) should ensure economic, social and territorial cohesion and accessibility across the EU and its regions, including rural, remote, mountainous, sparsely populated, peripheral, island and outermost regions, which would stimulate economic growth and job creation and reduce inequalities, foster digitalisation and innovation and enhance adaptability and resilience with a direct impact on the tourism industry;

K. whereas the balanced development of transport corridors that ensure north-south and east-west connectivity across the whole of Europe is necessary to boost the recovery and resilience of tourism; whereas the mobility and transport sector offers enormous potential for productive investment in the Member States, in particular through the sector’s re-industrialisation, by combining the manufacture and repair of equipment with the promotion of public transport, rail, sustainable and smart mobility and spatial planning based on connectivity, cohesion and development;

L. whereas the Commission’s adoption of the ‘Fit for 55’ package, which aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, does not take into consideration the impacts of some specific pieces of legislation on the tourism ecosystem and its competitiveness;

M. whereas the Commission policy report ‘Transition Pathway for Tourism’ does not include guidelines on clear governance or an action plan to address tourism challenges and propose common solutions;

1. Welcomes the Transition Pathway for Tourism and calls on the Commission to deliver and follow up on it by presenting a set of concrete actions for various areas, such as research and development, infrastructure and technological development and skills, in order to promote the development of sustainable tourism in all European destinations for both tourists and local populations, while ensuring consistency and alignment between EU policies and objectives, funding instruments and regulatory instruments to support industries in their sustainable transitions;

2. Calls on the Commission to proceed with further cooperation in the joint monitoring and implementation process for the Transition Pathway for Tourism with Parliament (mainly with the Committee on Transport and Tourism and its Tourism Task Force) and other EU institutions, such as the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee; asks the Commission, to that end, to involve Parliament’s Tourism Task Force in the regular meetings of the Advisory Committee on Tourism in order to strengthen the European tourism strategy;

3. Requests that the Commission establish and operate an online platform for collaboration between stakeholders in order to further promote the co-creation process;

4. Stresses that the response to the COVID-19 pandemic represents a historic opportunity to modernise tourism in the EU and make it more sustainable, including with regard to mobility, and more accessible for people with disabilities; calls on the Commission to publish an action plan on ‘sustainable tourism’ that includes short-, medium- and long-term objectives, covering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and stresses that these actions must be promoted in coordination with Parliament and the Member States; reiterates its conviction that tourist destinations and facilities must be physically accessible to all persons in society, notably to people with disabilities, and supports the position expressed in the Transition Pathway for Tourism that accessible tourist facilities in all destinations, as well as clear and accessible information about these facilities, should be provided to travellers planning and booking their stays and activities;

5. Considers that sustainable tourism, alongside promoting economic development and job creation, must contribute to the protection and restoration of natural ecosystems and biodiversity, with particular regard to the need to limit the phenomenon of overtourism, and encourage the development of alternative models and the use of digital technologies; calls on the Commission to facilitate access to EU funding for tourism stakeholders, in particular to help small accommodation establishments improve their energy efficiency and increase their energy savings;

6. Considers that the strategy should further strengthen the integrity of the single market with regard to the tourism and transport sectors; calls for the new industrial strategy for Europe to be aligned with related policy ambitions such as achieving the European Green Deal and digitalisation, ensuring a level playing field for European industry and businesses, tackling energy and transport poverty, improving social cohesion, strengthening multimodality and supporting the tourism ecosystem, for example by sharing good practices to make informed decisions on how to improve policies for both sectors;

7. Calls on the Commission to propose a crisis management mechanism to ensure that the tourism sector is adequately prepared for future crises where national responses prove insufficient;

8. Reiterates its call for the creation of a European Agency for Tourism, responsible for, inter alia:

– providing the EU and its Member States with a factual overview and data for policymakers, which will enable policymakers to devise informed strategies based on collected and analysed tourism data, including on the possible social, economic and environmental impact of these strategies on the sector;

– operating a crisis management mechanism to ensure that the tourism sector is adequately prepared for future crises where national responses have proven to be insufficient;

– providing technical and administrative support to micro-enterprises and SMEs to increase their ability to access and make use of EU funding and financial instruments;

– supporting the tourism ecosystem by, for instance, sharing good practices to make informed decisions about improving tourism policies;

