IndustriAll Europe welcomes this strategic reframing. Communication rightly acknowledges unfair global competition, state-driven overcapacity in third countries and Europe’s rising dependencies in critical technologies and financing. Recognising these realities is an essential first step. Delivering concrete results will be the real test.

Industrial value chains

“We welcome the proposed Industrial Maritime Value Chains Alliance which has the potential to strengthen supply chains, coordinate investment and develop joint industrial roadmaps. industriAll Europe supports this value-chain approach.” Said Isabelle Barthès. 

"The governance will be decisive. The Alliance must not become a purely industry-led platform. Trade unions must be structurally involved to ensure that modernisation, digitalisation and decarbonisation are accompanied by negotiated strategies, training commitments and quality employment standards. Industrial policy cannot succeed without strong social dialogue at its core.”

Strategic public procurement

The strategic use of public procurement is one of the most promising elements of the Strategy. Introducing non-price criteria, aggregating multi-year demand pipelines and integrating economic security considerations could provide long-term order visibility for European shipyards and stimulate investment.

But public funding must come with conditions. Social and industrial conditionality is essential. Public contracts should reinforce European value creation, respect collective bargaining, support apprenticeships and guarantee high labour standards. Without safeguards, public money risks failing to strengthen sustainable industrial capacity in Europe.

Trade and level playing field

The Communication signals greater readiness to address distortions in global shipbuilding markets through trade instruments and reinforced export credit mechanisms. This is necessary. European shipbuilding cannot compete on equal terms where state-backed financing and non-market practices dominate. Ensuring a genuine level playing field must remain a priority.

Defence and dual use

The integration of defence and dual-use dimensions is geopolitically significant. Leveraging civilian demand, such as ferry construction, to strengthen military mobility can help stabilise order books and rebuild capacity. The focus on dual use technologies and diversified production is important to ensure that industrial capacity can shift back to civilian needs and remain sustainable in the long term.

Health and safety

Health and safety are essential to attract and retain workers and to ensure quality jobs. Shipbuilding workers are overlooked in the Strategy. Workers and their representatives must be involved in the design and monitoring of health and safety measures through social dialogue. Investing in safety means investing in productivity, resilience and quality jobs.

Skills and quality jobs

Workers’ skills development is not complementary to industrial policy, it is its foundation.The Strategy rightly highlights an ageing workforce and the need to attract women into the sector. The recognition of social partners and cross-border qualification recognition is also welcome.

However, voluntary approaches are not enough. Experience shows that without enforceable obligations, training efforts remain uneven and often insufficient. In several Member States, in-company training rates are far below what is required for technological transformation.

As industriAll Europe Deputy General Secretary Isabelle Barthès stresses: “If Europe is serious about rebuilding its maritime industry, skills and quality jobs must be treated as a core industrial responsibility, not an optional add-on.The Maritime Strategy sets an important direction. Now it must be matched with binding instruments, adequate financing and strong social conditionality to ensure that Europe’s maritime future is built on skilled workers and quality jobs”.