A “Made in Europe” Strategy With New Industrial Accelerator Act

The European Union is moving to put domestic manufacturing at the centre of its economic strategy, with the European Commission’s proposed Industrial Accelerator Act seeking to strengthen European production, attract investment and accelerate the transition toward cleaner industry.

Presented in March 2026, the proposal combines industrial policy, climate objectives and economic-security measures in an effort to make European companies more competitive in an increasingly fragmented global economy.

A bigger role for European manufacturing

One of the proposal’s headline ambitions is to increase manufacturing’s contribution to the EU economy. The Commission points to manufacturing accounting for 14.3% of EU GDP in 2024, with a longer-term objective of reaching 20% by 2035.

The strategy focuses particularly on industries considered important to Europe’s economic resilience, including steel, cement, aluminium, automotive production and net-zero technologies.

The underlying idea is straightforward: European public spending should help create demand for products manufactured within Europe, particularly where those products also contribute to the bloc’s decarbonisation goals.

Public money could favour European-made products

The Act would introduce “Made in EU” and low-carbon criteria into selected public procurement procedures and government support programmes.

That could give European producers an advantage when competing for projects backed by public funds, while creating stronger markets for technologies such as batteries, solar equipment, wind technologies, heat pumps and other clean-energy solutions.

The Commission has also linked the approach to the principle of reciprocity. Companies from countries that provide comparable access to their own public procurement markets could receive equivalent treatment under certain circumstances.

Faster permits for industrial projects

The proposal also targets one of Europe’s long-standing industrial bottlenecks: lengthy permitting procedures.

Under the planned framework, industrial projects would move toward a digital “one project, one procedure” system, designed to reduce administrative duplication. The Commission’s plans include a target of no more than 18 months for permitting projects in areas such as energy-intensive industries and clean technologies.

EU member states would additionally be able to establish Industrial Acceleration Areas, where infrastructure and certain permitting requirements could be prepared in advance to make new investment projects easier to launch.

New conditions for some foreign investment

The proposal does not close Europe to foreign capital. Instead, it seeks to attach conditions to certain large investments in strategically important industries.

For qualifying investments above €100 million in sectors where a single third country has a particularly strong global manufacturing position, investors could be required to demonstrate benefits for the European economy.

Those conditions can include technology and knowledge transfer, local-content commitments, research and development and employment requirements. The Commission has proposed a minimum 50% level of European employment for investments falling within the relevant framework.

The aim is to ensure that foreign investment contributes to Europe’s industrial capacity rather than simply providing access to the Single Market.

What happens next?

The Industrial Accelerator Act is currently a legislative proposal, rather than law. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union will need to negotiate its final form before it can be adopted and enter into force.

That means several important details could still change during the legislative process, including the precise sectors covered, the conditions attached to public support and investment, and how the “Made in EU” requirements will operate in practice.

If adopted, however, the legislation could mark a significant shift in how Europe uses public spending, industrial regulation and investment policy: not only to decarbonise its economy, but also to rebuild manufacturing capacity on European soil.