Brussels, 16 May 2024
The EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, has started a 2-day mission in Germany to engage with government and industry on current EU priorities, spanning from Clean Tech to Aerospace and Automotive. The Commission is committed to boost manufacturing of clean technologies and ensure the EU industry remains competitive globally.
This morning, Commissioner Breton discussed current EU political priorities with Wolfgang Schmidt, Minister in the Federal Chancellery. He then exchanged with members of the EU affairs Committee at the German Bundestag, followed by a meeting with Anton Hofreiter, President of the Committee. He later met with Robert Habeck, Minister for Economy and Climate, to discuss the implementation of the EU Acts on Net Zero Industry, Critical Raw Materials, Chips and Artificial Intelligence, as well as future priorities to ensure the EU’s competitiveness and economic security.
This afternoon, the Commissioner will meet with Christian Lindner, Minister of Finance, to discuss on EU competitiveness and investment needs, before meeting with Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Chair of the Defence Committee of the Bundestag, to discuss the EU defence industrial ramp-up and support to Ukraine. He will then visit the Siemens electrolyser production Facility, an illustration of the EU’s effort to lead the Clean Tech global race and a key asset to achieve Europe’s clean hydrogen ambition.
Tomorrow, Commissioner Breton will travel to the Lausitz region with Christian Ehler, Member of the European Parliament, to participate at the ‘DOCK3′ event on structural change, economic transition, and digitisation in public administration and education, among other topics. The Commissioner will discuss with local leaders how to rapidly ramp up net zero technology manufacturing capacities in the Lausitz region, by becoming one of the first Net Zero Acceleration Valleys in Europe.
Source – EU Commission