EU Industry: Structure, Regions, and Policy Framework

The EU is a major industrial power, as evidenced by its industrial workforce (25.6%) and industry's significant contribution to GDP (30.6%).

Industrial Structure and Global Competitiveness

The EU's industrial structure faces challenges, with declining employment in mature sectors due to restructuring, and also in more dynamic areas impacted by technological innovations. Due to increasing globalization, companies are compelled to increase their scale, internationalize, develop innovative production processes and management, and offer differentiated products with high quality and design.

Key Industrial Regions of the EU

Industrial areas within the EU are selectively located. The most industrialized area is the hub around the Channel, which extends into the Rhine Valley and the Po Valley. A secondary industrial axis is the Mediterranean area. In the rest of the continent, industry tends to concentrate in isolated enclaves, often corresponding to state capitals and major cities.

Types of EU Industrial Areas

1. Extractive Base Areas: These are linked to the processing of voluminous resources. Historically, coal formed the base for steel industries in Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, France, and Spain. More recently, North Sea oil has fostered chemical and energy industries.
2. Port Areas: These locations first saw the installation of processing industries or those related to maritime activities, transport, storage companies, and consumer goods for the surrounding environment. This is evident in some Atlantic and Mediterranean ports. Additionally, the network of rivers and waterways has encouraged industrial location in major river ports like those on the Rhine and the Saint Lawrence.
3. Urban Industrial Areas: Currently, these areas attract more innovative sectors, production services, and the headquarters of large companies.
4. Diverse Industry Areas: Located in peri-urban areas, small cities, and rural regions, these areas are a result of industrial diffusion processes, relocation, or endogenous industrialization efforts.

EU Industrial Policy Objectives

• Restructure sectors in difficulty (where feasible) and develop sectors related to new technologies.
• Overcoming the lag behind American and Japanese competition by promoting investment, R&D, and cooperation.
• Encourage competitive and innovative businesses and ensure free competition (preventing monopolies).
• Avoid environmental damage through preventive and punitive measures.