The focus of today’s Competitiveness Council is on the adoption of a general approach by the Council on the European Commission’s proposal for a Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA). The Act is an important element of the Green Deal Industrial Plan of February 2023, with which the EU has set up a comprehensive agenda for a green industrial policy. Sven Giegold, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, will be attending the meeting today on behalf of the Federal Government.

The NZIA strengthens the ramp-up of industrial production capacities for net-zero technologies in the EU. The "strategic" net zero technologies, including solar, wind, batteries, hydrogen and heat pumps, as well as CCS and nuclear fission are particularly privileged. The aim is to cover at least 40% of the EU’s demand for these technologies by 2030 with EU products and thus to become more independent. To this end, administrative and approval procedures for the establishment of production facilities are to be massively accelerated and simplified. Furthermore, authorities will have to meet resilience and sustainability criteria in the context of procurement procedures and auctions in line with the NZIA.

After today’s adoption of the general approach by the Council of the Member States, there will be negotiations with the European Parliament.

State Secretary Sven Giegold said:
“The EU is competing for global leadership in the field of forward-looking technologies. The EU’s Green Deal has now entered a new phase of a green industrial policy. As regards the implementation of the European Green Deal, we will increasingly build on European production capacities. The NZIA will strengthen investment in sustainable technologies in the EU. We thus send out strong signals to industry and authorities. For us, nuclear energy is not one of the technologies which help to reach an inexpensive and rapid transition. At the same time, we respect the Member States’ competence for energy policy. EU funds must not be spent on technologies which are not supported by all Member States. It was therefore essential for us that we have excluded financial issues from the NZIA and that existing EU rules remain unaffected.

“As regards future auctions for renewable energy, we need to strike a balance between strengthening European industry and attaining our common ambitious expansion targets. The present wording is an acceptable compromise.”

The ban on products on the basis of forced labour is another priority issue at the Council. In September 2022, the European Commission submitted a proposal for a regulation on this issue. From the Federal Government’s point of view, it is particularly important that the regulation is clear and effective. It must ensure effective enforcement and at the same time the avoidance of bureaucratic burdens on companies.

The reduction of bureaucracy is another item on the agenda of the Council. France and Germany will be presenting an initiative to cut red tape, which was launched at the Franco-German intergovernmental session on 9 October 2023.