Opinion Factsheet 

To highlight the importance of focusing on industrial ecosystems and technology leadership as well as reinforcing the place-based dimension.
To stress the need to strengthen the regional ecosystem approach, so as to effectively involve key actors at local and regional level.
To highlight the growing concerns about the uneven recovery in various European regions. The EU must reinforce its efforts to close this gap by supporting businesses, digitalising industry and making it more sustainable;
To draw attention to the fact that industry will face challenges in implementing the objectives of the Fit for 55 package, and that local and regional authorities should be involved in discussions on how to ensure that infrastructure proposals are successfully implemented.

The CoR President, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, and the rapporteur presented the views of the CoR at the European Commission's EU industry Days 8-11 February 2022. The rapporteur spoke in session organised by the CoR on "EU regions towards a climate-neutral industry: transition challenges" and the CoR President spoke in a session on "Implementing the resilient transition: Views from the Member States and regions".

THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS



- welcomes the focus on industrial ecosystems and technology leadership, and underlines the importance of reinforcing the place-based dimension;

- stresses the need to strengthen the regional ecosystem approach, so as to effectively involve key actors at local and regional level;

- underlines that the regional dimension can best be reinforced by using the regional smart specialisation strategies as a blueprint for interregional cooperation;

- recognises growing concerns about the uneven recovery in various European regions. The EU must reinforce its efforts to close this gap by supporting businesses, digitalising industry and making it more sustainable;

- stresses that industry will face challenges in implementing the objectives of the Fit for 55 package, and that local and regional authorities should be involved in discussions on how to ensure that infrastructure proposals are successfully implemented;

- calls for support to be provided to SMEs to help them devise a digital strategy or action plan, by using financial instruments from InvestEU and concerning solvency risks affecting SMEs;

- urges the European Commission to come up with a mechanism for assessment and prevention of takeovers of companies in sectors with a vital or strategic role of importance in the European economy;

- points out that the European Union's State aid framework needs to be fundamentally recalibrated in order to examine how the gradual transformation of energy-intensive and foreign-trade-dependent commodity industries into low-carbon and carbon-neutral processes can be better supported.