The EC has postponed the presentation of the «Made in Europe» plan

The European Commission has postponed the announcement of its «Made in Europe» plan, a policy that gives priority to industrial products manufactured in the region, due to disagreements over the geographical scope of the scheme. This was reported by Reuters, citing the office of European Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné.

The plan is to include minimum thresholds for locally produced components in projects using public funding in strategic sectors, including batteries, solar, wind, and nuclear energy.

Some governments, notably France, support the idea of «Made in Europe» regulations, arguing that it is necessary to protect European industrial companies from cheaper imports from markets with less stringent environmental and other standards.

Others, such as Sweden and the Czech Republic, warn that local sourcing requirements could deter investment, increase prices in public tenders, and harm the EU’s global competitiveness.

Car manufacturers and other industries have called for protection to be extended beyond the EU and the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein) to include others in their supply chains, notably the UK and Turkey.

According to an EC spokesperson, an additional week of internal discussions should strengthen the proposal.

The Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), part of which is the «Made in Europe» policy, was originally supposed to be presented last December, but sparked debate. Its announcement has now been postponed from February 26 to March 4.

It should be recalled that prior to the informal summit of EU leaders on February 12, the bloc’s member states, particularly its largest economies, had different positions on the «Made in Europe» issue. For example, France insisted on strict criteria, while Germany advocated a more liberal approach that would allow third countries to participate. Various industries also expressed their views.