Poland, 15 EU countries back Warsaw Declaration on industrial competitiveness

Minister of Finance and Economy of Poland Andrzej Domański chaired the 9th Friends of Industry Ministerial Conference yesterday.

The event brought together representatives from 21 EU member states and European Commission Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné. Discussions focused on protecting and strengthening the competitiveness of European industry and economic security amid geopolitical challenges, CE Report informs via the Ministry of Economic Development and Tecnology of the Republic of Poland's official website.

The 9th Friends of Industry Ministerial Conference, held in Warsaw, aimed to give fresh momentum to urgent EU action in response to growing competitive and geopolitical pressures threatening European industry and economic security.

The central theme of the discussions was the importance of a strong and competitive industrial sector as the foundation of Europe's economic security.

"Europe must put an end to its economic naivety and firmly defend the interests of European industry. We must be prepared to say no when we see certain countries using, for example, highly aggressive subsidies to support their own exports," said Domański.

The conference began with a session involving representatives of European business organisations, giving industry a strong voice in the discussions. The organisations highlighted the need for meaningful administrative simplification, lower energy costs and protection of European industry against unfair foreign competition.

Priorities of EU Industrial Policy

Discussions focused on the most urgent priorities of EU industrial policy, including improving the competitiveness of European industry, strengthening protection against unfair competition through modernised trade defence instruments, ensuring industrial competitiveness during decarbonisation and reducing regulatory burdens.

The conference addressed key challenges facing European industry, which were also identified in the conclusions of the European Council meeting held on 15–16 October 2026.

Participants stressed the importance of protecting Europe's existing industrial base while creating favourable conditions for investment, innovation and the development of new industrial capabilities.

Europe now needs a more coherent, pragmatic and proactive industrial policy that combines economic openness with resilience against global threats, decarbonisation with the preservation of Europe's industrial base, and ambitious political objectives with practical conditions for industrial development.

"Industrial competitiveness has become a matter of economic security and sovereignty for Europe and its member states. In this context, we have three main priorities.

The first is protecting our industry and restoring the competitiveness of European companies. This means ensuring fairness in our trade relations.

The second objective is creating new markets. Our industry must innovate and remain competitive.

The third priority concerns simplifying regulations to make our policies more coherent, simpler and easier to implement. Businesses need predictability, stability and conditions that support competitiveness," said Stéphane Séjourné, European Commission Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy.

Warsaw Declaration to Contribute to European Commission's Industrial Policy

The Warsaw Declaration, prepared by Poland and supported by 15 EU member states, represents a concrete contribution to the European Commission's work on EU industrial policy.

It outlines priorities and specific proposals for EU action aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of European industry, preserving its production capacity and creating conditions for further development.

"Europe must develop its own critical technologies and reduce its dependence on external suppliers. It is extremely important that we consider our sovereignty, including in the context of technological changes, as these will also determine the competitiveness of our economy," Minister Domański emphasised.

The Warsaw Declaration identifies the main areas of action needed to strengthen European industrial competitiveness.

Key Proposals of the Warsaw Declaration

1. Competitiveness as a Horizontal Principle of EU Policies (Competitiveness by Design)

The competitiveness of European industry should become one of the fundamental principles guiding EU policymaking.

It should be considered from the earliest stages of policy development, across all policy areas and in the work of all configurations of the Council of the European Union.

2. Fully Unlocking the Potential of the Single Market

The single market is Europe's greatest asset in global competition, but its potential remains underutilised.

The declaration calls for removing the ten barriers identified as the most significant in the EU Single Market Strategy, known as the "Terrible Ten," and preventing the introduction of additional national requirements, a practice known as "gold-plating."

3. Competitive Energy Prices and Raw Material Security

Reducing the structural gap in energy costs between Europe and its global competitors requires lowering industrial energy costs and investing in energy generation, grids and storage while maintaining technological neutrality.

Europe should also develop the extraction, processing and recycling of critical raw materials, diversify supply sources and ensure that valuable secondary raw materials remain available to European industry.

4. Technological Sovereignty and Industrial Artificial Intelligence

Europe must develop its own critical technologies and reduce dependence on external suppliers.

Industrial artificial intelligence must become one of Europe's key industrial capabilities.

The development of European technologies should be open to companies from all EU member states, ensuring that they can participate in and benefit from technological progress.

5. Protecting European Industry Against Unfair Global Competition

Global production overcapacity and unfair trade practices are causing serious disruption to European industry.

The declaration calls for modernising trade defence instruments to enable faster and more proactive responses.

Such protection should address disruptions affecting entire sectors and value chains rather than individual products alone.

The Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) should strengthen European production, including through proportionate EU-origin requirements, while preserving the integrity of the single market.

6. Decarbonisation Without Sacrificing Industrial Competitiveness

Decarbonisation must go hand in hand with maintaining a strong and competitive industrial sector in Europe.

Reviews of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) should ensure predictable investment conditions and effective protection against carbon leakage.

This includes maintaining free emissions allowances, with the effectiveness of CBAM taken into account when determining the pace of their phase-out.

Decarbonisation measures affecting access to the single market must ensure fair competition while recognising the different starting points of EU member states in their energy transitions.

The declaration also calls for simplifying requirements for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) in industry and allowing greater flexibility in implementing the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), while maintaining the objectives of existing legislation.

7. From Regulation to Concrete Results

European industry can no longer afford to wait for the results of successive regulatory initiatives.

The EU must focus on effectively implementing adopted measures and achieving tangible results.

Key priorities include simplifying legislation, shortening administrative procedures and establishing regulatory restraint as a permanent principle of EU policymaking.

What Is the Friends of Industry Initiative?

Friends of Industry is an informal cooperation initiative among EU member states aimed at coordinating positions on industrial policy, competitiveness and the conditions under which industry operates within the European Union.

Its main platform consists of annual informal conferences of ministers responsible for industry, focusing on broad industrial policy issues and strategic challenges facing the EU's industrial sector.

Photo: Ministry of Economic Development and Tecnology of the Republic of Poland