Let’s start with the good news. The EU is listening to industry and wants to help. “We know that our industry deserves a bright future,” said the European Commission’s Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera as she helped launch the much anticipated Clean Industrial Deal. “Europe has many strengths and we are ideally positioned to deliver,” she added.
There are no quick fixes or silver bullets in this scenario. Europe is caught in a geopolitical vortex and managing the complexities of international trade and boosting domestic manufacturing and productivity alongside the transition is complex to say the least.
But as Vice President Ribera said, we have many strengths.
She is building on the formidable analysis of the former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi put his finger on Europe’s problem in his report on EU competitiveness.
“For Europe to remain free,” he wrote, “we must be more independent. We must have more secure supply chains for critical raw materials and technologies. We must increase production capacity at home in strategic sectors. And we must expand our industrial capacity.”
There is one action missing from the deal which may be an assumption, but it needs to be said. For Europe to compete, to innovate, to invest we must build on the foundations of our existing successful industries to achieve our ambitions for reindustrialisation and a decarbonised future.
We must value and support the core industries we rely on today and which will act as the foundation for any future industrial growth and competitiveness.
There are many industrial success stories in Europe – which may seem surprising given the level of regulation and bureaucratic uncertainty businesses have faced in recent years.
We need industries like ours – producing lead that’s used in vital products and services from cables linking wind farms not the grid to specialist alloys for aircraft safety systems. We produce some of the most advanced lead batteries in the world, used in everything from cars and trucks to tanks and submarines.
And we are probably the best example of the circular economy in action. All the lead batteries collected at the end of their life in Europe are fully recycled and re-used in making new batteries. And lead is a key enabler of the circular economy, as its properties make it ideal to help efficiently recycle other metals.
So our plea to decision-makers is simple. Get behind the industries of today so they can flourish tomorrow. Let us get on with what we do best. Ensure regulation is proportionate, predictable, and consistent across policy areas. Support innovation and investment by ensuring we have a stable legislative and regulatory platform on which to build. And create the best possible conditions for us to continue to invest in people and skills.
Our technology will be an important part of the jigsaw helping achieve greater electrification and decarbonisation. Value the industries we already have in Europe, tear down the barriers and let them flourish.
Europe is the largest exporter of manufactured goods and services. Our strengths outweigh the weaknesses. Businesses value stability and certainty. In these tumultuous times they could be our greatest asset.
