AEGIS Europe endorses Antwerp Declaration Community, calls for more man-power for trade defence, and for emergency industrial measures
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AEGIS Europe endorses Antwerp Declaration Community, calls for more man-power for trade defence, and for emergency industrial measures
Following the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, AEGIS Europe reiterates that Europe’s resilience, security, and prosperity rest on the competitiveness of its industrial base.
In a period marked by geopolitical shocks, structural dependencies, overcapacities and intensifying global competition, Europe cannot safeguard its strategic autonomy without a strong European industry. At the Summit, more than 500 business leaders and representatives of the workforce met with senior European decision-makers, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and several heads of state. As Belgian Prime Minister De Wever warned during the Summit, Europe is “on the brink of an existential crisis”, due to increased energy prices, dumping and regulatory pressure.
Two years after industrial leaders first signed the Antwerp Declaration, the outlook has deteriorated across most indicators, as indicated in a recent Deloitte report. In parallel, the Draghi Observatory report by EPIC indicates that as of January 2026 only 15.1% of the recommendations associated with the Draghi agenda have been fully implemented over the past two years. These findings underline a widening gap between Europe’s industrial ambitions and delivery on the ground, even as the pace of site closures and job losses accelerates in vital sectors. In this context, AEGIS Europe endorses the Antwerp Declaration Community’s call for urgent and bold action by EU leaders meeting in Alden-Biesen.
We urge the adoption of a package of emergency industrial policy measures centered on:
• Ensuring fair trade and a level playing field. Trade defence instruments (TDI) must be faster, stronger, and adapted to current market realities. This requires the immediate allocation of additional man-power to DG TRADE to ensure timely and effective use of the existing trade defence instruments action and the modernising the EU’s TDI toolbox. The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) should be beefed up and used more systematically by DG COMP and DG GROW to tackle distortions on the Single Market.
• Introducing European content in public procurement. Public procurement should prioritise products made in Europe in forthcoming initiatives, including the Industry Accelerator Act, to support industrial capacity and jobs across the Union in sectors already facing dependencies and in those at risk due to their strategic importance and evolving market conditions.
This should also apply to the use of public funds more generally. Furthermore, risk assessments should be carried out vis-à-vis foreign high-risk suppliers. These initiatives should improve transparency on the origin of products and rely on sectoral and consistent principles and criteria, ensuring that demand-side measures, funding and procurement rules jointly contribute to strengthening EU-based production.
This is a decisive moment. Europe must move from diagnosis to delivery – restoring industrial competitiveness, safeguarding high-quality jobs, and turning the Clean Industrial Deal into tangible outcomes in 2026.