NextFin News - In a coordinated effort to redefine the continent’s economic future, European Commission Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné, alongside over 1,100 business leaders, issued a high-stakes call on February 2, 2026, for a "European preference" policy. This initiative, aimed at securing the bloc’s industrial independence, demands that every euro of European public funding be tied to local production and the creation of qualitative jobs. The move comes as the European Union (EU) faces an increasingly hostile global trade environment characterized by massive subsidies and new tariffs under the administration of U.S. President Trump.
The proposal, co-signed by CEOs from industrial giants such as ArcelorMittal, Novo Nordisk, and Bosch, targets strategic sectors including green technology, semiconductors, and cloud infrastructure. According to Séjourné, the EU can no longer afford to be a "playground" for global competitors while the U.S. and China utilize "Buy American" and "Made in China" schemes to protect their own assets. The timing is critical, as EU leaders prepare for a high-stakes retreat on February 12 in Alden Biesen, Belgium, where European Council President António Costa will attempt to forge a unified competitiveness strategy amidst deep internal divisions.
The push for economic sovereignty is driven by stark data reflecting Europe’s eroding market position. In 2025, the EU recorded a record trade deficit of €350 billion with China, while labor productivity has fallen to roughly 80% of U.S. levels. Analysis of the "Draghi Report," authored by former European Central Bank head Mario Draghi, suggests that Europe’s failure to capitalize on the first digital revolution has left it dangerously dependent on foreign tech stacks. Currently, non-EU countries provide over 80% of the digital products and infrastructure used within the bloc, a vulnerability that Séjourné argues must be corrected through "European effective control" over key value chains.
However, the path to industrial independence is fraught with internal friction. While France and Italy have championed joint borrowing and aggressive industrial policy, smaller member states and the current German leadership under Chancellor Friedrich Merz remain wary. Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently proposed a counter-strategy focused on regulatory simplification and a pause on certain Green Deal requirements to relieve the car industry. These nations fear that a strict "European preference" might disproportionately benefit the bloc’s largest economies while stifling the innovation that comes from global competition.
The geopolitical tension with Washington adds another layer of complexity. U.S. President Trump has openly criticized EU digital regulations, such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), as discriminatory against American firms. In late 2025, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explicitly linked the removal of these regulations to potential relief from U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs. This "regulatory-for-trade" pressure has accelerated the EU’s desire to decouple its strategic industries from Silicon Valley, with new legislative drafts like the Industrial Accelerator Act already including extensive "Buy European" requirements.
Looking forward, the implementation of this "Made in Europe" doctrine will likely center on the revision of public procurement directives in late 2026. By shifting the primary selection criteria from "lowest price" to "strategic resilience," the EU aims to build a "Eurostack" of indigenous capabilities. While this move risks increasing costs for consumers and businesses in the short term, the prevailing sentiment among Brussels' elite is that the cost of dependency—exposed by the energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine—is far higher. The coming months will determine if Europe can transform this rhetoric into a functional industrial shield without triggering a full-scale trade war with its traditional allies.
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