The European Commission reportedly unveiled a comprehensive plan to boost economic growth by investing in clean industry initiatives and reducing corporate red tape.
“Europe is not only a continent of industrial innovation, but also a continent of industrial production,” Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission’s president, remarked.
According to von der Leyen, there are now too many barriers preventing businesses from growing, such as exorbitant energy costs and intricate laws.
According to her, the goal of the bloc’s so-called Clean Industrial Deal is to remove obstacles that businesses might face.
A projected investment of 100 billion euros ($105.14 billion) is one of many measures the commission aims to implement to strengthen the EU’s industrial sector, as outlined in the Clean Industrial Deal.
With energy-intensive businesses at the top of the EU executive branch’s agenda, the proposal includes a pilot project in which the European Investment Bank will counter-guarantee companies’ power purchase agreements.
By reducing the time it takes for permits for low-carbon energy projects to be approved, another component aims to lower the bloc’s exorbitant energy prices by 45 billion euros this year.
According to her, the commission’s cheap energy strategy is to enable European companies stay on their current decarbonization path while also boosting their competitiveness internationally.
In order to support nations investing in domestic low-carbon industries, the commission also suggested updating the EU’s state assistance regulations by June 2025, drawing on the executive body’s experience with its public relief program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the EU is also developing a set of policies aimed at streamlining the bloc’s sustainability reporting requirements, which have drawn criticism from activists for allowing a sizable portion of businesses to completely avoid adhering to Europe’s climate accountability regulations.
The EU’s Economy Commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, defended that approach on Wednesday, stating that the commission is not reversing its climate ambitions but rather aims to make them less onerous for companies.
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