T
The current energy crisis is having an impact on the competitiveness of the European textile and clothing industry. In this context, the Euratex federation is asking the European Commission and the Member States to “urgently support the industry in order to avoid that many companies close their door definitively, on the “long-term”.
Euratex, of which ATP is a part, presented the essential requirements to Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy: “a secure supply”, “at competitive costs”, which imply “additional investments in renewable energy infrastructure”.
Firstly, “competitive prices for green energy should be granted at European or national level”, for example “through targeted subsidies (for the use of hydrogen, for establishing energy networks, etc.), with “a specific approach for SMEs, as they do not have the skills to further improve their energy efficiency and/or become carbon-neutral”.
Euratex also demands that the Fit-for-55-Package (European Ecological Pact) “supports the European textile and clothing industry in the decarbonization and carbon neutrality”, defending “the existence of a level playing field worldwide. The main goal should be to establish an internationally constant and binding CO2 price.”
“We need reasonable rules on state aid”, reinforces the federation, stating that “compensating for the difference between national energy or climate taxes, and a globally competitive energy price should not be seen as a subsidy”. In this context, “attention must be given to the proportionality of costs without weakening the competitive position in the Union’s internal market or with competitors from outside this economic bloc”.