How Europe wants to step up on green industries

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THE BRUSSELS LETTER. Two important texts prepared by the teams of Commissioner Thierry Breton outline a European strategy. A conceptual revolution in the EU.

Par Emmanuel Berretta

Wind turbines in the Brittany region.
© Martin Bertrand/Hans Lucas via AFP

Published on 03/02/2023 at 11:00 a.m.

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IEven ten years ago, talking about an industrial strategy in Brussels spheres was a sacrilege. The religion of the “all market”, of which the Germans and the Nordics were the high priests, forbade even mentioning any sectoral policy.

This shows the path traveled since the pandemic and the rise of perils in the world awakened the concept – for a long time purely French – of European sovereignty. Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, will carry two important texts in mid-March, each of which outlines an industrial strategy in clean energies.

First, the Net Zero Industry Act (or legislative act on clean industries), which complements, on an industrial level, the objectives of decarbonizing the economy by 2050…