go to the original language article
EU-wide/Brussels – Austrian EU deputies from ÖVP, SPÖ, Greens and NEOS fundamentally rate the “Clean Industrial Deal” presented by the EU Commission on Wednesday for a more competitive and lower-emission industry positively. The omnibus proposals that soften environment and worker-friendly laws were also partly viewed critically in a joint press conference: bureaucracy reduction, yes, but with prudence, said the parliamentarians.
The Clean Industrial Deal (CID) promises “reindustrialization and decarbonization under one roof,” said ÖVP EU delegation leader Angelika Winzig. “If we achieve this, it is the greatest achievement the EU has ever accomplished.” Energy-intensive businesses in Europe “urgently need support” due to high energy costs or “over-bureaucratization.” For her SPÖ colleague Andreas Schieder, the “question of competitiveness of the European industry especially in times when (US President Donald, ed.) Trump’s trade war and tariff announcements” threaten, is particularly important.
Schieder: Situation extremely serious
Europe, with its scientific achievements and patents, has “good prerequisites to react to all questions that are coming our way,” expressed Schieder confidently. However, the situation is still “extremely serious.” Hence, the CID is a “very important approach.” It is “the call of the hour to unleash entrepreneurship,” said NEOS EU deputy Anna Stürgkh. She welcomes the “holistic approach” of the new industrial strategy, which includes energy, financing, and jobs.
European companies, on average, would pay twice as much for energy as their US counterparts, said Stürgkh. She therefore calls for advancing the energy transition. The Commission wants to mobilize over 100 billion euros in funding for green technologies, as well as additional guarantees of 1 billion euros within the current multi-year EU budget. The funding should also flow faster and more uncomplicatedly.
Schilling: Light and shadow
The Green EU deputy Lena Schilling sees “light and shadow” in the legislative proposals presented today. It is good that it is about a climate-just transformation of industry and that the Commission continues to say, “we must achieve our climate goals.” A “decarbonization of the European economy” is necessary, it is “more than 5 to 12.” However, she also sees “a lot of frustration” because she had long advocated for the EU supply chain law, which should now be watered down.
The EU supply chain law is meant to hold large companies accountable, for example, if they benefit from child or forced labor outside the EU. The Commission today proposed a one-year postponement of its entry into force and substantial softening as part of its “Omnibus” package for less bureaucracy. She is not against reducing bureaucracy, emphasized Schilling: “Let’s sit together and make it better. But let’s sit together and cancel it, I am not for that.”
Winzig welcomes parts of the changes to the supply chain law
Her NEOS colleague concurs with improving: “If we want to ensure that SMEs can play in the big league, we must ensure that they do so without tied hands.”
With the “multitude of European regulations, one has to see if there are any contradictions,” said Andreas Schieder. However, he is against a “flip-flop policy,” where “the horses are changed mid-stream.” He emphasizes, the Commission’s omnibus proposals must still be approved by the Council and Parliament; they cannot “unilaterally change laws.” ÖVP politician Winzig welcomes parts of the proposed changes.
SPÖ EU deputy Evelyn Regner, who co-negotiated the supply chain law and particularly advocated for the protection of workers’ rights, expressed sharp criticism in a press release: “Under the guise of simplification and bureaucracy reduction, von der Leyen throws the hardest-won EU achievements for environmental protection and labor standards under the (omni)bus. (…) Companies that have already started exemplary to adapt their activities to the new laws are now being punished for it.” (27.02.2025)