Spain, Germany, France and Italy commit to boosting the competitiveness of European industry

The Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, during the meeting with his European counterparts

Seventeen countries, including Spain, have signed the Berlin Declaration, which includes a series of measures to strengthen the competitiveness of European industry, to improve productivity, reduce bureaucracy, address rising energy costs, fierce global competition, the impacts of climate change, and trade tensions.

The Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, stated that "Europe needs a united industry to face the scale of the opportunities." Together we must provide a reliable framework and impetus for growth, innovation, and competitiveness".

The document builds on the Draghi Report and recognises that Europe needs to strengthen its economic sovereignty in strategic technologies and its capacity for innovation. It also addresses security in Europe and highlights the need to strengthen the dual-use defence technology base.

A five-point statement

The first of the five points contained in the declaration focuses on the need for European administrative simplification, giving flexibility to companies in the procedures for authorising their activity.

The second point deals with artificial intelligence and its application in European industry. Digital transformation is not only an issue for start-ups and technology companies, but key for a competitive and sovereign European industry, especially the manufacturing sector. Therefore, the application of AI in industrial production processes is being called for to boost competitiveness.

The third point emphasises creating European lead markets, a fundamental aspect for making decarbonisation possible. The Declaration recognises that it is essential to generate a secure initial demand for climate-friendly basic materials, such as steel, cement and chemicals, by making transformation efforts visible in the market and encouraging new decarbonised capabilities, while maintaining a balance between simplicity, economic efficiency and profitability.

The promotion of EU-validated product labels indicating the carbon footprint is called for. Furthermore, it is important to leverage the purchasing power of public bodies and use public procurement, as well as other national and EU public incentive schemes, strategically to support leading European markets.

Resilience of European industry and innovation leadership

The fourth point of the Declaration looks at the resilience of European industry and how to harness the innovation potential of the defence sectors, with a particular focus on critical raw materials. To harness synergies in the defence industry, countries propose creating a Defence Innovation Agency in the EU.

Finally, the fifth point addresses innovation leadership and value creation in European industry, focusing on the automotive and biotechnology industries. It calls for the deployment of low- and zero-emission vehicles and the expansion of refuelling and hydrogen supply infrastructure to decarbonise company fleets.

The signatories of this Declaration, along with Spain, were Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Non official translation