Rapporteur Talks

The European Union aims to reach climate neutrality by 2050, with a 55% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Meeting these goals will not only require decarbonising our energy system but also fundamentally transforming industrial production.

As part of its efforts to decarbonise energy-intensive industries, the European Commission is designing the legislative proposal Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA). The IAA will build on the provisions of the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) to speed up permitting procedures and the clean transition in these sectors while maintaining competitiveness. Part of the strategy is to create markets that drive early demand for low-carbon products in the EU. Called “Green Lead Markets”, these markets aim to create strong, policy-backed demand for products made with clean technologies, notably hydrogen-based products, in sectors like steel, fertilisers, chemicals, and transport.

The goal of Green Lead Markets is to actively stimulate the market for green products through different measures and lead to cost reductions. Those include carbon footprint labels, green public procurement, and buyer obligations, supporting industrial competitiveness while reducing emissions. However, criticisms of Green Lead Markets remain, for instance on the high cost of green products. Some argue that the EU has an opportunity to become the global standard-setter for low-carbon products, but achieving this will need coordinated market strategies, investment, and regulation.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to explore Green Lead Markets and the potential they hold for driving industrial decarbonisation across the EU. Questions to be discussed include:

- What is the role of Green Lead Markets in decarbonising industries in the EU?

- How can the EU ensure Green Lead Markets create lasting demand for green products? What role will the upcoming IAA play in this?

- How will Green Lead Markets help Europe stay competitive?

The EU-US trade deal introduced during President Trump's administration marks a turning point for transatlantic economic relations, with direct consequences for Europe’s highly integrated industrial value chains. While the agreement promises greater predictability and tariff reduction in some sectors, lingering disputes over standards, subsidies, and state support continue to create uncertainty for European exporters.

In addition, the United States imposed in August 2025 new tariffs that are far higher than this 15% on a broad range of industrial products, in the context of Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium derivatives. About 40% of US machinery imports from the EU are now subject to a 50% tariff on the metal content of the product. Moreover, it leads to additional bureaucracy. It is impossible for companies to find out where steel was cast and aluminium melted for each part. That is why some companies have stopped exports completely to the United States. These dynamics are particularly acute in industries where global competitiveness relies on innovation, scale, and stable market access.

European industrial exporters—especially manufacturers of machinery and hightech equipment—are facing increasing challenges as access to key markets like the United States and China becomes more restricted. Some stakeholders believe that Europe’s current trade strategy might not be fit for purpose. Considering this, industrial policy and trade diplomacy will be central in shaping Europe’s response to these challenges. These could strengthen the EU’s capacity for innovation, resilience, and sustainability, ensuring that European manufacturers remain competitive despite shifting global value chains.

Beyond the transatlantic relationship, the EU’s ability to deepen collaboration with other global actors such as China, India, and Mercosur will be essential. These partnerships not only offer alternative growth markets for European industrial goods but also serve as testing grounds for advancing fair trade practices or sustainability standards.

Listen to this Euractiv Virtual Conference to explore the implications of the recent EU-US trade deal and assess its impact on Europe’s export-oriented industrial sector. Questions to be addressed include:
- What is the current state of transatlantic trade in industrial goods?
- What is the impact of the US tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives and on key EU industrial sectors?
- How are European machine manufacturers adapting to market pressures?
- What is the role of emerging EU Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Mercosur, India, and other actors?
- Could these FTAs compensate for losses in traditional markets like the US?

How can artistic expression and immersive experiences deepen our understanding of the ocean? Euractiv's Xhoi Zajmi and Embodied Sounds' Joshua Sam Miller explore how art meets ocean advocacy, connecting communities in meaningful ways.

After the International Maritime Organization (IMO) voted to postpone the adoption of its Net Zero Framework by 12 months, stakeholders fear that global shipping could enter another year without clear direction. For Europe’s shipping and energy sectors to hit fast-forward, the months ahead will be pivotal in proving that clear policy direction and coordinated investment can deliver both climate ambition and industrial competitiveness.

