AEGIS Europe Statement on European content and preference
/AEGIS Europe Statement on European content and preference
AEGIS Europe supports the inclusion of European content and European preference considerations in forthcoming legislative initiatives, notably the Industrial Accelerator Act and the revision of the Public Procurement Directives.
Against a backdrop of global overcapacities, persistent unfair competition and rising economic security concerns, EU policy must more effectively support manufacturing capacity located in Europe, both for sectors already facing economic dependency and for those likely to be at risk in the coming years due to their strategic nature and ongoing market evolutions. European industries operate under high standards in terms of sustainability, safety and innovation.
Forthcoming EU legislation should therefore enable greater transparency on where products are manufactured, allowing public authorities and market actors to better align purchasing, investment and policy decisions with Europe’s industrial, climate and security objectives, while remaining proportionate and adaptable to sector-specific needs and constraints.
In situations where simple but reliable and mandatory information is seen as an effective instrument to promote products proudly made in Europe, and provided that clear and representative customs rules of origin or European content criteria are supported and recognised as such by the sector and value chain concerned, mandatory origin marking should be considered as a mean to achieve these objectives and should be proposed under the Industry Accelerator Act.
In any case, European content considerations must be addressed in a coherent manner across EU instruments and not confined to public projects alone. As a strategic lever, public procurement should also fully contribute to supporting European industrial capacity. The revision of the Public Procurement Directives should therefore allow for a genuine European preference, including through clear thresholds and criteria reflecting the proportion of value originating outside of Europe.
Contracting authorities should exclude economic operators from countries that are not parties to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) or to equivalent agreements with the EU, as well as tenders where a substantial share of the products or components originates from third countries.
Overall, the Industrial Accelerator Act and the revision of the Public Procurement Directives should rely on consistent principles and criteria, ensuring that demand-side measures, funding, and procurement rules jointly contribute to strengthening European production, resilient supply chains, and strategic autonomy.
AEGIS Europe and its members stand ready to engage constructively with the European Commission to help deliver a balanced framework that promotes European manufacturing, preserves an open but fair internal market, and reinforces Europe’s long-term industrial strength.