The German delegation to the center-right faction of the European People's Party takes a cautious position towards the law on accelerating industrial production, insisting that the criteria for labeling "Made in Europe" should be strictly targeted.
The law should give priority to European-made goods in government support programs and in the public procurement system. An internal memo published by Contexte shows that a dozen EPP delegations have outlined their positions at the moment when work begins on the relevant report in Parliament.
The German delegation, the largest in the group, also stated that it wants to maintain a similar status for third countries with which the EU has trade agreements, subject to mutual access to government aid and procurement markets.
The document emphasizes that the new standards should not duplicate existing requirements.
"Where steel and aluminum are already subject to CO2—related requirements, additional overlapping origin thresholds should not be applied," the memo says.
At the same time, the Delegation opposes any mandatory targets for reindustrialization. Meanwhile, the European Commission proposed to increase the share of EU industry in GDP to 20% by 2035.
Thus, the EPP does not have a unified position on a number of key issues, including the 20% target itself and which third countries should be eligible for the "Made in Europe" status.