EEA EFTA States welcome Industrial Accelerator Act and highlight need to safeguard Internal Market

In a joint position paper (EEA EFTA Comment), Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway welcome the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), and are aligned with its goals of a competitive, resilient and secure Internal Market. At the same time, they underline the importance of safeguarding the integrity of the EEA Agreement.

The proposed regulation aims to strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of European industry by accelerating investment, simplifying permitting procedures and supporting the transition to low-carbon manufacturing in strategic sectors. The EEA EFTA States share these objectives and highlight that they face similar challenges to the EU with regard to supply chain vulnerabilities in strategic sectors.

As leaders in renewable energy, suppliers of critical raw materials and producers of industrial goods with low embedded emissions, the EEA EFTA States highlight that they are key contributors to clean industrial value chains in Europe and valuable partners for the EU in ensuring a competitive and resilient European economy. Their strengths include advanced expertise in ocean and maritime industries, advanced renewable energy systems, low-carbon aluminium production and highly favourable conditions for developing and hosting sustainable data infrastructure.

In their comment, the EEA EFTA States stress that content of “Union origin” is to be considered as originating from all 30 EEA States. This is essential to avoid unintended distortion of competition within the Internal Market. Public procurement is key to the good functioning of the Internal Market, and the same rules and regulations must apply across the entire European Economic Area.

While supporting the EU’s simplification agenda, the EEA EFTA States caution that the IAA’s complexity and reliance on secondary legislation could undermine predictability. They call for proportionate, predictable rules that do not undermine competition or delay clean energy deployment.

They also call for a forward-looking approach to low-carbon requirements, including a gradual phasing-in to reduce transition costs for economic operators. They stress the importance of ensuring sufficient flexibility for national, regional and local authorities in the designation of Industrial Manufacturing Acceleration Areas.

Given the strategic importance of the IAA for Europe’s future competitiveness and resilience, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway reaffirm their commitment to engaging constructively throughout the legislative process as reliable partners in strengthening the Internal Market.

Read the full EEA EFTA Comment on the Industrial Accelerator Act

EEA EFTA Comments are one of the tools used by the EEA EFTA States to actively participate in shaping EU policies, programmes and legislation.  

See all EEA EFTA Comments