– promoting the European brand in third countries and focusing on the diversification of the European tourism product;

9. Calls on the Commission to develop a comprehensive European tourism policy in view of creating a European Tourism Union;

10. Calls on the Commission to develop a comprehensive European tourism strategy (the European Agenda for Tourism 2030/2050) in partnership with different authorities at all governance levels and industry players with clear aims, objectives, funding opportunities and implementation plans;

11. Considers it regrettable that the EU’s multiannual financial framework and NextGenerationEU have not allocated specific funding to the tourism sector, which has been particularly negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine, high inflation and increased energy and fuel prices, even though this sector contributed 9.9 % to EU GDP in 2019; is of the opinion that public investments from the EU and the Member States are essential to develop infrastructure and mobility in support of the tourism sector;

12. Welcomes the guide to EU funding for tourism; asks the Commission, however, to systematise and disseminate funding opportunities under the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the 2021-2027 EU multiannual financial framework in order to provide more information on the development of specific actions; calls for tourism stakeholders in the Member States to be provided with financial opportunities;

13. Encourages the Member States to facilitate access to the tourism ecosystem for investments through various EU funding instruments, such as the European Regional Development Fund; underlines the importance of providing sectoral finance-related trainings to stakeholders in the tourism ecosystem as an additional way of increasing access to funding;

14. Stresses that the additional charges in the transport sector affect people, especially those in sparsely populated and ultra-peripheral areas, and businesses with the lowest financial margins (especially smaller businesses); considers that the recent surges in fuel and energy prices pose a serious threat to the Union’s competitiveness and to the financial situation of EU households; calls on the relevant EU institutions and the Member States to support measures and schemes that will combat higher prices, for example by promoting shifts to sustainable modes of transport, such as rail and active mobility, through incentivising public transport and encouraging shared mobility schemes and related initiatives;

15. Reminds the Commission about the opportunity offered by the presentation of pilot projects and preparatory actions under the Union’s budget; calls on the Commission to regularly inform and cooperate with Parliament about the preparatory work and progress made in the development of pilot projects and preparatory actions and to keep the Members of Parliament involved in the process;

16. Calls on the Commission to support SMEs and micro-enterprises (including artisans) in the tourism sector by fostering innovative sustainable initiatives, simplifying bureaucracy, encouraging education and training and providing funding to promote the upskilling and reskilling of the workforce, especially with regard to new digital skills, in order to stimulate new tourism offers in terms of destinations and experiences and contribute to increasing the value of regional products and local traditions; stresses the need to significantly reduce the administrative burden on SMEs and to better adapt the Union’s regulatory framework to this end;

17. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to include and support further measures for digitalisation; recalls that the digital transition is one of the key horizontal priorities of the EU that will help boost the competitiveness of EU businesses in order to foster entrepreneurship, innovation and research, develop creative and innovative solutions and work with universities, tourism schools and knowledge centres to transfer and produce knowledge for industry, which will further strengthen these businesses’ resilience to economic or other crises;

18. Calls on the Commission to include the tourism sector in the European data strategy and to support the creation of data spaces that will benefit the sector through the establishment of a public framework for better data sharing and accessibility; calls, in this context, on the Commission to harmonise the rules on the collection of tourism statistics data;

19. Notes that good access to data is crucial for developing the artificial intelligence (AI) technology that will become increasingly significant in the transport and tourism sectors, in line with the roll out of intelligent and connected fleets, while recognising the many challenges that still have to be overcome in ensuring safe, secure and transparent AI applications; underlines the fact that technological developments in the field of transport and mobility, in particular AI applications and autonomous vehicles, offer great potential for simplifying the daily lives of people and businesses, shortening travel times, reducing congestion, preventing accidents, lowering emissions and reducing costs;

20. Supports broader automation in the transport sector with the aim of making it more efficient, sustainable and competitive;

21. Calls on the Commission to support the uptake of zero-emission vehicles, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging the use of low and zero-emission means of transport, and encourage the use of sustainable alternative transport solutions available to the public and businesses by supporting digitalisation and automation and improving connectivity and access under the sustainable and smart mobility strategy;

22. Calls for public investment in the re-industrialisation of the Member States in order to aid their development and support their sovereignty, in particular by encouraging the construction and repair of rolling stock and vessels and by ensuring that the energy reconfiguration of the transport sector contributes to domestic energy production and that promoting sustainable and smart mobility becomes a driver of productive activity;