This pause on the global stage puts the spotlight on Europe. The EU is tasked with doubling its efforts to modernise and decarbonise the maritime sector by working to ensure that the transition to clean fuels is not only possible, but economically viable.

Policymakers and industry are now faced with translating the IMO's global climate ambition into practical measures that safeguard Europe’s competitiveness - by ensuring a sufficient and affordable supply of sustainable fuels, upgrading port infrastructure across Member States, and supporting shipowners in adopting new technologies. These steps will be key in keeping Europe at the forefront of maritime innovation and industrial leadership.

Among alternative fuels, clean ammonia is gaining momentum as a zero-carbon energy carrier. Produced using renewable and low-carbon energy, ammonia emits no carbon when combusted, and benefits from an existing global production and trade network. Leveraging this infrastructure can help reduce costs and accelerate the transition to cleaner fuels – provided that production, safety, and environmental standards are robustly managed.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to discuss how Europe can turn the IMO’s delay into an opportunity for leadership, and to explore the role of ammonia in decarbonising the maritime sector - from global regulation to EU implementation.

How can ocean literacy empower citizens, shape policy, and inspire collective action to protect Europe’s seas? Euractiv’s Xhoi Zajmi speaks with Adeline Plé from the Surfrider Foundation Europe and Eliane Vera Paz from Atlantic Cities, to understand how our connection to the ocean can drive meaningful change.

Under the framework of the Spain Digital Week, the first-ever initiative in Brussels that activates policy convenings (both public and private) on the role of the Spanish community in shaping the European Union’s economic and digital policy agenda, Adigital -the Spanish Association for the Digital Economy-, through its Permanent Office in Brussels, organizes this public policy conference on the relevant issue of economic competitiveness and digitalization as the main driver, with EURACTIV as its European Media Partner.

This Policy Conference focuses on boosting economic competitiveness through digitalization and strategic investments. It explores the connections between the Multiannual Financial Framework and the proposal for the European Competitiveness Fund, the Startup and Scaleup Strategy, and Competitiveness Compass to deliver concrete policy options for accelerating digital investments and strengthening Europe’s tech strategic autonomy, by creating a clear, agile governance framework that secures Europe’s leadership in the global digital economy.

Organised by: Adigital
Media Partner: Euractiv

Despite significant progress on the supply side, the EU market for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) is growing more slowly than anticipated across all vehicle segments, including cars and vans (LDVs), as well as medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses and coaches (HDVs).

For example, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the share of electric vehicle sales increased in 2024 in 14 out of 27 EU member states. However, it either stalled or declined in the remaining ones, including in key markets such as Germany and France, largely due to the phasing out or reduction of subsidies.

To tackle these challenges, the European Commission has put forward several proposals aimed at accelerating ZEVs adoption. The most recent suggests extending exemptions from tolls and road user charges for zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles (trucks and buses) until June 2031, replacing the previous 2025 deadline.

Nevertheless, some stakeholders argue that more can be done to stimulate the ZEV market across different vehicle segments, and suggest a range of policy options.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to explore the right mix of policy instruments needed to drive ZEVs demand and support Europe’s climate and industrial objectives. Questions to be discussed include:

• Why is ZEVs demand lagging in parts of the EU despite regulatory clarity and growing supply?
• What tools do governments have at their disposal to stimulate demand (e.g. fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, public procurement strategies, mandates)?
• Can a pan-EU approach be effective, or should incentives remain within the remit of national governments?
• Are mandates a viable solution for corporate fleets? What risks and opportunities do they present?
• What lessons can be drawn from frontrunner countries such as Norway, Switzerland and others?

The European Commission’s upcoming Digital Networks Act (DNA) is set to reshape the future of connectivity in Europe. By overhauling the rules that govern telecom operators, cloud services, and content providers, the DNA raises fundamental questions about fairness, competition, innovation, and the very architecture of our open internet.

