Europe’s industrial decline and public policies to address it
1.2.2024
Question for written answer E-000334/2024/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 138
Mathilde Androuët (ID)
For the past few decades, Europe has been experiencing an increasingly marked industrial decline, which Member States have been unable to halt through their industrial policies[1]. The general lack of industrial investment is having alarming consequences for workers, as factories close and jobs are lost in the sectors that got Europe to where it is today, such as aluminium, fertilisers and chemicals. What is more, stringent fiscal rules, the shortage of skilled labour and insufficient infrastructure have added to the list of barriers preventing the EU from catching up with the Chinese and American giants. Today, the industrial sector and all its stakeholders – from trade unions to business leaders and workers – are describing the state of affairs as critical.
- 1.How does the Commission plan to cut red tape – a step called for by the Belgian Minister of Finance[2]and which is a source of concern for trade unions – in order to stimulate and build resilient industries and safeguard high-quality industrial jobs?
- 2.To address the structural challenges facing European industry, what will the Commission do to develop coordinated industrial policies that encourage innovation, investment and training?
Submitted:1.2.2024