El Industry and Energy Forum has analyzed the recent report The Future of European Competitiveness, prepared by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, which proposes 140 measures to ensure the competitiveness of the European Union on the global stage. Among these, 21 are directly related to the energy management of industry, underlining the need to reconcile industrial and energy policies, a long-standing demand of the Forum.
The document highlights the importance of implementing a European industrial policy that does not give up on ecological transition, presenting the decarbonization as an opportunity to strengthen the competitiveness of the industry. According to the report, “the cheapest and most efficient route to meet the EU's decarbonisation targets could increase the dependence on China”, which raises the need to assess the consequences of this dependency and explore possible agreements with the Asian country.
The growing growth gap between the European Union and its two main competitors, China and the United States, places the new executive in a scenario in which it must either increase investment or choose between climate and competitiveness.
The report also comes at a key moment, marked by the reconfiguration of the European Commission and the Government of Spain, which could facilitate collaboration between the departments of industry and energy, both at national and European level. The Forum has suggested the creation of a joint commission in the Cortes Generales to develop a long-term strategy to ensure optimal energy management that guarantees industrial competitiveness.
In the report, Draghi stresses that Europe must undertake three key transformations: accelerate innovation, reduce energy costs without compromising decarbonisation and reduce strategic dependencies. “To be competitive, the European economy needs to reduce energy costs without giving up on decarbonisation and reduce energy dependencies,” the document states.
Specific measures proposed include promoting self-consumption in the electro-intensive industry, encouraging PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) contracts and simplifying permits for the deployment of renewable energies. However, Draghi warns that if decarbonisation is not accompanied by a coherent policy, it could become a brake on European competitiveness and industrial growth.
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