The construction sector is a strategic pillar of the EU economy and a key enabler of the green and digital transitions. It has a direct impact on housing, transport, energy and climate-resilience infrastructure across Europe. Strengthening innovation and digitalisation is therefore essential not only to decarbonise the economy by 2050, but also to reinforce the EU’s industrial autonomy, productivity and global competitiveness in a sector that underpins many strategic value chains.
Chips Act 2, the revision of the EU Chips Act, aims to further strengthen Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem and competitiveness across the full value chain, with a particular focus on advanced manufacturing and AI chips.
The European shipping fleet is one of the largest in the world, representing 35% of the world fleet enabling the EU to play a leading role in the global supply chains.
Europe’s maritime manufacturing and shipping cluster faces increasing global competition and security risks. Strengthening its competitiveness – while advancing the cluster’s green and digital transition – is essential. The industry aims, by 2035, to invest more than €10 billion in highly efficient, automated and sustainable production facilities, and to recruit and re/upskill a total of 500,000 qualified workers.
Growing resource use is driving the triple planetary crisis, pushing the EU beyond planetary boundaries and leaving many Member States off track for the 2030 circular material use target. Demand-side measures and ambitious primary material reduction policies are essential to reverse this trend and strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy.
This exploratory opinion will feed into the work of the European Commission during the preparations of the Circular Economy Act.
In this own-initiative opinion, the EESC argues that deeper integration of the Single Market is essential to boost productivity, particularly in the services sector, which remains less integrated despite its growing economic importance.
