EU: Conserva (FACE), Good European Economic Security Strategy

“MORE ATTENTION NEEDS TO BE PAID TO SMES. THEY ARE PUT AT THE CENTER OF POLITICAL ACTION.”

“We welcome the new EU Economic Security Strategy. However, it is fair to point out that SMEs and downstream value chains are key elements of economic security, yet they do not receive enough attention, and too many policies and decisions are made without tangible consideration of their impact on SMEs and without appropriate measures. There is no geopolitical power without a strong industrial base and healthy SMEs.”

Mario Conserva, Face (European Aluminum Consumers Federation) secretary general, said in a note.

“We also welcome the focus on competitiveness within the economic security strategy,” FACE continues, “over the past 25 years our organization has consistently denounced the damage to competitiveness resulting from import tariffs on raw aluminum, which are not justified as the EU is more than 80 percent dependent on primary aluminum imports.

Face’s secretary general also believes that “an ambitious nuclear energy agenda is essential for Europe’s economic security, reindustrialization and decarbonization.”

“In particular,” he adds, “developments in civil nuclear power could help restore the necessary low-carbon primary aluminum production within the EU, a goal that should be seen as strategic for our industry and our ambition to become the world’s first continent and zero-emission power.

Finally, FACE stresses that early and agile trade defense tools are also critical for economic security.

“If we are to protect our industrial base and value chains in the emerging and lucrative green goods market, we must monitor the new category of unfair green goods and act quickly to prevent economic erosion due to distortion of international competition in this most promising and dynamic sector. Unfair green goods are low-carbon goods that are unfairly produced and/or traded.”

“Economic security,” Conserva concluded, “is crucial to protect the EU’s model of prosperity and social solidarity and its values-based international role. However, for economic security to materialize in a systemic way, SMEs must be the focus of political attention and action, as they are the backbone of our sustainable jobs and growth agenda.”

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From the EU Commission press corner: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3358