Industrial competitiveness

European industry contributes to output, jobs, innovation and exports and is interrelated with service industries. Indeed, many service industries such as transport, health and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) depend on competitive industry to produce the equipment and hardware which they use.

The performance of European industry in terms of exports is largely due to its competitiveness, which is influenced by the business environment, which is in turn created by the regulatory framework both at national and European level:

the creation of a single market
a very effective competition policy
an industrial policy which enables industry to undergo the necessary adjustment processes.

Providing new solutions to customers and remaining at the leading edge of innovation require the protection of related intellectual property, which serves as an incentive to invest in product and process innovation.

EU industry has been seriously affected by the recent economic crisis, revealing a number of structural weaknesses. Industries, together with public authorities, have to undertake the necessary structural adjustments in a politically and socially acceptable way.

Some other longer-term challenges are kept on the policy agenda: