European Union industry ministers have failed to agree how far the bloc’s “Made in Europe” rules should reach beyond its borders, pushing a deal the Irish presidency had once hoped to seal on September 24 back to December at the earliest.
Peter Burke, Ireland’s enterprise minister, who chaired the Competitiveness Council in Brussels, said afterwards he had seen elements of agreement in the room. He was confident they could be pulled together into a new text, though he conceded “the proposal is admittedly very sensitive and complex”.
The file is the Industrial Accelerator Act, tabled by the European Commission on March 4, 2026. It would reserve part of public procurement and state support in strategic sectors such as steel, cement, cars and clean technologies for European-made goods.
Dublin, which holds the rotating EU Council presidency, had targeted September 24 for a political agreement. Instead the act came up only under any other business and the presidency now aims for the next council on December 3.
Governments have been divided over the scope of the European preference since ministers first debated the file on May 28. The question is whether “Europe” means the 27 member states alone or also partners such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway and Japan.
France has held the strictest line. Industry Minister Sébastien Martin said Europeans’ public money should go to European workers and factories, though he accepted many products contain components made outside the Union.
Martin singled out Britain, which he said had chosen to leave the EU. London could still take part through sectoral deals, he said, but some had chosen the European project and others had walked away from it.
Germany took the opposite view. Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said the act should follow a “Made with EU” principle, producing in Europe alongside trading partners such as Norway, Switzerland and Canada.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered Canada the prospect of becoming the EU’s first associate member on September 16. Italy’s enterprise minister, Adolfo Urso, argued the 27 should form the industrial base while strategic partners helped secure supply chains.
Spain pitched itself as the bridge. Industry Minister Jordi Hereu proposed three tiers, with the 27 as a hard core, then the European Economic Area and trusted partners offering reciprocity and finally countries holding trade agreements with the bloc.
Under the Spanish plan, Brussels would decide sector by sector how much production had to stay inside the EU. Hereu named Britain and Canada as possible partners.
The Commission says the act would lift manufacturing to 20 per cent of EU gross domestic product by 2035, from 14.3 per cent in 2024. Adoption is not expected before 2027.
