A coalition of 31 civil society organisations has written to Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, expressing serious concerns about the European Commission’s Critical Chemicals Alliance (CCA) and calling for fundamental reform of its governance and approach.
Europe needs a resilient chemicals industry, but this cannot be built by preserving business as usual. Industrial policy should support the structural transformation needed to strengthen Europe’s long-term competitiveness while advancing the EU’s climate, environmental and public health objectives.
The signatories are concerned that, in its current form, the Critical Chemicals Alliance:
- Gives disproportionate influence to incumbent industry interests while sidelining civil society and independent expertise.
- Prioritises preserving existing production over the structural transformation needed for Europe’s chemicals sector.
- Fails to integrate the EU’s climate, environmental and public health objectives into its work.
- Risks locking Europe into continued dependence on fossil fuels and fossil-based feedstocks.
- Risks driving further deregulation at the expense of environmental and public health protections.
The signatories therefore call on the European Commission to fundamentally reform the Critical Chemicals Alliance to ensure it is transparent, balanced and led in the public interest, supporting a genuinely sustainable transition for Europe’s chemicals sector. If the Commission is unwilling or unable to implement these reforms, it should discontinue the Alliance in its current form.
As Europe shapes its future industrial strategy, the Critical Chemicals Alliance should support a genuinely sustainable transition for Europe’s chemicals sector – not reinforce the status quo.
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