“Made in Europe”: Leaders call for secure value chains. More than a thousand business leaders urge European preference in public procurement

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1. More than a thousand leaders of European companies, including those of Air France, Bouygues, EDF, Engie, Michelin, Paprec, Sanofi, Valeo and Veolia, signed a column published by The echoes in France, Handelsblatt in Germany, El Mundo in Spain and Corriere della Sera in Italy, calling for a more ambitious industrial policy in Europe. The initiative is led by Stéphane Séjourné, executive vice-president of the European Commission responsible for prosperity and industrial policy.

   In this column, the European Commissioner pleads to “establish, once and for all, a European preference in our most truly strategic sectors”. According to him, this strategy is based on a simple principle: “every time European public money is used, it must contribute to European production and jobs”.

   Despite the Commission’s efforts to support European industries’ access to energy, raw materials, investments and skills, the European Union remains exposed to international competition deemed unfair. “The year 2026 opened with a world we thought was over. A world governed by power,” warn the signatories, stressing that customs duties, massive subsidies and intellectual property violations threaten European competitiveness.

   The objective, according to Stéphane Séjourné and the signatory leaders, is to strengthen strategic production on the continent and secure value chains. “Whether it is a public contract, state aid or any other form of financial support, the beneficiary company will have to produce a substantial part of its production on European soil”, they specify.

   The forum also underlines the need for a pragmatic approach, respectful of international law and without bureaucratic burden: “And we will apply it in the European way. That means no bureaucracy. Taking care to test the economic impacts beforehand, to involve our international partners, and to respect international law.”

   For the signatories, this plan is not only part of the industrial strategy but constitutes a real act of economic independence for Europe: “It is an act of economic independence. This is the direct implementation of the Draghi report. It is a call for a clear and assumed preference for all those who choose Europe.

   The forum comes in a context of record trade deficit for the EU, particularly against China, and is part of a broader movement aimed at promoting a “made in Europe” comparable to programs “made in China” or “buy American” great economic powers.

2. It’s time to stop subsidizing the American industry.

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4. It’s quite odd that such a simple idea — giving preference to European manufacturers in critical security sectors — has only just now occurred to European officials.

5. It is not like EU will end up buying shit products. I dont see whats wrong with getting Ericsson and Nokia to build EU’s network infrastructure, for example. Sure they are not as good as Huawei, Cisco and Ciena but they are good enough to get the job done.

   Some of the decisions EU has made in the past decade just straight up boggles my mind. The EU public sector should only accept tender from foreign companies if their host countries open their own public sector to the EU. It looks like the trend now is to kick Americans out to invite China in, some internet cave trolls are stupid enough to cheer for that. Sheiz

6. Use hedera, its the bees knees. Its global tho, but they could do an eu shard.

7. Decoupling will be painful and require time, but we’ll get it done.

   Patience, folks.

   Being free from Uncle Sam and Orange men is essential.