A10: Towards a green, globally competitive and digital European industry

Submitted by Political Commission 2: Internal European Affairs

Adopted by the Federal Committee on 11 November 2023 in Madrid, Spain. Re-
adopted and amended by the Federal Committee on 19 April 2026 in Belgrade,
Serbia.

European industry stands at a turning point. High energy costs, geopolitical
tensions and growing global subsidy races are putting pressure on Europe’s
competitiveness. At the same time, ambitious climate and digital goals require
profound transformation.

JEF Europe,

● Recognising that a strong and innovative industrial base is fundamental to
Europe’s prosperity, social stability and strategic autonomy, providing the
technologies, infrastructure and production capacities necessary to drive the
green and digital transitions and ensure long term economic resilience;

● Recalling that European industry provides 35 million jobs, accounts for 80% of
goods exports, 22.3% of GDP and is the key driver for the EU’s position as a top
global provider of high-tech products;

● Emphasising that only a Federal Europe, endowed with autonomous fiscal
authority, possesses the capacity to deploy the resources necessary for the
renewal of European industry;

● Highlighting the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often
acting as key local suppliers;

● Welcoming the Clean Industrial Deal as the EU’s renewed framework to
strengthen industrial competitiveness while accelerating decarbonisation,
reinforcing the Single Market and scaling up clean technologies, in line with
the EU’s climate objectives;

● Welcoming the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting
Directive (CSRD) requiring large companies to disclose environmental, social and
governance information according to the European Sustainability Reporting
Standards (ESRS), enhancing transparency and accountability on sustainability
issues;

● Acknowledging that industrial activities are also a strong driver of
environmental pollution and carbon emissions;

● Deeply convinced that Europe’s industry can and should be transformed to meet
the Paris Agreement, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), binding
emissions targets and the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 set in the EU
climate law, and initiatives such as the European Green Deal;

● Emphasising the need to protect workers’ health, safety and well being in the
European industry, while addressing job losses, precarious employment models,
and

the social consequences of globalisation and delocalisation that undermine the
stability and status of industrial workers and young people;

● Acknowledging that the EU’s industrial and economic power translates into
normative power, and that all these powers can be used to contribute to global
development, as well as promote human rights and environmental justice in the
world through smart trade agreements;

● Welcoming the entry into force of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
(CBAM), the strengthened Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the Corporate
Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, stressing the need for their effective
implementation to prevent carbon leakage, ensure respect for human rights,
environmental standards in global supply chains and uphold fair competition;

● Recognising that increasingly global and complex value chains create strategic
dependencies, reduce economic resilience and make it harder to enforce fair
competition and sustainable standards;

● Deeply concerned about the potential misuse of industrial policy as a weapon
by revisionist autocracies, through restrictions on the export of critical raw
materials, energy sources or other key technologies or services;

● Welcoming the European Commission’s initiatives to strengthen Europe’s open
strategic autonomy including the launch of Important Projects of Common European
Interest (IPCEIs) in key strategic sectors such as microelectronics, hydrogen
and batteries, mobilising an expected total of EUR 92.2 billion in public and
private investment, as well as the in depth review of strategic areas to
identify and reduce critical dependencies in EUropean supply chains;

● Recognising the EU’s shift towards a more strategic industrial and trade
policy, illustrated by recent initiatives such as the Industrial Accelerator
Act, which seek to strengthen resilient clean technology supply chains and
prioritise cooperation with trusted economic partners;

● Emphasising that Europe’s future industry depends on sufficient investment in
new innovations, technology, Research and Development (R&D) as well as skill
training, which should be a joint European endeavour to boost competitiveness,
specialisation and sustainability;

● Recognising that in high-tech fields in particular, much innovation is done by
large companies, and thus it may be necessary to accept more mergers between
European companies to create European champions in key industries;

● Reaffirming JEF Europe’s resolutions that are interconnected, complement the
need for an industrial transition and propose concrete solutions: “A European
Transition to a Circular Economy”, “Calling for an ethical and efficient EU
policy framework on Artificial Intelligence”, “For a United Digital Europe”,
“Environment does not stop at borders: Towards a Sustainable Europe and a
Sustainable Global Climate Policy”, “Better integrated and more sustainable
mobility infrastructure for an Ever Closer Union”, ; “Advancing the European
Union’s Social Dimension”, “On the creation of a Fiscal Union in the Eurozone”,
and “Towards sustainable, reliable and affordable energy for Europe”.

JEF Europe therefore:

1. Calls on the European industry to accelerate investment in decarbonisation,
digitalisation and strategic value chains to secure Europe’s industrial
leadership and strategic autonomy by 2030;

2. Envisions a European clean industrial transformation that scales up net-zero
technologies, advanced manufacturing and secures critical infrastructure,
strengthening Europe’s resilience in key sectors;

3. Calls for the European Commission and Member States to safeguard the
integrity of the Single Market through the elimination of remaining trade
barriers, ensuring consistent enforcement of EU competition and merger rules
whilst maintaining a level playing field within the EU and globally;

4. Calls on the EU to better coordinate with its global partners and avoid
expensive subsidy races in areas where it is desirable to diversify our supply
or reduce our strategic dependency, such as, but not limited to, battery
technology, microchips, critical raw materials, and energy sources;

5. Supports a European relocalisation of vital industrial activities to provide
for more of Europe’s own consumption, ensuring shorter and more resilient supply
chains and creating long-term, well-paid jobs for European workers;

6. Calls on the EU and Member States to ensure robust implementation of the
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), using its revenues to support the
decarbonisation of energy intensive industries while preserving competitiveness
and avoiding unnecessary trade disputes;

7. Calls on the EU, Member States and industries for a more decisive move
towards a circular economy through the implementation of a cascading use and
cradle-to-cradle principles in our production chains, waste management and
through a life-cycle assessment of critical components and raw materials;

8. Urges the EU to defend high social and environmental standards in its trade
policy without descending into protectionism, by coupling ambitious climate
policies with active diplomacy to avoid retaliation;

9. Urges the European Commission to develop concrete measures to reduce the use
of critical raw materials, batteries and plastics where sustainable alternatives
exist, to strengthen recycling and recovery processes like chemical recycling
and substitution with circular materials, and to reduce the export of valuable
waste materials in order to retain resources within the EU;

10. Calls upon the European Commission to ensure that the extraction and
processing of natural resources, within and outside the EU, fully respect
environmental standards such as the DNSH principle as well as the rights of
local communities and indigenous people, guaranteeing their participation in
decision making processes;

11. Calls upon the EU and Member States to develop on their territories critical
raw material extraction that is safe, as well as socially and environmentally
responsible, to boost our own production and reduce our need for imports as well
as our dependencies;

12. Expects the EU’s and Member States’ industrial strategies to support the
fight against in-work poverty and inequality, as well as to ensure strong and
equitable workers’ rights with equal access and opportunities guaranteed for,
but not limited to, women, minority workers, and young people;

13. Calls for EU funds aimed at industrial transition, such as the Just
Transition Fund, to become real funds of solidarity, that ensure fair
distribution across society, between regions and countries, underlining the
importance of European territorial cohesion;

14. Encourages the EU and the Member States to strengthen support for startups,
SMEs and larger companies by fostering already existing and emerging networks
across Europe, promoting the exchange of knowledge and best practices on
sustainable digitalisation as well as enhancing their capacity to grow and
compete globally;

15. Calls for the EU to significantly strengthen and expand sovereign European
investment instruments, including dedicated technology sovereignty funds, to
support the development and scaling of strategic digital and industrial
technologies, ensure European ownership of critical assets, and reduce
dependency on non-European capital and investors.