French President Emmanuel Macron advocated Thursday at the European Union (EU) leaders’ summit in Brussels to counter the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) with an equivalent measure at the European level to ensure the competitiveness of European companies along the lines of the «sovereign wealth fund» proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Her approach is to create a regulation that would function as a European mirror of the US one, which includes a package of 369 billion dollars in subsidies to boost investment in the United States, something that both the Member States and Brussels consider detrimental to European industry.
Macron’s idea is for this «European IRA» to accelerate, in the image of its twin on the other side of the Atlantic, the creation of clean energy by European companies through both EU and national subsidies.
This «made in Europe» strategy, as pointed out by the French President, would make it possible to curb the harmful effects of US legislation and to insist on the «urgency» of accelerating the production of renewable energies and climate technologies that can affect the competitiveness of European soil.
However, Macron understands that the objective of the United States «is not to attack Europe, but to defend its interests», which is why he advocates doubling the normal, something «fundamental» to defend European industry and companies.
«I believe in fair rules accepted by all and for all,» said the French leader, who stressed that «the IRA is not compatible with the world trade organization,» which is why he considers it necessary to establish a community mechanism of guarantees.
EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT In the context of the debate on the response that the European Union should give to the US ‘doping’ of its companies, the leaders called on the European Commission to present «by the end of January» an analysis and proposals with a view to mobilizing all relevant national and European instruments and to improve investment conditions, including by simplifying administrative procedures.
The head of the Community Executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said at the end of Thursday’s summit that the European Union must not lose its «position as a world leader in clean technologies», and therefore advocated «adjusting» the Community framework for State aid for a few years to make it «simpler, faster and more predictable».
In this context, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, announced that the leaders will return to Brussels on February 9 and 10 for an extraordinary summit that will focus on economic issues, including the response to the United States and the reflection on the sovereign fund for European industry, but will also address in a «profound» way the migratory situation that worries the partners.
