Catalonia pushes for EU industrial inclusion
Salvador Illa, president of the Generalitat, has called on the European Union to recognise and integrate industrial regions like Catalonia into its industrial policy framework. Speaking at the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels on Wednesday 14 October 2026, Illa stressed that Europe cannot achieve strategic autonomy or competitiveness without engaging its key industrial territories.
Europe will not achieve competitiveness and strategic autonomy without its industrial regions.
The European Commission proposed an Industrial Acceleration Act in March 2026 to strengthen the bloc’s industrial capacity, particularly in zero-emission technologies, automotive, and energy-intensive industries. Illa argued that effective implementation requires multilevel governance, urging the creation of a structural mechanism to formally include regional governments in decision-making.
‘Made in Europe’ must include regional bases
Illa emphasized that the EU’s 'made in EU' procurement preference can only be credible if it is built on strong regional industrial bases such as Catalonia’s. He warned that competitiveness must not come at the expense of climate ambitions.
Accelerating cannot mean lowering climate ambition. Sustainability and competitiveness go hand in hand.
He called for a coherent multiannual financial framework for 2028–2034 that involves regions from the outset. This framework will be debated by EU leaders at the European Council meeting on Thursday 15 October 2026.
Political divisions over EU budget
Negotiations remain deeply divided. While a majority of member states support maintaining or increasing funding to meet new challenges, others, including Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands, advocate for cuts. Ireland’s proposed budget draft would reduce overall funding by 8% while preserving agriculture and cohesion funds, a move Spain opposes. Spain, alongside the ‘friends of cohesion’ group and newly aligned France, insists that proposed cuts are neither desirable nor acceptable for Europe’s future ambitions, according to the State Secretary for the EU, Fernando Sampedro.
Illa’s diplomatic agenda in Brussels
Illa will use his visit to hold bilateral talks with European Commission First Vice-President Teresa Ribera and European Council President António Costa. The European Committee of the Regions, where Illa delivered his speech, is a consultative body composed of 344 regional and local representatives from across the EU, tasked with advising on legislation affecting local governance.
Primary sources: formawiki.diba.cat, europa.diba.cat, Diputació de Barcelona, european-union.europa.eu. Reported by elperiodico.cat, viki.cat, lavanguardia.com, parlament.cat, Regió 7, Departament d'Edicions del Parlament de Catalunya, Parlament de Catalunya, El Periódico (CA).
