Chovanec: EU Needs Europe-wide Industrial Policy Strategy
Brussels, May 29 (TASR-correspondent) – Member states of the European Union called on the European Commission on Monday to produce a Europe-wide industrial policy strategy that will be aimed at protecting the interests of European industry, TASR learnt from Slovak Economy Ministry State Secretary Rastislav Chovanec on the same day.
Speaking to TASR after a meeting of the Competitiveness Council in Brussels, Chovanec said that the strategy would be aimed at maintaining the competitiveness of European industry at the global level.
He noted that EU-member states expect the Commission to adopt measures that, in addition to ensuring further growth for European industry, will shield it from possible negative ramifications of other agreements.
“This is a key topic for Slovakia because industry is a significant part of our economy, and I’m happy to see that new measures should further bolster the role of industry,” said Chovanec.
The strategy should cover all sectors, including the cornerstones of Slovakia’s industry – car production and electrical engineering.
Chovanec also noted that the EU’s environmental standards are highly stringent and that Slovakia favours making them even stricter. This mustn’t be to the detriment of industry’s competitiveness, however, he said.
