Letting production from outside Europe qualify for "Made in Europe" public support would mean Europe subsidising its own deindustrialisation, trade unions are warning EU Member States ahead of tomorrow's discussion on the Industrial Accelerator Act.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is calling for a clear and credible definition: Made in Europe should cover the EU and countries structurally integrated into the Single Market, including EFTA countries, candidate countries and the UK, where effective regulatory and social alignment is ensured.

The objective must be clear: public procurement and public support should be used to strengthen European productive capacity, accelerate decarbonisation and create quality jobs.

Recent ETUC-commissioned research on the Industrial Accelerator Act reinforces the importance of getting the definition right. If the geographical scope is too broad, the additional demand created by the Act risks being met through production outside Europe instead of triggering new European industrial investment.

ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet said:

“Made in Europe must be a tool for reindustrialisation. When European public money creates demand, it should translate into investment, productive capacity and quality jobs in Europe.

“Europe can remain open to international trade while having a clear definition of its own industrial space. Made in Europe should cover the EU and countries genuinely integrated into our economic, regulatory and social framework.

“The test for the Industrial Accelerator Act is simple: will it give companies a reason to invest and produce in Europe? That is what European industrial policy must deliver.”

IndustriAll Europe General Secretary Judith Kirton-Darling said:

“Made in Europe must mean investing in Europe’s industrial future and in the workers who make it. We cannot build strategic autonomy on deindustrialisation, insecure jobs or a race to the bottom.

“If companies benefit from European public money and public demand, there must be a clear return for society: investment in European production, good industrial jobs, collective bargaining and progress towards climate neutrality. The Industrial Accelerator Act is an opportunity to put those conditions at the heart of European industrial policy.

“Europe cannot subsidise its own deindustrialisation. Made in Europe must turn public money into new investment, stronger industrial value chains and quality jobs here in Europe. That means attaching clear social and industrial conditions to public support, so that every euro invested helps secure our productive capacity, supports collective bargaining and delivers the just transition European workers have been promised.”