Speaking in Brussels on Thursday at a meeting of the Competitiveness Council, Austrian Economics and Labour Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer called for European climate protection goals to be more closely aligned with the interests of industry.

“We must do everything we can to ensure that industry stays here,” Hattmannsdorfer said, stressing the need to preserve Europe’s industrial base and strengthen the competitiveness of companies. The official also  called for a new form of “economic patriotism” that would approach emissions trading from a new perspective.

Together with Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, the Austrian official has drawn up an eight-point discussion paper aimed at advancing the EU’s competitiveness agenda, while calling on other member states to support the initiative.

In the context of the CBAM review, Austria’s main demand is to extend the system of free allowances for energy-intensive industries beyond 2038, arguing that “we need to have enough data” before taking further decisions on the future of the mechanism.

The call comes as Europe’s energy-intensive industries are stepping up pressure on EU policymakers over the future of the bloc’s carbon market. In a joint statement published on 24 September, the Alliance of Energy Intensive Industries urged the European Parliament and member states to ensure that free allocation of EU ETS allowances continues to provide protection against carbon leakage,

“We strongly urge the European Parliament and Member States to take the time necessary to conduct a considered and robust revision of the current legislative proposal and to ensure that unconditional free allocation of allowances remains a protection from carbon leakage risk strengthening the business case to invest in Europe.”

The industry’s intervention adds to growing pressure on EU policymakers to reconcile the bloc’s climate ambitions with efforts to retain energy-intensive production and investment in Europe.