SGI Europe: The EU Green Deal must drive the EU industrial strategy

On Wednesday 1 February 2023, the European Commission presented its communication “A Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age”. This strategy aims at enhancing Europe's net-zero industry and supporting the fast transition to climate neutrality.

Addressing the priorities of the strategy, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, commented:

“SGI Europe welcomes today’s proposals to accompany the EU Green Deal with an enabling industrial strategy. The Green Deal must remain the EU growth strategy for a genuine green transition across the EU. For services of general interest, boosting investment and access to finance, developing the right skills and simplifying the regulatory environment will directly support them in contributing to the green transition.”

“SGI Europe calls for a flexible and agile state aid framework, able to react to changing circumstances while preventing a subsidy race. The approach should however be well-targeted and time-limited, with simple measures such as increasing thresholds for aid automatically deemed as compatible under the General Block Exemption Regulation.”

“The Communication also rightly acknowledges the importance of public procurement and its potential in the green transition. Creating a more predictable environment for public buyers by defining clear sustainability criteria and EU standards will contribute to a more coherent and holistic regulatory framework. It will allow moving away from the current piecemeal approach based on green and social clauses in sectoral legislations.”

“Finally, the EU Year of Skills must guide our efforts in identifying and anticipating the emerging skills needs for the green transition. As highlighted by our project “Green Skills in VET”, virtually every sector and job profile in the economy are already in evolution. Promoting sustainability in education and developing skills intelligence, in cooperation with social partners and education providers, must be a top priority at the heart of the EU Year of Skills.”

(European Union, 2023; Source: EC - Audiovisual Service)