February 12, 2026 13:50

An appeal launched yesterday at the European Industry Summit by the Antwerp Declaration Community has brought the loss of competitiveness in European industry back to the forefront of the debate. Ahead of the European Council in Alden Biesen on 12 February, the coalition is urging swift action on three fronts: lower energy costs; fair trade and improved access to financing; and stronger demand for products manufactured in Europe through public procurement and coordinated initiatives.

In chemicals, the president of Cefic and CEO of BASF, Markus Kamieth, stressed the structural nature of the crisis, pointing to plant closures and capacity losses. According to a report commissioned from Roland Berger, Europe’s chemicals industry has lost 37 million tonnes of capacity from 2022 to today, equivalent to around 9% of the total (see here).

An initial political response came from the institutional side. At the European Industry Summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed the focus on trade, the single market and simplification, linking these issues to energy costs.
She also opened the door to “European preference” in public procurement, noting that public spending accounts for around 14% of GDP and can serve as a lever to support demand for low-emission technologies and materials produced in Europe.

Among the initiatives announced is the Industrial Accelerator Act, expected by the end of the month, which should introduce European-content requirements for strategic sectors and low-emission criteria in procurement. On climate policy, von der Leyen pointed to a reform of the ETS to allocate a larger share of proceeds to industrial decarbonisation, highlighting a 39% reduction in emissions compared with 2005 and the fact that only 5% of revenues currently go to industrial projects.

The plastics sector set out its agenda through PlasticsEurope, which called for “decisive political action” to stabilise production, innovation and circularity in Europe. The association notes that over the past 20 years Europe’s share of the global plastics market has fallen from 22% to 12%, as investment has shifted to more competitive regions.

PlasticsEurope’s priorities include narrowing the gap in energy and carbon costs, including through targeted use of ETS revenues; establishing a predictable, technology-neutral regulatory framework with clear rules on recycled content; and strengthening demand for circular, low-emission plastics made in Europe through public procurement and extended producer responsibility (EPR) mechanisms.
Additional proposals include harmonised rules on end-of-waste status, faster procedures for intra-EU shipments and a level playing field between materials and technologies to develop circularity hubs at scale, alongside fair trade rules with stronger controls on imports, exports and plastic waste. Several of these points were reflected in von der Leyen’s remarks.

The debate builds on a pathway launched in 2024 with the presentation in Antwerp of the European Industrial Deal, backed by a broad cross-industry coalition in Europe, including chemicals. At that time, ten priority actions were set out for the EU agenda 2024–2029, underscoring the central link between competitiveness and climate objectives. Analyses released in recent weeks have updated the figures on Europe’s chemicals crisis, pointing to rising divestments and slower investment.

The alignment between industry appeals and political responses opens a window for rapid measures on three bottlenecks: competitive energy, effective trade policy and domestic demand geared towards European low-emission products. For plastics, preserving the production base, setting clear rules on circularity and activating lead markets through public procurement are seen as essential to stem deindustrialisation and retain capacity and know-how in Europe.

The trajectory is not predetermined: decisions taken by EU institutions in the coming weeks will determine whether the sector can begin to regain ground.

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