The upcoming European Maritime Industrial Strategy represents a crucial opportunity to anchor Europe’s maritime manufacturing industry firmly within the EU’s industrial future. Such a strategy must decisively strengthen competitiveness, innovation, resilience and the green transition of the sector, while safeguarding and creating quality industrial jobs across Europe’s maritime regions.

Europe’s shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers form the backbone of many regional economies and provide highly skilled employment. Yet the sector has operated for decades under distorted global competition. Ensuring fair global competition must be a central pillar of the strategy, supported by effective trade defence instruments, strategic procurement rules, and strong labour and environmental standards.

In this context, any delay in presenting the European Industrial Maritime Strategy risks sending the wrong message. What must remain clear is that the strategy’s primary objective should be to secure the future of Europe’s maritime manufacturing industry and its workforce. 

Any attempt to dilute measures supporting European shipyards, maritime equipment manufacturers, and quality jobs must be avoided. The strategy should strengthen both the industrial base and the wider maritime ecosystem. 

What is required now is a coherent, ambitious and robust European Industrial Maritime Strategy that matches the scale of global competition and the raise in geopolitical tensions.

Now Europe must act.

Isabelle Barthès, Deputy General Secretary said “Behind every ship built in Europe stands thousands of skilled workers whose jobs, knowledge and communities depend on industrial decisions taken today. Delaying action on Europe’s maritime strategy means risking not only competitiveness, but livelihoods. Europe must act now to secure its industrial future and the workers who make it possible. Europe cannot afford hesitation.” 

Christophe Tytgat, Secretary General of SEA Europe, said: Europe’s maritime manufacturing industry is a strategic industrial asset for the European Union’s competitiveness, security and green transition. Without strong European shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers, Europe cannot secure its technological leadership nor its strategic autonomy at sea. The European Industrial Maritime Strategy must therefore deliver concrete and effective measures that strengthen our industrial base and ensure fair global competition”.