23. Considers that the promotion of the ‘Europe’ brand in third countries should focus on diversifying the EU’s offer in terms of, inter alia, cultural, historical and natural heritage, local gastronomy and health, in cooperation with destinations and tour operators; maintains that specific destinations should be promoted strategically in order to develop tourism throughout the year with the aim of creating ad hoc itineraries to enhance the value of crafts and the places where artisans operate, thus responding to the standardisation of tourist supply and the ongoing depopulation of many local communities, as they are the main attractions for tourists and are essential for the overall revival of the European countries’ tourist offer; recalls the need for comprehensive smart tourism strategies for remote regions and the need to stimulate new tourism opportunities;

24. Considers that potential challenges and the increasing costs of the green transition for the transport sectors, in particular air and maritime transport, may affect demand for the tourism sectors; calls, therefore, on the Commission to regularly assess the socioeconomic impacts of these challenges, including the competitiveness of this transition, taking into account all the measures proposed in the tourism sectors in the Member States;

25. Stresses the need for all Member States to have a well-developed, smart, safe and sustainable TEN-T network that facilitates sustainable transport, connectivity and territorial accessibility across the EU, particularly in peripheral regions, islands and outermost regions, in order to promote and boost European and international tourism; calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to missing cross-border links and their completion, as well as to connectivity; calls on the Member States to use NextGenerationEU and Connecting Europe Facility resources to accelerate these infrastructure investments and rapidly achieve increased investment capacity in the transport system, which will benefit the competitiveness of industry and the financial position of households; considers that the development of TEN-T and its land connection to urban, local and coastal areas will play a key role in providing sustainable alternative flexible transport solutions for travel and tourism, including over long distances where air transport is not an optimal or necessary solution;

26. Reiterates its call on the Commission, as set out in its resolution of 16 December 2020[19], to adopt a roadmap with concrete and binding targets and indicators in order to ensure better regulation and simplification of the administrative burden with the aim of boosting economic recovery and strengthening the competitiveness of the Union; reminds the Commission of its promise to work in accordance with the ‘one in, one out’ principle; notes that, according to this principle, every new regulatory burden that is introduced must be offset through the abolition of an equivalent cost burden in the same policy area; urges the Commission to respond as soon as possible with a comprehensive plan for offsetting the regulatory burdens imposed on the transport sector, in accordance with the ‘one in, one out’ principle;

27. Calls on the Commission to facilitate journey planning, including by providing simplified procedures for the issuing of multimodal tickets through digital services and accompanying rights, as soon as possible, while better regulating the activity of online booking platforms and their intermediaries; calls for the EU framework for short-term leases to be strengthened and proportional and for new policies to be implemented to improve transparency, fair competition in the hospitality sector and the protection of customers against speculation;

28. Urges the Member States and the tourism industry, when putting forward their tourism strategies, to pay close attention to the specific strengths of tourist destinations in terms of the protection and restoration of natural ecosystem and resources, cultural and historical heritage and the potential to give customers unique and authentic experiences, and to inclusiveness and accessibility, including for persons with disabilities; urges the Member States to support SMEs and the cultural and creative industries in their key role in the tourism ecosystem, and calls for the provision of technical assistance and the funding needed to meet the objectives of the strategy; calls, furthermore, for broader innovative initiatives to encourage education in digital skills;

29. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to address the situation of workers across the entire value chain of the tourism sector, in close cooperation with social partners and businesses, through a constructive dialogue on the working conditions in the sector, which is characterised by seasonality and the use of part-time forms of employment; stresses the negative consequences of the lack of workers on the tourism sector in several Member States and urges them to rapidly address the economic, social and cultural causes;

30. Regrets that hourly rates of pay and labour costs in the tourism sector are significantly lower than in the economy as a whole, and that there is a relatively high percentage of fixed-term contracts and shorter durations of employment; is concerned that women working in the tourism sector earn around 15 % less than their male counterparts; calls on the Commission to promote fair and inclusive employment in the sector;

