The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her annual State of the European Union address and put the European Green Deal in the spotlight.

The President underlined that this initiative has become a centerpiece of the EU economy and that it has unparalleled ambition. She also pointed out that thanks to it and the NextGenerationEU funds, Europe has started to "become more independent in critical sectors, such as energy, chips or raw materials".

However, von der Leyen also stressed the urgent need to support home-grown industry and avoid dependence on third parties while accelerating the growth of clean technologies.

During her speech, the President of the European Commission stated that she will continue to support European industry during the transition to the next phase of the European Green Deal. "We started with a package of measures, from the Net-Zero Industry Act to the Critical Raw Materials Act. With our industrial strategy , we analyzed the risks and needs of each ecosystem in this transition," she said.

Fair competition

"Competition is only true as long as it is fair," von der Leyen added, referring to the solar and electric vehicle industry. "Too often, our companies are excluded from foreign markets or are victims of predatory practices. They are often undercut by competitors benefitting from huge state subsidies. We have not forgotten how China's unfair trade practices affected our solar industry. Many young businesses were pushed out by heavily subsidised Chinese competitors," she explained.

Regarding fair competition, she also took the electric vehicle sector as an example. She noted that "it is a crucial industry for the clean economy, with huge potential for Europe. But world markets are flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars. And their price is kept artificially low thanks to huge state subsidies." A situation that is distorting the European market.

Therefore, she announced that the Commission will launch an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles from China.

The President also stressed that the wind industry, so central to its delivery, was facing a unique set of challenges. To address these challenges, President von der Leyen announced a new ‘Wind Power Package’. And concluded that "the future of our clean tech industry has to be made in Europe".

The EU Commission’s European Wind Power Package aims to fast-track permitting more than current legislation already does, improve auction systems in Member States, and focus on skills, access to finance and stable supply chains.

The European renewable industry welcomes the latest statements

The industry's reactions were not long in coming. SolarPower Europe issued a statement welcoming the President's words.