SGI Europe welcomes the European Commission’s Clean Industrial Deal, Action Plan for Affordable Energy, and Omnibus Package

SGI Europe, representing European employers and providers of Services of General Interest (SGIs), welcomes the European Commission’s presentation of three key initiatives to strengthen the EU's competitiveness while ensuring its sustainability and resilience.

The Clean Industrial Deal, the Action Plan for Affordable Energy, and the Omnibus Package put forward important measures to accelerate industrial decarbonisation, address high energy costs, and reduce administrative burdens on enterprises across Europe.

Following the publication of the proposals, SGI Europe Secretary General Valeria Ronzitti commented:

“These proposals mark a significant step towards a more competitive, sustainable, and resilient European economy. The Clean Industrial Deal, in particular, offers a promising vision for decarbonising our industries while ensuring their competitiveness and putting technology neutrality at its centre. The Action Plan for Affordable Energy should also provide much-needed proposals to the ongoing challenge of high energy costs, both in the short and the long term.”

“Creating a circular single market will be essential to the future competitiveness of the EU. SGIs are key in recycling resources and feeding raw materials into the value chain. The increased focus on recycling in the Clean Industrial Deal should lead to better incentivising the use of secondary products, for instance, by establishing recycled content criteria, which could take the form of tradeable quotas.”

“The Omnibus Package, while rightly aiming to reduce administrative burdens for enterprises, must ensure that it does not lead to a reduction of the EU’s green ambitions. It must not weaken existing standards or create further fragmentation within the EU market. The Omnibus Package proposes changes to rules already in force in some Member States but not yet transposed in others, creating an unlevel playing field across the EU.”

SGI Europe will closely monitor the upcoming proposals to bring to life the Clean Industrial Deal and the Action Plan on Affordable Energy and contribute to shaping the simplification agenda to ensure that providers of services of general interest contribute to the EU competitiveness and the green transition.