31. Believes that the blue economy is paramount to promote a sustainable tourism industry; emphasises, in this regard, that the Commission should ensure a fair and non-discriminatory application of Directive 2006/123/EC[20] when related to state-owned maritime concessions for tourism purposes; notes that it is crucial to safeguard the ecosystems of rural and coastal areas in order to preserve and improve the wealth of biodiversity and ecotourism; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide remote regions and outermost regions comprehensive strategies for smart tourism in order to address problems of limited transport and digital connectivity;

32. Highlights the positive impact of shared mobility on tourism, including car sharing, scooter sharing and bike sharing, as part of a mobility strategy integrated with public (scheduled and non-scheduled) and private transport services.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Date adopted	15.6.2022
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	37 0 1
Members present for the final vote	José Ramón Bauzá Díaz, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Paolo Borchia, Karolin Braunsberger-Reinhold, Ciarán Cuffe, Jakop G. Dalunde, Karima Delli, Gheorghe Falcă, Giuseppe Ferrandino, Carlo Fidanza, Mario Furore, Jens Gieseke, Elsi Katainen, Elena Kountoura, Peter Lundgren, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Marian-Jean Marinescu, Tilly Metz, Caroline Nagtegaal, Jan-Christoph Oetjen, João Pimenta Lopes, Dominique Riquet, Massimiliano Salini, Vera Tax, Barbara Thaler, Petar Vitanov, Lucia Vuolo, Roberts Zīle, Kosma Złotowski
Substitutes present for the final vote	Tom Berendsen, Maria Grapini, Roman Haider, Pär Holmgren, Ondřej Kovařík, Colm Markey, Dorien Rookmaker, Annalisa Tardino
Substitutes under Rule 209(7) present for the final vote	Alessandra Basso

 

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

37	+
ECR	Carlo Fidanza, Peter Lundgren, Dorien Rookmaker, Roberts Zīle, Kosma Złotowski
ID	Alessandra Basso, Paolo Borchia, Roman Haider, Annalisa Tardino
NI	Mario Furore
PPE	Tom Berendsen, Karolin Braunsberger-Reinhold, Gheorghe Falcă, Jens Gieseke, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Marian-Jean Marinescu, Colm Markey, Massimiliano Salini, Barbara Thaler, Lucia Vuolo
RENEW	José Ramón Bauzá Díaz, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Elsi Katainen, Ondřej Kovařík, Caroline Nagtegaal, Jan-Christoph Oetjen, Dominique Riquet
S&D	Giuseppe Ferrandino, Maria Grapini, Vera Tax, Petar Vitanov
THE LEFT	Elena Kountoura
VERTS/ALE	Ciarán Cuffe, Jakop G. Dalunde, Karima Delli, Pär Holmgren, Tilly Metz

 

0	-

 

1	0
THE LEFT	João Pimenta Lopes

 

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

 

 

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Date adopted	13.7.2022
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	70 0 4
Members present for the final vote	Matteo Adinolfi, Nicola Beer, François-Xavier Bellamy, Hildegard Bentele, Tom Berendsen, Paolo Borchia, Marc Botenga, Markus Buchheit, Cristian-Silviu Buşoi, Jerzy Buzek, Ignazio Corrao, Ciarán Cuffe, Nicola Danti, Pilar del Castillo Vera, Christian Ehler, Niels Fuglsang, Lina Gálvez Muñoz, Claudia Gamon, Jens Geier, Nicolás González Casares, Christophe Grudler, Henrike Hahn, Ivo Hristov, Ivars Ijabs, Romana Jerković, Eva Kaili, Seán Kelly, Łukasz Kohut, Zdzisław Krasnodębski, Andrius Kubilius, Marisa Matias, Iskra Mihaylova, Dan Nica, Angelika Niebler, Niklas Nienaß, Ville Niinistö, Mauri Pekkarinen, Tsvetelina Penkova, Morten Petersen, Markus Pieper, Sira Rego, Robert Roos, Sara Skyttedal, Maria Spyraki, Riho Terras, Grzegorz Tobiszowski, Patrizia Toia, Marie Toussaint, Isabella Tovaglieri, Henna Virkkunen, Pernille Weiss, Carlos Zorrinho
Substitutes present for the final vote	Andrus Ansip, Pascal Arimont, Tiziana Beghin, Franc Bogovič, Gheorghe Falcă, Andreas Glück, Klemen Grošelj, Elżbieta Kruk, Adriana Maldonado López, Sandra Pereira, Bronis Ropė, Ernő Schaller-Baross, Jordi Solé, Marion Walsmann
Substitutes under Rule 209(7) present for the final vote	Biljana Borzan, Rosanna Conte, Erik Marquardt, Liudas Mažylis, Matjaž Nemec, Antonio Maria Rinaldi, Christel Schaldemose, Alexandr Vondra

