Updating the new industrial strategy for Europe

Today, the European Commission published its updated new industrial strategy for Europe. Cooperatives Europe welcomes the update of the previous Communication (COM (2020) 102 final) adopted on 10 March 2020, taking into account the latest developments related to the pandemic.

This 2021 industrial strategy for Europe proposes new measures to strengthen the resilience of our Single Market, especially in times of crisis. It addresses the need to better understand our dependencies in key strategic areas and presents a toolbox to address them. It offers new measures to accelerate the green and digital transitions.

Considering the restrictions that businesses are still suffering from within the Single Market, Cooperatives Europe welcomes the fact that this remain a top priority, as it is essential to ensure a level playing field and promote a fair and competitive Single Market.

The SME dimension – which cooperatives are a significant part of – is at the core of the updated Strategy with a commitment to mobilise significant investment to support SMEs and provide them with tailored financial support and measures to enable them and start-ups to embrace the twin transitions. Cooperatives are significant active actors of the EU recovery and a focal point of the industrial strategy for Europe. Hence, Cooperatives Europe calls for an ambitious industrial strategy in order to ensure the success of the twin green and digital transitions and allow every actor like cooperatives to be supported in achieving the twin transition.