Germany, France agree on a joint plan for Europe industrial policy

EU to cut greenhouse gas emissions for trucks

BERLIN — France and Germany on Tuesday agreed on a joint plan for industrial policy in Europe, aiming to support local companies to compete with foreign rivals and better protect key technologies from overseas takeovers.

The move is driven by concerns about foreign — particularly Chinese — companies acquiring European know-how and eroding the manufacturing base on which much of the continent’s wealth is built.

The proposals, presented by German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier and his French counterpart Bruno Le Maire after talks in Berlin, call for more investment in innovative technologies and an overhaul of the European Union’s (EU) competition rules.

“Europe will only remain a great industrial continent if we’re able to join forces, change European rules that are now outdated and better protect ourselves,” Mr. Le Maire said.

In their five-page strategy paper, France and Germany proposed giving the European Council, the forum representing EU governments, the right to override some antitrust decisions by the European Commission in certain “well-defined cases.”

Berlin and Paris want to overhaul EU merger rules following the European Commission’s veto of efforts by Siemens and Alstom create a European rail champion to compete with larger foreign rivals.

The two European countries suggested updating merger guidelines to take greater account of competition at the global level rather than at the European level.

“It’s the first time that France and Germany have put forward proposals to transform EU competition rules,” Mr. Le Maire said. “We have powerful, modern technologies and we don’t want them to serve other continents than ours.”

Mr. Le Maire also said France and Germany hoped to get European Commission state aid approval for a new joint battery initiative before April 1. Mr. Altmaier said Germany and France had earmarked a combined €1.7 billion to support the local production of battery cells for electric vehicles.

“I expect a decision about the consortia very soon, probably in the coming weeks,” Mr. Altmaier said.

The push is meant to reduce the dependence of European carmakers on Asian electric vehicle (EV) battery suppliers and protect local jobs at risk from the shift away from combustion engines.

Mr. Altmaier’s decision to actively shape industrial policy marks a clear break with Germany’s traditional “hands off” approach to business and market decisions.

EU AGREES TO CUT GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM TRUCKS The European Union agreed on Tuesday to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from new trucks and buses by 30% by a 2030 deadline as part of its commitment to cut its output of greenhouse gases.

The European Parliament and the Council, which represents the 28 EU member countries, struck a compromise in the early hours that will reduce average CO2 emissions compared with 2019 levels, the European Commision said in a statement.

There is also an interim 15% reduction target for 2025 and incentives for manufacturers to make low and zero-emission trucks. The 2030 target is also subject to a review in 2022.

“For the first time binding CO2-reduction targets for trucks at the EU-level, including a clear stimulus for zero and lowemission trucks,” Bas Eickhout, a Greens lawmaker who had negotiated on behalf of the European Parliament, said on Twitter.

The EU currently has no limits on emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, unlike the US, China, Japan and Canada. Trucks account for almost one quarter of the bloc’s transport-related emissions.

The EU agreed in December on targets for cutting emissions from cars and vans.

Curbs on the transport sector, the only one in which emissions are still rising, aim to help the bloc meet its overall goal of reducing greenhouse gases by at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 under the Paris climate accord.

Germany is home to Europe’s largest truck manufacturer, Daimler, as well as Volkswagen’s MAN. Other producers in Europe include Volvo, Italy-based Iveco, Paccar and Scania, also part of Volkswagen.

Environmental campaigners say that trucks, while making up less than 5% of vehicles on the road, account for 22% of vehicle emissions.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said EU countries must improve charging and refuelling infrastructure, which was nonexistent for electric and hydrogen trucks and “very low and patchy” for trucks powered by natural gas.

It believes the potential for electrification is far lower than for cars, particularly for longhaul transit, and questions whether transport operators will really want to buy zero-emission trucks.