EUobserver takes a deep dive into the workings and new chairs of every single European Parliament committee for the new 2024-2029 session, in a series of articles first published in our print magazine of October 2024
ITRE is set to become one of the most influential committees in parliament during the next mandate, and Polish MEP Borys Budka has been nominated as chair.
The most important file this autumn will be the Clean Industrial Deal, which despite all the tough talk on beating back foreign competition is still somewhat unfamiliar ground for most EU policymakers.
For one, industrial policy had long been seen as outdated in EU circles, with most policymakers preferring markets and private investors to do the heavy lifting.
But pressured by foreign competition and war on Europe’s eastern border the thinking on this has shifted dramatically in the past two or three years.
So much so that EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech to the parliament in September promised to present a Clean Industrial Deal in the first 100 days of her mandate.
“Our full focus will be on supporting and creating the right conditions for companies to reach our common goals,” she said.
Though her exact plans are unclear, Budka’s experience as minister of justice and state assets, combined with his professorship in energy transformation at the University of Katowice, presumably makes him well-equipped to future-proof Europe's clean industries.
Von der Leyen has also announced she will propose a European Competitiveness Fund as part of the bloc's next long-term budget to invest in strategic technologies like artificial intelligence, clean industry and biotech – all important priorities for ITRE.
But previous iterations of joint borrowing have all failed due to opposition from member states, and the scope of Europe’s industry plans will in large part depend on money, a fight that will be determined outside of the parliament, by member states.
ITRE members will play a key role in shaping Horizon Europe, the EU’s main research and innovation programme. Although innovation is supposed to be a priority in the next mandate, €400m in funding cuts are expected next year, totalling €2.1bn over the remaining 2025–2027 period.
Although it’s uncertain whether parliament will have enough time to propose amendments, Christian Ehler, Germany's co-rapporteur for Horizon Europe and a member of the ITRE Committee, has already expressed his intention to block next year’s cuts. The legal deadline for reaching an agreement on the annual budget is 18 November.
Meanwhile, the commission is also preparing its proposal to replace Horizon Europe, which will run from 2028 to 2034. Once published next year, ITRE will begin negotiations on this new framework as well.
The ITRE coordinators are: Christian Ehler (EPP, Germany), Dan Nica (S&D, Romania), Paolo Borchia (PfE, Italy), Daniel Obajtek (ECR, Poland), Christophe Grudler (Renew, France), Michael Bloss (Greens, Germany), Dario Tamburrano (Left, Italy), and Sarah Knafo (ESN, France).
Wester is a journalist from the Netherlands with a focus on the green economy. He joined EUobserver in September 2021. Previously he was editor-in-chief of Vice, Motherboard, a science-based website, and climate economy journalist for The Correspondent.
Wester is a journalist from the Netherlands with a focus on the green economy. He joined EUobserver in September 2021. Previously he was editor-in-chief of Vice, Motherboard, a science-based website, and climate economy journalist for The Correspondent.