The Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) is expected to be a highly contested political area for the remainder of H2 2026. Despite Berlin and Paris aiming to have a joint position, the split in the Council is expected to be mainly between France and Germany.
Within the European Parliament, a more pro-industry coalition appears to be forming, including the EPP, Renew and S&D. All have shared a want for the IAA to help keep EU businesses globally competitive.
On Wednesday, 2 September, the three committees responsible for the IAA (ITRE, INTA & IMCO) hosted a public hearing with industry representatives to discuss the file. The first part concerned the controversial ‘Made in Europe’ trade dimension, while the second part focused on ‘lead-market’ discussions surrounding the steel, hydrogen and chemical sectors. All speakers were very pro-Made in Europe on the first panel, which was largely made up by the car industry and trade unions in the sector.
Responses from the co-rapporteur MEP Cavazzini (Greens/DE) highlighted that they are “committed to strengthening a number of parts of the Commission’s proposal.” Meanwhile, on geographical requirements MEP Jouvet (S&D/FR) stated “Your comments are heading the direction we are working on” and MEP Van Brempt (S&D/BE) shared: “The EP goes in the direction of opt in not opt out as the EC proposed.”
However, there is also a significant thinking that the IAA is aimed at China rather than the other partners, although geographic scope is a huge part of the discussion.
In reality, the vast majority of the lobbying done with the EP rapporteurs on the IAA has been by the industries directly in the legislative scope, namely car and transportation industries, the chemical industry and heavy manufacturing industry.
Next Steps
The draft joint report from the three committees is expected on Monday, 7 September. This will provide an important indication of where the political centre of gravity is moving, particularly on the ‘Made in Europe’ provisions and the geographic scope of measures.
The period following publication of the draft report will be strategically important for stakeholders. The immediate priority should be in monitoring the report, identifying provisions where political alignment is strongest and engage early and proactively on areas of importance.
