According to a near-final version of the Parliament’s report on the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), obtained by Contexte, lead rapporteurs are seeking to narrow the conditions under which third countries can benefit from a status equivalent to ‘Made in Europe’ in public support schemes and public procurement.
The Commission proposed in March that all countries with a public procurement or trade agreement with the EU could be granted equivalent status, subject to exclusions for countries that do not offer EU producers the same treatment as domestic ones.
Pierre Jouvet (S&D), Anna Cavazzini (Greens) and Christophe Grudler (Renew) instead want the Commission to draw up a list of countries eligible for ‘Made in Europe’-equivalent status.
These countries would have to meet seven conditions, including equal treatment for EU products and compliance with the Paris climate agreement. In key sectors such as steel and electric cars, public procurement contracts and 90% of public aid would also have to include a minimum share of European content.
European preference could be waived if it increases the cost of a project by more than 40%, compared with 25% under the Commission’s proposal. Their report is due to be finalised on 9 September.
