Paving the way to a new industrial revolution in Europe
Do we need a boost towards a re-industrialisation of Europe? Yes: the low contribution of industry to the EU economy is among the conditions that diminished our capacity to react to the crisis.
Can we put our future competitiveness at risk? No: Europe is a world-leader in many strategic sectors (automotive, engineering, space, pharmaceuticals,…). Industry still accounts for 4/5 of Europe's exports and 80% of both Europe's exports and of private sector R&D investment comes from manufacturing. But to keep this advantage and start growing again, we cannot afford neglecting those sectors and technologies that have the greatest potential and spill-over effects.
This is the core message of a communication for a stronger European industry tabled by my fellow-Commissioner Antonio Tajani, which we adopted last week. Read more and comment on Maria Damanaki's blog
