European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME, the largest confederation of voluntarily associated SMEs and mid-caps in Europe, has issued the “S.O.S. European Industry – A Call to Action” letter. The powerful message insists that Europe must refuse a vassal status in a world dominated by the United States and China, and should urgently adopt a strategy of competitiveness and common European action in order to effectively face today’s challenges. The Call was signed by INSME President Sergio Arzeni, as INSME fully aligns with its diagnosis and its proposals.
European industry stands at a turning point. In a world that has shifted from “benevolent globalization” to a far tougher, power-driven global order, Europe’s productive backbone, which is composed of its millions of micro, small, and mid-sized enterprises, is under dreadful pressure.
These companies are squeezed between an over-regulated European framework, US technological and regulatory dominance, and an aggressive Chinese trade and industrial offensive. Thousands of European firms have already become insolvent, relocated, or downsized, and hundreds of thousands of high-quality industrial jobs have disappeared over the past three years of stagnation. The social and political stability of Europe is at stake.
European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME’s call highlights that without healthy margins, firms cannot invest, innovate, pay adequate wages, or finance the ecological transition. European member states must consider the competitiveness and long-term viability of their companies as an absolute priority. A second core demand is a radical rethink of regulation: Europe should impose a moratorium on new burdens for companies and preserve technological neutrality, allowing firms to choose the best paths to decarbonization and energy efficiency.
Energy is identified as a cornerstone of competitiveness. The letter calls for a deep reform of the European energy market, revising the ETS, reducing energy taxes, and fully enabling hydrogen and nuclear in order to secure abundant, decarbonized, and competitively priced energy for industry.
Finally, the signatories argue for a genuine European preference in industrial and trade policy: better valuing production and technologies created in Europe, strengthening business networks and joint ventures, making public procurement “buy European,” and, where necessary, using tariffs on a reciprocity basis.
Source: European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME, INSME
