Speaking at the third European Industry Summit in Antwerp on 11 February, alongside industrial leaders from across Europe, industriAll Europe and the ETUC set out a worker view on how to tackle the challenging context for European industries. The summit takes place a week after industriAll Europe’s European Action Day and on the eve of an informal retreat for European heads of state and government in Alden Biesen on 12 February – this European Council will focus on competitiveness and industrial policy.
The context demands urgent political action. Europe's industrial base is under enormous strain. From chemicals to metals to automotive components, companies are scaling back production or shutting down entirely as they grapple with the same structural pressures: high energy prices, low demand and unfair trading conditions. Meanwhile, far too many companies are focused on profit maximisation strategies, prioritising shareholder payouts instead of reinvesting in industrial capacity and workers.
Speaking in Antwerp, industriAll Europe’s President Michael Vassiliadis focused his intervention on a stark assessment of Europe’s energy and climate policies, calling for immediate action to secure a fair and competitive transition for workers and industry alike.
“European trade unions have always backed the objectives of the Green Deal — cutting our dependence on dictators and building a climate neutral economy. But let’s be honest: the conditions for workers to keep supporting this transition simply aren’t there yet. And unless we fix that, the project is at risk”, stated Michael Vassiliadis in the roundtable with Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and political leaders.
If Europe is to deliver on its climate ambitions without undermining its industrial base and workforce, three critical priorities must be urgently addressed:
1. A real industrial strategy — not uncertainty and volatility
Out of 20 industrial sectors, only two are doing well in Europe, according to recent industriAll Europe research — and that’s because of defence spending. High energy prices are the number one pressure point for energy-intensive sectors. This challenge is existential. European producers face energy prices far higher than in the United States or parts of Asia. This is why chemical, steel and fertiliser plants have curtailed output or gone offline – therefore political action must focus on delivering the cheaper, abundant clean electricity we urgently need, accelerating grid expansion, renewable deployment or hydrogen infrastructure. Europe needs a continent-wide, well-resourced clean energy acceleration plan.
2. Massive investment — private and public — aligned with the transition
Echoing the recent call by Mario Draghi for a serious European investment agenda, industriAll Europe stressed that too often companies prioritise dividend payouts over long-term transformation, while too many governments continue to hide behind austerity. Social and local content conditionalities are critically important on all public support to industry.
3. A Just Transition framework that protects jobs — not more market mechanisms that destroy them
While carbon pricing through the ETS can incentivise decarbonisation, in its current form it risks wiping out plants that simply have not received the investment needed to become climate neutral. Workers must not pay the price for a transition driven by market scarcity instead of industrial strategy. A genuine Just Transition, requires negotiated solutions, predictable pathways, and a pace of change that workers can sustain.
Michael Vassiliadis concluded with a warning that the gap between the EU’s policy narrative and workers’ lived reality is widening.
“We want Europe to succeed, but for that to happen, Europe must choose a just, predictable, investment-driven transition — one that keeps workers on board, strengthens industry, and delivers the climate ambition we all share.
The time for excuses is over. The time for solutions is now.”