Industrial Accelerator Act: Eurochambres welcomes the ambition and calls for workable 'Made in Europe' criteria

The chamber network supports the European Commission’s effort to strengthen Europe’s industrial base. The Industrial Accelerator Act proposal, presented today, addresses key enablers such as faster permitting procedures, support for industrial clusters and the development of strategic markets. At the same time, Eurochambres underlines that local and low-carbon content criteria must remain practical and proportionate, particularly for smaller businesses.

Slow and complex permitting procedures remain one of the biggest barriers to industrial investment in Europe. The proposal for a single digital permitting procedure responds to long-standing demands from the business community. However, it regrettably limits mechanisms related to overriding public interest and tacit approval to decarbonisation projects and industrial acceleration areas. This represents a missed opportunity to make streamlined permitting a true strategic enabler of Europe’s competitiveness across industrial sectors.

In the run-up to the proposal, Eurochambres sought greater clarity about the introduction of “Made in Europe” criteria in public procurement, raising questions about costs, burdensome SME requirements and international trade rules. While Eurochambres welcomes the approach taken regarding trusted partners, concerns remain about the lack of safeguards to prevent disproportionate barriers to SME participation in public procurement.

Reacting to the local content criteria, Eurochambres President Vladimír Dlouhý warns: “‘Made in Europe’ criteria must be clear and proportionate, especially for SMEs. If poorly designed, they will pile costs onto businesses already struggling with high energy prices, red tape and a fragmented single market. Europe cannot afford more complexity disguised as ambition.”

Eurochambres therefore calls on policymakers to ensure that local and low-carbon content criteria remain workable for businesses, particularly SMEs, while expanding streamlined and accelerated permitting to all industrial projects across Europe. Equally important are stronger efforts to address remaining structural challenges faced by businesses. These include reducing energy prices, removing barriers in the single market and simplifying regulatory frameworks.