Invest Europe Position Paper on the Industrial Accelerator Act

The IAA can help strengthen European industrial capacity and create more predictable demand for European production. To succeed, however, it must mobilise private investment rather than add new obstacles to deploying capital in Europe. Invest Europe identifies three priorities.

First, focus on genuine economic-security risks. Independently managed investment funds should not be treated in the same way as foreign states, state-controlled entities or strategic industrial investors solely because the fund manager or its investors are established outside the EU. The assessment should focus on whether the individual transaction creates an identifiable risk of losing European capabilities, production capacity, talent, sensitive data or competitiveness.

Second, make Union-origin requirements predictable and workable. European companies operate through international and multi-tier supply chains. The final text should preserve applicable recognition of FTA, customs-union and GPA partners, apply consistent origin rules across the EU, and give companies sufficient time and flexibility where qualifying products or components are not yet available.

Third, avoid an additional and overlapping investment-screening process. Investments in European companies may already be reviewed under national Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regimes, merger control and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR). Any additional IAA review should be limited to a distinct concern not addressed under existing instruments and should reuse information, align timelines and coordinate conditions with the parallel review processes.

The direction should be clear: create stronger European demand, target genuine economic-security risks and preserve access to the capital and trusted supply relationships needed to deliver Europe’s industrial ambitions.