Antwerp Call to Alden Biesen Urges Emergency Industrial Policy Measures to Restore EU Competitiveness

Industry representatives argue that without a strong European industry, there can be no resilient, safe or economically secure Europe. Addressed directly to Members of the European Council ahead of their retreat in Alden Biesen, the Antwerp Call stresses that global competition is intensifying, capital allocation decisions for the 2030s are being made now, and Europe is increasingly viewed as uninvestable.

Emergency Industrial Policy Measures at the Core of the Antwerp Call to Alden Biesen

The Antwerp Call to Alden Biesen highlights that around 83 percent of key performance indicators monitored under the Antwerp Declaration have shown no significant improvement. Electricity prices in Europe remain higher than in competing regions, while carbon costs are described as unique to the EU and structurally increasing year on year.

Signatories warn that the pace of site closures and job losses across vital sectors is unprecedented. At the same time, China is expanding high tech industrial capacity and accelerating decarbonisation, while the United States continues to deploy assertive industrial and trade measures to boost domestic manufacturing.

The declaration urges EU leaders to move from “diagnosis to delivery” and to ensure that the Clean Industrial Deal produces tangible outcomes on factory floors by 2026.

Energy and carbon costs in Europe

A central demand of the Antwerp Call to Alden Biesen is to bring energy and carbon costs down. Industry groups argue that regulatory charges, in addition to commodity prices, are undermining competitiveness.

For chemicals, steel, cement and other energy intensive sectors, sustained high electricity and emissions costs risk carbon leakage, reduced investment in EU production assets and increased reliance on imports. Downstream manufacturers and supply chain partners face knock on effects through higher input prices and reduced supply resilience.

Fair trade and a stronger Single Market

The Antwerp Call to Alden Biesen also calls for stronger trade defence, improved access to finance and new trade agreements to secure critical supplies and expand export markets. It highlights fragmentation of the Single Market as a primary obstacle to competitiveness and urges leaders to leverage and enforce its rules more effectively.

Public procurement and private buyer initiatives are identified as tools to stimulate demand for net zero and circular products made in Europe, supported by transparent product and environmental carbon footprint data.

For regulatory professionals, compliance teams and investors, the message is clear: 2026 may mark a turning point in EU industrial and climate policy implementation.