The catering sector is excluded from the European Commission's competitiveness strategy

The 328-page document mentions food seven times, but only in a section that focuses on Europe's most polluting industries.

The report aims to address Europe's concerns about the "slowdown in economic growth" since the beginning of the century. It acknowledges that multiple strategies have been proposed since 2000 to revive growth, but none have worked.

The report states that "a large gap has emerged in GDP between Europe and the United States. This is mainly due to slower productivity growth in Europe."

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European households have paid the price by sacrificing their standard of living. Since 2000, real disposable income per capita in Europe has increased almost twice as much as in the United States.

Three main sectors of European growth

The report targets three main areas of growth, including bridging the innovation gap between China and the United States, as well as focusing on cutting-edge technologies.

The second target area for capital gains is the European Union's Joint Plan on Decarbonisation.

The report also highlights the need for increased security and reduced dependency, particularly around critical raw materials and geopolitical instability.

The lack of a European perspective, the waste of common resources and poor coordination between Member States are all obstacles to progress.

Growth opportunities in this sector are not highlighted, even though food and beverage is the leading industry in areas such as agtech, AI, as well as the largest employer in Europe.

A FoodDrinkEurope spokeswoman said that while the report offers many recipes for success, it leaves out Europe's largest manufacturing sector, food and drink.

How representative is the report's analysis of the European manufacturing reality if Europe's largest industry is only briefly mentioned in a general chapter on energy-intensive industries?

Food and drinks in Europe: a huge role

We hope that the role of the European food and drink industry in the future will be taken into consideration, particularly in terms of feeding society, ensuring food safety and promoting sustainable growth.

FoodNavigator has contacted the European Commission for comment.

The report follows a UK report which said food and drink manufacturers were reluctant to adopt the new standards. As a result, companies are forced to invest and study digitalization and AI..

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