Industry back at the heart of Europe
Our work on industry, research and energy

S&D MEPs believe that together we can renew European industry, create jobs, shift to a more sustainable model of production and strengthen European competitiveness. Research, development and education must be priorities, building on Europe's strengths in cutting-edge industries, environmental technologies, energy efficiency, design and innovation. As we stand on the brink of a new industrial revolution, we are committed to supporting the transformation to digitisation. We want to support small and medium-sized businesses so they can fully play their part as the engine for creating jobs in Europe.

Our achievements
Our achievements

S&D-led work resulted in an agreement with national governments to set a binding target of 32.5% improvement of energy efficiency by 2030, and a binding target of 32% share of renewable energy in the EU by 2030. We not only achieved ambitious targets that will speed up the transition towards a clean and sustainable economic model and will help us meet our UN climate commitments, but they also secured affordable energy for all, and in particular for the most vulnerable groups.

Our priorities
Supporting small and medium-sized businesses
Supporting small and medium-sized businesses - Europe's drivers for jobs and growth

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of our economy; they create 85% of new jobs and provide two-thirds of the total private-sector employment in the EU. We want to support SMEs in doing what they do best: boosting the economy and creating jobs.

We are fighting for better access to financing for SMEs, especially developing viable venture-capital options. We also want to see the Small Business Act implemented to support SMEs and avoid unnecessary regulatory burdens, and update administrative procedures. We want to see more export advice for smaller businesses - especially for non-EU markets.

Investing in people
Investing in people - prioritising training and partnership

Europe's skilled and innovative workforce is its greatest long-term competitive advantage.

Our approach is to focus on investment in people through training and professional development opportunities. We also need to strengthen dialogue between management and workers with less focus on hierarchy and more on participation. Finally, we would like to extend cross-border collective bargaining.

Innovation and a fair transition
Innovation and a fair transition - managing change

Innovation doesn't have to hit the most vulnerable hardest. With more solidarity, investment and planning, Europe can reap the benefits and ensure everyone is protected from the risks.

We are working for:

  • better-managed digitisation. The 'internet of things', 5G, cloud computing, data analytics and robotics are fundamentally transforming the way we design, produce, sell and generate value. We need to ensure we have the policies in place to tap into this enormous potential for European industry and manage digitisation for the benefit of consumers and workers.
  • a commitment to creating jobs for all - building on the existing social and employment rules to adapt to the new ways of working and promote funding for training and retraining
  • better management of industrial change and restructuring, with European legislation to guarantee employees are protected and better planning, with more information and consultation for employees
  • more help with retraining workers and rebuilding communities hit by industrial change
  • competitive clusters and innovation networks
  • up-to-date infrastructure
  • a bigger role for the European Investment Bank
  • a network of regional structures to strengthen European industry.
MEPs involved
Vice-chair
Italy
Coordinator
Romania
Member
Denmark
Member
Germany
Member
Slovakia
Member
Bulgaria
Member
Poland
Member
Bulgaria
Member
Italy
Member
Portugal
Substitute
Malta
Substitute
Netherlands
Substitute
Spain
Substitute
Latvia
Substitute
Poland
Substitute
Sweden
Substitute
Spain
Substitute
Estonia
Substitute
France
Substitute
Hungary
Substitute
Germany
Substitute
Austria
Substitute
Romania