Losing competitiveness, European industry is penalized by energy prices, which are much higher than elsewhere.
The head of the International Energy Agency sounds the alarm: European industry is penalized by high energy prices, while gas is more expensive than in the United States and electricity more expensive than in China. “The price of natural gas in Europe is five times higher than that of the United States and the price of electricity in Europe is three times higher than in China,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the Agency International Energy Agency (AIE), during the conference of the French Electricity Union (UFE).
Europe must establish a “clear strategy”
“How can European manufacturers, especially those for whom the cost of energy represents a significant part of their overall cost, compete with other countries? […] European industry, or more precisely manufacturing industry, is entering a decisive period which could have significant consequences for the European economy, Europe’s weight in foreign affairs and Europe’s security. specified Dr. Birol.
When it comes to “clean technologies” — solar panels, wind power, batteries, electrolyzers — “Europe is clearly behind many other economic powers such as China, the United States and, in some cases , even India and other countries”, specified the head of the IEA, referring to the difficulty for the European Union to establish a “clear strategy”. “Europe must urgently address these issues and develop a new master plan for industry,” he added, echoing Mario Draghi’s report on the loss of competitiveness of European industry, Italian Prime Minister and former President of the ECB.
Strategic errors
For Dr Birol, we must question support for “existing industries, iron, steel, petrochemicals, aluminum” and how to “bridge the cost gap between them and their competitors”. According to him, “it is perhaps necessary to have a more muscular trade policy from Europe”, since it has committed “three strategic errors” in the past: too great a dependence on Russian gas, a disinterest in nuclear energy and the abandonment of solar energy which benefited China. “China now manufactures 80% of solar panels, 20 years ago, France was the leader” thanks to subsidies, he stressed.