Listen to this hybrid event to examine the risks and opportunities, and jointly debate what kind of DNA will truly serve Europeans in the years ahead.

Panel 3 – How Can the Digital Networks Act Truly Deliver for Europeans?

Central question: How can we ensure that the DNA becomes a tool that delivers best-in-class connectivity and fosters competition?

To that end, this panel will cut through perception to examine the realities: the financial health of telecom companies, the state of network roll-out, as well as the dynamics between tech and telcos.

The discussion will unpack persistent arguments driving the DNA debate (investment gaps, traffic growth, AI’s impact) and the telecom sector’s push for consolidation. Most importantly, the panel will consider what legislative design choices could make the DNA genuinely effective for European consumers, businesses, and innovators.

The European Commission’s upcoming Digital Networks Act (DNA) is set to reshape the future of connectivity in Europe. By overhauling the rules that govern telecom operators, cloud services, and content providers, the DNA raises fundamental questions about fairness, competition, innovation, and the very architecture of our open internet.

Join this hybrid event to examine the risks and opportunities, and jointly debate what kind of DNA will truly serve Europeans in the years ahead.

Panel 1 – An Uneven Playing Field for Connectivity: Myth or Reality?

Central question: Should rules originally designed to regulate telecom operators be extended to the wider tech sector?

In its white paper on how to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs and recent DNA call for evidence, the European Commission asserts there is increasing convergence between telecoms and the tech sector (particularly cloud and content providers). Telecom providers, for their part, build on this assumption to advance claims that the regulatory framework therefore should converge as well.

This panel will unpack the structural and functional differences between the two sectors, while also examining the collaborative dynamics that underpin their relationships. We will walk through the patchwork of existing EU frameworks to answer one question: is extending the EECC to digital actors necessary, fair, or even workable?

Panel 2 – How Does the DNA Risk Threatening the Open Internet?

Central question: What concrete risks does the Digital Networks Act pose to the open internet?

This panel will examine the reality of collaboration between telecoms and tech, and assess dangerous proposals that keep resurfacing – in the DNA call for evidence and earlier public consultations, for example.

A central theme will be how any form of dispute resolution for IP interconnection would evolve into network fees – and how such measures would fundamentally reshape the way the internet functions today. Experts with first-hand experience will share their insights, underscoring the real-world stakes for competition, innovation, and end users.

In the context of the EU’s reindustralisation efforts, aimed at strengthening its manufacturing sector, boosting economic growth, and enhancing its strategic independence, new technologies and innovations continue to emerge. Industrial workplace environments are evolving too, reshaping the landscape for workers across all industries. As these transformations can pose risks to workers' physical and mental health, the need to safeguard their well-being and safety is paramount. This shift also emphasises the need for preventive measures, adapted workplaces, and coherent policies at EU level.

To better protect workers, the European Commission has introduced several key initiatives, including the European Pillar of Social Rights, and the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021-2027. The Occupational safety and health (OSH) Framework Directive also sets out core principles aimed at improving workers’ wellbeing. All these efforts are supported by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), which advocates for safer and healthier workplaces.

However, despite these EU initiatives, legislation on workers’ health and safety is still not aligned across EU member states. Some stakeholders are therefore calling for more comprehensive, all-encompassing and worker-centered EU policies.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to explore how to protect workers’ health and safety in the EU, and how innovation is transforming industrial workplaces. Questions to be addressed include:

• How do the EU’s reindustrialisation efforts shape new industrial workplaces? How do they impact workers’ health and safety?
• What practical EU legislative tools and measures can be implemented to address these challenges?
• How can efficient practices for worker protection be shared across EU member states?
• How can we proactively design EU worker-centric policies that equip the workforce for future workplaces, driven by rapid technological change? How to ensure that work legislation is uniform across member states?