Antwerp Declaration: Industry Demands Urgent EU Rescue from Competitiveness Collapse

Ahead of the European Council meeting in Alden Biesen, the Antwerp Declaration Community – representing more than 1,300 companies, associations and trade unions across Europe – called on EU Heads of State and Government to take urgent and bold action to restore Europe’s industrial competitiveness, safeguard high-quality jobs for European workers, and turn the Clean Industrial Deal into outcomes felt on factory floors in 2026.

The call was made at the European Industry Summit, which brought together over 500 business leaders, 30 factory workers, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, under the auspices of Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever. Senior EU leaders also joined, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, Executive Vice Presidents Teresa Ribera and Stéphane Séjourné, Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, and Vice-President of the European Parliament Martin Hojsík, underscoring the political urgency of Europe’s industrial crisis.

Markus Kamieth, President of CEFIC, and CEO of BASF, said: “Europe is losing industrial capacity at a speed we have never seen before. This is not a temporary downturn – it is a structural competitiveness shift affecting all manufacturing sectors. If Europe wants to lead the clean transition, it must stop losing the industries that make that transition possible. We are not asking for protection from change; we are asking for competitive conditions to lead the change – and to safeguard high-quality jobs for European workers.”

The Community calls on EU leaders to ensure that the Alden Biesen meeting becomes the moment when Europe commits to bold, coordinated measures that restore industrial competitiveness and secure high-quality jobs for future generations with visible results in 2026.