France and Germany call for EU industrial policy to spur low-carbon investments

Europe needs to pool its strengths with “a genuine European industrial policy” to remain a  manufacturing powerhouse in the transition to a low-carbon economy, according to France and Germany. “The investments required to enable Europe to compete on the global stage and the development of long-term industrial strategies, aiming inter alia at a carbon-neutral economy, are so important that we can only succeed if we pool our funding, our skills, and our expertise,” according to a Franco-German manifesto for a European industrial policy presented by German economy minister Peter Altmaier and French finance minister Bruno Le Maire.

The manifesto also said both countries aim to create an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) for batteries, adding they want to take a decision on battery cell production before the end of the first quarter 2019. “There are many other areas where such European cooperation will be essential and which can be envisaged, for example hydrogen, low carbon industrial processes, smart health or cybersecurity,” the document said.