Euroviews. Deregulating green policies jeopardises Europe's competitiveness

The relationship between competitiveness and the ambitions of the European Green Deal is currently high on the EU agenda. 

The bloc’s flagship policy is presently facing a barrage of attacks, not just from farmers, who have taken to the streets of France, the Netherlands, Germany and beyond to protest against the demands being made of them and their industry, but from leading figures within the bloc, including Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo.

De Croo, like others within the EU-27, has proposed deregulating green policies, as part of a pitch to Belgium’s struggling chemical sector, which was pivotal in galvanising the Antwerp Declaration for a European Industrial Deal.

However, such a shift, and watering down of the Green Deal, carries risk.

As Ursula von der Leyen stated, ahead of her election as European Commission President in 2019, “the European Green Deal is our [the EU’s] new growth strategy,” and green policies have already created European business opportunities. 

Some, like offshore wind, are well established. Other innovations are already beginning to bear fruit, such as power transmission technologies or low-carbon steel production, including Sweden’s “green steel,” and various circular economy solutions.

Current concerns over competitiveness are understandable, especially when it comes to energy-intensive industries. 

As the European Commission stated in its recent Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report, there is much more that needs to be done — more investment in research and innovation, a better-functioning energy market, and further skills development. 

But modern industrial policy cannot be about protecting every existing part of the economy. It must also create conditions for innovation and