In February this year, industriAll Europe set out our manifesto recalling the 5 big wins of the last 5 years in the European Parliament, and our 5 big demands for the next 5 years. In the last European Parliament, industrial trade unions won new rights at work thanks in large part to MEPs’ strong support for our agenda.
But today’s context is very different from the last European elections, Europe’s manufacturing sector has faced a series of unprecedented challenges in recent years. As we’ve argued elsewhere, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war laid bare Europe’s reliance on others for critical goods and dealt serious blows to manufacturing by disrupting supply chains and triggering energy and cost-of-living crises.
The embrace of short-termism by corporations – reflected in their preference for dividends and share buybacks over reinvestment of profits – has further undermined the EU manufacturing sector’s dynamism and resilience. Compounding all these challenges is the biggest crisis of them all – climate change – which is generating rapidly increasing financial and human costs.
The impact on European industry is already apparent. In 2022, the EU’s trade deficit reached a staggering €432 billion ($465 billion), driven by both higher spending on energy imports and manufacturing losses linked to the energy crisis. In February 2024, industrial production fell by 6.4% in the euro area and by 5.4% in the EU year on year.
The EU’s new fiscal rules – agreed by the European Parliament and Council in February – will undermine the bloc’s ability to invest in green technology and industrial upgrading, and deepen disparities among member states. According to research by the European Trade Union Confederation, only three countries (Denmark, Ireland, and Sweden) can meet their social and green investment needs under the EU’s new fiscal rules. To bridge the gap across the rest of the EU, an additional €300-420 billion annually will be needed. If that funding is not delivered, the EU’s internal market risks fragmentation, which would accelerate deindustrialisation.
We know we must deliver the Green Deal goals at pace, but to do that politicians must commit to a broader industrial strategy that both addresses investment shortfalls and mitigates the risks associated with the production of more expensive net-zero goods in a fiercely competitive global market.
That’s why this summer’s European elections matter most urgently for Europe’s industrial workforce. Unless the EU reverses its industrial decline, Europeans could end up without industries that have, for decades, provided quality jobs to countless workers, who gained not only economic security, but also a sense of purpose, community, and identity.
Faced with this context, some politicians want to prioritise budget cuts and deregulation over good industrial jobs for workers. But you can tell them they have to do better. This decision is up to you.
The next European Parliament will have a key role in setting out how investment will be generated and spent. We need to ensure that workers’ priorities are defended.
Support for working communities – provided through strong social conditionalities on all public-funding, public-procurement, and lead-market initiatives – is needed to boost economic growth, create jobs, and protect the environment, all of which is essential to win public trust.
At the European elections this June, it matters who you vote for. If you don’t vote, or vote for parties who talk about cutting public spending and slashing regulation, Europe’s crisis will only deepen.
Today, industriAll Europe is launching our call to ‘Get Out the Vote’ to workers across Europe: “Vote for parties that promise to invest in Europe’s industries to create good industrial jobs, to deliver the Just Transition we need, and to support training and education for the future.”
When trade unionists vote, Europe’s workers win! Use your vote at the European elections this June.
Judith Kirton-Darling, General Secretary of industriAll Europe
