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Sehr geehrter Bundesminister Habeck, Lieber Robert,

Sehr geehrte Partner des Bündnis "Zukunft der Industrie",

Meine Damen und Herren,

I am delighted to take part in this year's Industriekonferenz here in Berlin.

I can only stress the relevance and timeliness of our discussion today, as we are facing extraordinary times. Whole sections of our industry essential to our economy are struggling for their survival. And I dare say that we are facing a high risk of rapid des-industrialisation of Europe.

But there is no fatality in this. Because I am sure that, together, we can work to find solutions.

Let me start by expanding on the two factors that are putting our industry under pressure:

A push factor, due to the energy prices in Europe.
A pull factor: the Inflation Reduction Act in the US and China's continuous "economic diplomacy" policy to attract our industrial capacities.
Firstly, energy prices.

With wholesale gas prices five to seven times higher in Europe than in the US; with electricity prices that increased five-fold compared to 18 months ago, European energy intensive industries are in a critical situation. And many other sectors are also affected such as automotive or retail. Not just big corporations, but entire supply chains and very worryingly our SMEs.

A significant share of European firms is now considering relocating activities outside the EU. Including in Germany, among the Mittelstand.

We have taken important measures to start addressing the energy crisis. We have prolonged and amended the State aid temporary crisis framework. We also agreed new emergency measures on joint gas purchasing and on a mandatory solidarity mechanism for gas sharing in times of emergency.

I personally believe that these are necessary but far from sufficient solutions to tackle the crisis. If we limit ourselves to these measures, we will continue to put the burden of crisis management on Member States' public aid measures.

There is no time to lose. We must ensure that, everywhere in Europe, companies can access temporary support on an equal footing for their exceptionally high operating costs.

And we must accelerate the substitution of gas.

But this clean energy transition is now endangered by the second factor I wanted to describe today.

As if the twin transition and the energy crisis was not challenging enough, we now have to deal with the negative impact of the US Inflation Reduction Act.

It is a game-changer from across the Atlantic: our "like-minded" partner has introduced a total support of 369 billion dollars - for CAPEX and OPEX - to build a new industrial ecosystem in strategic clean energy sectors (wind, solar, batteries, hydrogen).

Behind the discriminatory measures imposed by the US, lies a much more important risk: complete changes in investment flows.

We have opened a discussion channel with our US partners, through a dedicated Task Force and as part of the EU/US Tech and Trade Council.

But I am not naïve. We cannot place all our bets on the US modifying its plan substantially or in time to stop divestments from Europe.

And of course there is not just the US. Suffice to mention China luring the German chemical multinational BASF to permanently downsize its operations in Europe and commit to investing huge sums in China with the promise of access to cheap electricity.

We can't stay inactive. We need a serious and urgent reflection on how to revert the deindustrialisation process taking place and preserve our competitiveness and resilience.

I am glad to see Germany and France rallying around this mission - as highlighted last Tuesday in a joint declaration between Minister Habeck and Minister Le Maire.

For my part, I am advocating for an "Industry Made in Europe policy" so that we collectively make sure that Europe remains an industrial powerhouse.

This policy does not start from scratch. In fact, over the last three years, I have fought hard for a strong European industrial base.

The results are there.

Thanks to the work of the industrial alliances - nine of them - we have identified breakthrough projects in critical areas such as batteries, semiconductors, clean hydrogen and raw materials. And adjusted the regulatory framework when necessary.

We are also growing stronger through Important projects of common European interest. With impressive results, such as the 20 billion euros invested in the two IPCEI batteries, the 80 projects supported on hydrogen.

But here there is no room for complacency: we need to speed up work on these IPCEIs. We cannot wait a year, sometimes more, before deciding on these strategic projects.

Also linked to our digital sovereignty, we are making progress on space. Minister Habeck and I had the pleasure to attend last week's ministerial conference of the European Space Agency. This was an important occasion to discuss Europe's critical space infrastructure: Galileo, Copernicus and soon IRIS2, our third constellation for secured connectivity. This is a giant leap for our collective security and tech sovereignty.

We have also introduced new tools to establish a balance of power and promote a level-playing field for our companies, including the Foreign Direct Investment screening regulation, the Foreign Subsidies Instrument or the Single Market Emergency Instrument. These are crucial to adapt our toolkit to the new geopolitics of supply chains.

The European Chips Act and, early next year, the Critical Raw Materials Act, will ensure our secure and sustainable access to critical technologies. I could go on.

Building on this work, we must up our game and accelerate an industrial paradigm shift towards an industry "made in Europe".

This requires action on several fronts:

Firstly, focus on the strategic technologies and industrial sectors that we need to prioritise at European level.

Tomorrow, I am launching the Clean Tech Europe platform, and I would like to thank Minister Habeck as well as the Czech EU Presidency for their support.

I will work with Member States, industry, and the EIB to provide support to the scale up of EU manufacturing capacities and industrial value chains in key low-carbon energy technologies (wind, solar, heat pumps, electrolysers, electricity grids...) needed for a decarbonised and largely electrified continent by 2050.

Secondly, it is time to think about how our regulatory framework can boost the industrial capacity projects indispensable for our twin transition, by offering some temporary relief. I think we should seriously consider, like we have done for renewable energy deployment or semi-conductors, setting up a temporary framework that accelerates any regulatory or administrative process including permit-granting for the deployment of EU manufacturing projects of sovereign importance.

And beyond permit-granting, we could put forward a tailored regulatory environment that favours the emergence of such projects, for instance through adjusted trade rules or taxonomy criteria.

And thirdly, we need to focus our financial support on where it matters more. I believe it is time that we encourage private investment, facilitated by State aid support, in innovative projects, but also in projects that contribute to Europe's sovereignty and resilience. Yes, this would be a change of paradigm, but one that is warranted.

I believe that the European Sovereignty Fund announced by President von der Leyen offers us the opportunity to address these issues when we need it most.

The objective, in my view, should be to set up a financial capacity power to ensure investments into projects of interest for EU sovereignty across the whole industrial spectrum. This financial capacity should be modular, quick to mobilise, reactive, and diversified (covering grants, procurements, loans and equity).

I am convinced we need such an instrument, with the adequate financial firepower, and we need it rapidly as the State aid support will reach its limits in our Member States. And to avoid a fragmentation of our Single Market because not all EU countries have the same firepower, the Fund should allow them to finance European public interest goods at equivalent market conditions.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Europe needs, more than ever, solidarity, self-assurance, and sovereignty. It is the only way we can shape things for the better.

We need ambition and speed, and a real European approach - without taboos.

I look forward to our discussion with you.

Thank you