 

 

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

70	+
ECR	Zdzisław Krasnodębski, Elżbieta Kruk, Robert Roos, Grzegorz Tobiszowski, Alexandr Vondra
ID	Matteo Adinolfi, Paolo Borchia, Markus Buchheit, Rosanna Conte, Antonio Maria Rinaldi, Isabella Tovaglieri
NI	Tiziana Beghin, Ernő Schaller-Baross
PPE	Pascal Arimont, François-Xavier Bellamy, Hildegard Bentele, Tom Berendsen, Franc Bogovič, Cristian-Silviu Buşoi, Jerzy Buzek, Pilar del Castillo Vera, Christian Ehler, Gheorghe Falcă, Seán Kelly, Andrius Kubilius, Liudas Mažylis, Angelika Niebler, Markus Pieper, Sara Skyttedal, Maria Spyraki, Riho Terras, Henna Virkkunen, Marion Walsmann, Pernille Weiss
RENEW	Andrus Ansip, Nicola Beer, Nicola Danti, Claudia Gamon, Andreas Glück, Klemen Grošelj, Christophe Grudler, Ivars Ijabs, Iskra Mihaylova, Mauri Pekkarinen, Morten Petersen
S&D	Biljana Borzan, Niels Fuglsang, Lina Gálvez Muñoz, Jens Geier, Nicolás González Casares, Ivo Hristov, Romana Jerković, Eva Kaili, Łukasz Kohut, Adriana Maldonado López, Matjaž Nemec, Dan Nica, Tsvetelina Penkova, Christel Schaldemose, Patrizia Toia, Carlos Zorrinho
VERTS/ALE	Ignazio Corrao, Ciarán Cuffe, Henrike Hahn, Erik Marquardt, Niklas Nienaß, Ville Niinistö, Bronis Ropė, Jordi Solé, Marie Toussaint

 

4	-
THE LEFT	Marc Botenga, Marisa Matias, Sandra Pereira, Sira Rego

 

0	0

 

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

 

 

• [1] OJ C 97, 28.2.2022, p. 43.
• [2] OJ C 270, 7.7.2021, p. 2.
• [3] OJ C 316, 6.8.2021, p. 2.
• [4] OJ C 425, 20.10.2021, p. 43.
• [5] OJ C 445, 29.10.2021, p. 2.
• [6] OJ C 465, 17.11.2021, p. 11.
• [7] OJ C 15, 12.1.2022, p. 56.
• [8] OJ C 15, 12.1.2022, p. 45.
• [9] Texts adopted, P9_TA(2021)0468.
• [10] OJ C 238, 6.7.2018, p. 28.
• [11] European Court of Auditors Special Report 2022/02: ‘Energy efficiency in enterprises. Some energy savings but weaknesses in planning and project selection’ https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR22_02/SR_Energy-effic-enterpr_EN.pdf
• [12] European Court of Auditors, ‘Special Report 03/2022: 5G roll-out in the EU: delays in deployment of networks with security issues remaining unsolved’, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2022.
• [13] Commission communication of 2 March 2022 entitled ‘Towards a green, digital and resilient economy: our European Growth Model’ (COM(2022)0083).
• [14] ‘Putting more Union in the European Customs - Ten proposals to make the EU Customs Union fit for a Geopolitical Europe. Report by the Wise Persons Group on the Reform of the EU Customs Union’, Brussels, March 2022.
• [15] OJ C 425, 20.10.2021, p. 43.
• [16] OJ C 494, 8.12.2021, p. 106.
• [17] https://www.unwto.org/unwto-world-tourism-barometer-data
• [18] European Parliament resolution of 16 December 2020 on a new strategy for European SMEs, OJ C 445, 29.10.2021, p. 2, paragraph 5.
• [19] European Parliament resolution of 16 December 2020 on a new strategy for European SMEs, OJ C 445, 29.10.2021, p. 2, paragraph 5.
• [20] Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market, OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, p. 36.