By Andres Barceló Delgado

While industry never planned to leave Europe, the reality is that since the 2024 European elections, EU institutions have come to a clear conclusion: without a strong industry, Europe cannot secure strategic autonomy or achieve the essential competitiveness of its economy. A strong industrial base is imperative not only for quality jobs for Europeans, but also for progress, innovation and high-value-added services.

In response to the cost-of-living crisis, the EESC has launched an initiative – an ‘umbrella opinion’ – addressing the crisis across different policy areas and offering targeted recommendations to EU and national policymakers. As part of this, the EESC’s Commission for the Study of Industrial Change (CCMI) has zeroed in on reindustrialisation as a key approach for helping to counter the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on European citizens and businesses.

Our opinion on the Reindustrialisation of Europe – opportunity for businesses, employees and citizens in the context of the cost-of-living crisis, set to be adopted at the EESC plenary in June, highlights the vital role that reindustrialisation must play in improving the situations of individuals and companies across Europe.

The main conclusions of the opinion are as follows.

While we welcome the Commission’s initiative to launch a ‘competitiveness compass’, we call for the inclusion of clear benchmarks and performance indicators to ensure that these efforts don’t just exist on paper, but are brought to life.

In the field of energy (which currently acts as a disincentive to European industry and the broader economy), we call for rapid measures, both short- and long-term, to ensure secure, stable and predictable energy at prices that allow businesses to be competitive and that do not burden households.

Strategic autonomy must be at the heart of the reindustrialisation process and must benefit not only the companies directly involved, but also the entire value chain. European industry is facing a shortage of skilled workers, which is why we call for reduced red tape and streamlined EU legislation for granting work permits. We do not want to ‘import’ cheap labour, but rather attract skilled workers who will enrich European society.

The aim of industrial policy must be to restore the EU’s attractiveness and make it once again a favourable environment for industrial investment, leveraging legal certainty, the skills of its workers and, of course, the benefits of the single market.

Social dialogue must be fully integrated into the reindustrialisation process, as it affects not only large companies, but SMEs as well, which make up the vast majority of European businesses.

There is one issue, however, that is particularly sensitive in some social and political groups: simplifying bureaucracy. In the words of the president of the EESC Employers’ Group, Stefano Mallia, ‘simplification does not mean deregulation. It is not about dismantling the Green Deal or essential social safeguards ... It is about removing bureaucracy that benefits no one.’

As always, the devil is in the details; but far from being discouraged, we must deepen the reindustrialisation process, which will involve investment across the entire chain, from public investment in infrastructure to business investment in industry, promoting high-quality jobs, encouraging lifelong professional retraining, maintaining the social standards that are at the heart of the EU acquis, and promoting business innovation as a means of continuous improvement and the development of high-value-added services.

This is no easy task, but I firmly believe that a strong industry, established throughout the EU, can be one of the main drivers for improving the competitive position of the European economy and substantially improving the situations of Europeans and their families.