(Brussels) The EU must take “rebalancing” measures to iron out the “distortions” of competition caused by the massive American subsidies of Joe Biden’s big climate plan, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday. .
While “working with the United States to resolve the most problematic aspects” of the plan, “we must adjust our own rules to facilitate public investments in the transition [environnementale] and we need to reassess the need for joint European funding,” she said in a speech at the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium).
The “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA) adopted this summer by Washington provides for 370 billion dollars of investments in favor of the fight against climate change, intended to finance the construction of factories, wind turbines and solar panels, or bonuses for the purchase of electric vehicles provided that they come from a North American factory.
The EU denounces exceptional aid contrary to international trade rules, likely to undermine the competitiveness of European companies already penalized by soaring energy prices.
The EU “must simplify and adapt” its very strict rules governing public aid granted by its member states, in order to offer governments “increased flexibility” and to offer companies “a more predictable and understandable framework”, underlined Mme von der Leyen.
While the American plan covers all the production chains of strategic sectors, “this is not always the case with state aid in the EU”, rather focused on laboratories and innovation, observed the head of the European executive.
Faced with global competition in green technologies, “Europe is in a position of strength, if we fight on equal terms”, she argued.
But relying solely on aid from member states, with very diverse budgetary leeway, would risk fueling distortions within the single market itself, warned Ms.me von der Leyen, also pleading for “a common response” with increased funding at EU level.
In the short term, Brussels is trying to beef up the RePowerEU investment plan, which aims to make the EU less dependent on its hydrocarbon imports and to stem the rise in energy prices, in particular by boosting its infrastructure. decarbonized energies.
But “the new asserted industrial policy of our competitors requires a structural response” in the medium term, noted Ursula von der Leyen, who has been pleading since September for the creation of a European “Sovereignty Fund”.
In terms of the environment, the United States is betting more on incentive subsidies while the EU is betting on the imposition of standards and norms, but they share the same climate objectives and the same concerns about the rise of China. in strategic sectors such as batteries or “critical materials”, noted the President of the Commission.
“An expensive trade war is not in our interest or in the interest of Americans, and it would also hurt global innovation,” she warned.