'Buy European': the EU's green industrial gambit

The European Industrial Accelerator, popularly known as 'Buy European', represents the most significant shift in European industrial policy in decades. The EU recognizes that leading on climate regulation is not enough: it needs to manufacture green technologies on European soil to preserve jobs, innovation and strategic autonomy.

The initiative establishes preferences in public procurement for products manufactured in the EU that meet low-carbon-footprint criteria. Solar panels, batteries, electrolyzers, heat pumps and wind turbines made in Europe will have an advantage in public tenders, offsetting competition from subsidized Chinese products.

However, analysts at Wood Mackenzie point to the plan's limitations: reaching the target of industry accounting for 20% of European GDP by 2035 is extremely ambitious. The manufacturing-cost gap with China is significant, especially in solar panels and batteries, where European manufacturers struggle to compete.

The strategy is complemented by a green financing framework that includes preferential EIB loans, public guarantees for investment in clean manufacturing, and tariffs on imports that fail to meet European environmental standards. The goal is to create an ecosystem where producing green in Europe is economically viable.

The underlying debate is whether Europe can reindustrialize without falling into protectionism. The Commission's answer is that green competitiveness is not protectionism: it is a legitimate response to the massive subsidies other blocs are channeling into their industries. Europe's industrial future depends on winning this technological race.