Politicians

Europe’s car-producing regions know that decarbonisation will hit the traditional car industry hard and result in thousands of job losses. For them, the name of the game now is how to limit the damage, and how the EU can help. A Committee of the Regions conference held in Brussels on 22 May brought together experts and industry players from the 36 regions of the ‘Automotive Regions Alliance’ – a group that focuses on how car manufacturing regions can navigate Europe’s decarbonisation journey. For these regions, the future of European car-making is critical. “The automotive industry … generates over 7% of EU’s GDP and around 13.8 million people work in it, creating important multiplier effects in supplier industries” explained Emil Boc, chair of the CoR’s commission for territorial cohesion policy and EU budget, and mayor of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoc. A just transition for car manufacturing...