Our EU priorities for a sustainable, prosperous & competitive Europe
1. Put the Industrial Deal at the core of the new EU mandate
To continue contributing to a prosperous, competitive and sustainable Europe, we need a single EU industrial strategy that strengthens the integrity of the single market while helping ensure we remain globally competitive.
We firmly believe a competitive European industry, based on a European Industrial Deal, is an essential pre-condition for the successful delivery of the EU Green Deal.
2. Help lubricants deliver the European Green Deal
Our industry can accelerate the EU’s green transformation through clean products and technologies and contribute to the strategic and sustainable development of the transport sector. Lubricants play a key role in scaling up the EU’s manufacturing capacity for the net-zero products and technologies required to meet Europe’s ambitious climate goals.
We look forward to working with EU policymakers to ensure that our industry can continue to play this critical role.
3. Unleash the full potential of Europe’s SMEs to boost long-term competitiveness
The EU regulatory framework should be better integrated, open to innovative approaches and ensure legal predictability and regulatory coherence across policy areas, while reducing overregulation and unnecessary administrative burdens.
4. Address skills shortages in the sector through incentivising participation in STEM subjects at higher education
More people should be encouraged to study subjects in which skills shortages and labour demand exist by an EU-wide campaign to attract students into STEM subjects at higher education.
Incentives could include the alleviation of university tuition fees for undergraduates across the European Union studying STEM subjects at graduate level or above, and an expansion of employer-led apprentices in STEM subjects paid for by an apprenticeship levy of 0.5% of payroll costs of employers with a total payroll in excess of £3m, which can be reclaimed by the employer against the costs of the apprenticeship programme. SMEs would be exempt from the levy and the costs of apprenticeships would be 100% funded by the European Union from the apprenticeship levy fund.
