https://caneurope.org/content/uploads/2026/02/CAN-Europe_EUCO_Under_pres...
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/feb/09/eu-urged-not-roll-back-...
As Europe’s biggest industrial players gather first in Antwerp and the informal European Council meets the day after in Alden Biesen castle, the dominant message is clear: roll back climate and environmental rules in the name of competitiveness.
Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe strongly disagrees.
At a moment when Europe should be locking in the industries of the future, the deregulation agenda promoted around the Antwerp Industry Summit and the informal European Council risks repeating the mistakes of the past: delaying investment, deepening fossil fuel dependence, and leaving Europe behind in the global race for clean industrial leadership, while locking EU citizens into continued exposure to high and volatile energy prices and a deepening cost-of-living crisis.
Industrial policy driven by deregulation has failed before. An industrial policy grounded in climate certainty, targeted investment and lead markets can still secure a competitive, resilient and future-proof European industry.
CAN Europe urges that the discussions in Antwerp and at the informal European Council strengthen, rather than undermine, Europe’s capacity to lead the global clean industrial transition.
