Speaking during a panel on Europe’s industrial future at UILTEC’s Congress, industriAll Europe General Secretary Judith Kirton-Darling warned that energy dependency is no longer simply an energy issue but a strategic industrial vulnerability that threatens competitiveness, jobs and investment across the continent.
Despite efforts to stabilise energy markets following the energy crisis, Europe continues to spend around €427 billion every year on energy imports, leaving industries exposed to global geopolitical shocks and price volatility. While prices have fallen from their peak levels, they remain structurally higher than before 2021, particularly for industrial consumers. The impact is particularly severe for energy-intensive industries such as chemicals.
Judith Kirton-Darling stressed that the effects of the crisis are not evenly distributed across Europe. This growing divergence creates a serious risk of industrial fragmentation.
While acknowledging the European Commission’s rediscovery of industrial policy and the recognition of the scale of the challenge facing industrial workers, Judith Kirton-Darling argued that the EU has yet to address the high price of energy facing European industry, especially electricity.
IndustriAll Europe is therefore calling for urgent measures, including affordable and predictable energy prices for industry, major investment in European clean and domestic energy production, stronger public support for energy-intensive sectors and safeguards to protect jobs and industrial capacity.
“Every cent of support for industry must be conditional on social guarantees for good jobs, investment and reinforcement of local value chains,” stated Judith Kirton-Darling. Without such measures, Europe faces the prospect of production cuts, relocation outside Europe and the permanent loss of industrial ecosystems.
The debate also addressed proposals to mobilise Cohesion Policy funding in response to the crisis. Cohesion Policy represents €391 billion, nearly one-third of the EU budget, and remains one of Europe’s most important tools for reducing regional inequalities, supporting industrial development and creating quality jobs
More broadly, there is a growing gap between Europe’s industrial ambitions and the resources available to deliver them. While initiatives such as the Green Deal, the Clean Industrial Deal and the Industrial Accelerator Act provide the framework, ambition is not yet matched by financial firepower.
IndustriAll Europe calls for a genuine European industrial policy built on five pillars:
- A substantial EU-level investment capacity, including the triggering of the EU fiscal rules for productive investment,
- Affordable energy for industry,
- Strong social conditionalities linked to public support,
- A just transition for workers, and a level playing field to ensure action against global overcapacities. Protection not protectionism.
Public investment must guarantee quality jobs, collective bargaining, skills development and training, while workers must be supported through anticipation of change, reskilling measures and robust social protection. Kirton-Darling welcomed and celebrated the innovative sectoral agreements in the Italian energy and chemicals sectors which deliver new frameworks on AI and just transition. She emphasised the importance of mutual learning between trade unions on how to negotiate wins for our members in this complex context.
Across Europe, workers and industries share common concerns: high energy costs, uncertainty over investment, pressure on industrial jobs and geopolitical volatility.
For industriAll Europe, the conclusion is clear: “Without common investment, common industrial tools and a fair transition across all regions, Europe risks an uneven transition, distortions within the Single Market and the relocation of industry within Europe itself. The green transition, must become a project of cohesion rather than fragmentation” concluded Judith Kirton-Darling