“The Industrial Accelerator Act is the 50th proposal, parallel to 49 existing ones, on how European procurement should be carried out,” Reiche said on Thursday in Brussels, as she arrived at a meeting of EU ministers responsible for competitiveness.
The proposal, which is to be presented next week after delays, is said to contain 30 additional sub-regulations, an approach described by Reiche as “too complicated.”
“This is the opposite of reducing bureaucracy. We need more freedom, we need more leeway and fewer rules from Brussels,” the German minister said.
Reiche and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are both members of Germany’s conservative Christian Democrats. The government in Berlin has repeatedly criticized the commission for excessive red tape.
The upcoming presentation of the Industrial Accelerator Act also taps into a debate about whether public funds should be used to give preference to European products and services.
Reiche said she is “very much in favour of ensuring that we protect sensitive European production” but cautioned that such a push could negatively affect relations with other countries.
“We cannot invite partners such as Canada and India to trade with us and at the same time say that we will only buy European products,” she said.
“We need a ‘Made with Europe’ label, not just a ‘Made in Europe’ label.”
