The EU automotive regions are asking for economic support for the transition to a clean car

BRUSSELS. Production of automobiles, accessories and components. The European regions that host the entire automotive industrial fabric are looking at the sustainable transition with renewed concern for the stability of local economies and the stability of their territories, so much so that they ask Europe for reassurances with tools to support employment. In Leipzig, as many as 29 regions from various EU countries decided to implement the new Alliance of automotive industry regions, the Automotive Regions Alliance, born last June in the wake of the work of the European Committee of the Regions.

The objective of this alliance is twofold, recalls Donato Toma, president of the Molise Region, which houses the Termoli di Stellantis plant, today an important production center for electric cars. On the one hand we are ready to “work together to accompany technological progress for the purpose of ecological transition”, on the other hand we need to “maintain jobs”. A concept also reaffirmed by Andrea Tronzano, councilor for the development of productive activities and SMEs of the Piedmont Region, among the Italians present at the meeting who asked for specific guarantees.

About 7.5 million people, equal to over 6% of total European employment, work in car manufacturing and automotive services, with Italy historically and traditionally strong in the four-wheeler industry. Now local administrators fear for the stability of the employment fabric. The transition to zero-emission and digitized vehicles is expected to have a major impact on regional automotive ecosystems and socio-economic structures.

The Automotive Regions Alliance therefore calls for the establishment of a European mechanism to support a just and equitable transition in regions with an automotive industry in order to minimize disruptive effects on employment and improve capacities and opportunities for a technological retraining of the European automotive industry and maintaining global competitiveness in research and innovation. It means economic support, with resources, and targeted policies to respond to the challenges. Requests made directly to the Commissioner for Labor and Social Affairs, Nicolas Schmit, who was invited to the meeting which does not end with today’s appointment.

The alliance of automotive regions will contribute to the debate of the European Committee of the Regions. It means pressure from the EU institution on the other EU institutions. In parallel, the regions will be able to put pressure on central governments. From an Italian point of view, there are regions attentive to maintaining the local economy. Piedmont (Stellantis plants in Mirafiori, Rivalta and Grugliasco), Basilicata (Stellantis plant in Melfi), Lombardy (Omr component plants), Abruzzo (Stellantis plant in Sevel val di Sangro), Emilia Romagna (the Maserati, Lamborghini , Ferrari, plus Minarelli motori, Dallara spa, Astra, the Italian bus industry), Umbria (over 50 specialized companies), Veneto (components).