The planned Clean Industrial Deal, due on Feb. 26, will include “an emergency and strategic plan for certain sectors in difficulty and a long-term strategy for all players and sectors,” he said. This will work as “a business plan” making it clear how much investment or skilled workers they need, he said.
The Commission is preparing emergency plans for energy-intensive industries such as steel, aluminum and other metals, cement, and energy, he said.
To stoke demand, “we’re also going to create decarbonized public procurement markets” by “moving toward public procurement with clauses that enable us to reinforce the rules favoring made-in-Europe products, for example, and a green label on industry,” he said. This will include a market for green steel “that does not exist today.”
Séjourné is pushing to include chemicals — which he dubbed “the industry of industries” — as one of several strategic sectors.
Cleantech, biotech and other technologies that can boost productivity also form an “industrial flagship” and the EU needs “to support them in their scale-up.”
Dealing with Trump
The EU should adopt a strategy that is “both defensive and offensive” for its relationship with global competitors including the United States, Séjourné said, just weeks before the official return of Donald Trump to the White House.
