Industrial Accelerator Act: what ‘Made in Europe’ will mean for manufacturers and public buyers

The Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) is the European Commission’s proposal, published on 4 March 2026, to use public money as a lever for European industry. If adopted as proposed, public buyers and public support schemes would have to favour steel, cement, aluminium and electric vehicles that are low-carbon and made in the EU from 2029. The same regulation sets conditions for large foreign investments in strategic sectors and speeds up industrial permitting. Parliament and Council are now forming their positions; adoption is not expected before 2027.

What the Commission proposed

The IAA is a draft regulation with three strands: creating lead markets for low-carbon, EU-made products through public procurement and public support; attaching conditions to large foreign investments in emerging strategic sectors; and accelerating permits for industrial projects. It is part of the Commission’s aim to raise manufacturing’s share of EU GDP from 14.3% in 2024 to 20% by 2035. The initial scope covers steel, cement, aluminium, the automotive sector and net-zero technologies, with the option to add other energy-intensive sectors such as chemicals later.

The procurement rules in figures

From 1 January 2029, contracting authorities would have to apply minimum requirements when they buy the following products:

Suppliers would show compliance through a self-declaration or an equivalent document, building on the Construction Products Regulation and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. Buyers could derogate where there is no reasonable alternative, no suitable tender, or disproportionate cost or delay. Products and components from countries that have a free trade agreement or customs union with the EU would in principle count as ‘Union origin’, both in public procurement and in the support schemes concerned. Countries linked to the EU only through the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) would count for public procurement only. For procurement, this applies to the extent that the EU has relevant treaty obligations towards the country concerned, and in both cases the Commission could exclude countries in whole or in part. The rule equates the origin of products and components; it gives foreign companies no automatic right to subsidies (Articles 8, 9 and 12 of the proposal).

Subsidies, net-zero technologies and vehicles

Member States would have to design their support schemes so that beneficiaries meet minimum EU-origin and/or low-carbon shares for steel, cement, mortar and aluminium. This would apply to schemes representing at least 45% of national support budgets for energy-intensive industry, and to all support for electric, hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles. The proposal also extends EU-origin requirements to public procurement and auctions for net-zero technologies, by amending the Net-Zero Industry Act.

Conditions on foreign investment

Investments of more than €100 million in batteries, battery storage, electric and hybrid vehicles, solar PV and critical raw materials would need prior approval when the investor’s home country holds more than 40% of global manufacturing capacity in that sector. The conditions include technology and knowledge transfer, local content, integration into EU value chains and at least 50% EU workers.

Faster permits

Each Member State would set up a single digital access point and issue one comprehensive decision for industrial manufacturing projects and for decarbonisation projects in energy-intensive industry, within set deadlines. Member States would also designate industrial manufacturing acceleration areas, where common authorisations are covered by a baseline permit before individual projects apply.

Where the file stands (8 October 2026)

• European Parliament. The industry (ITRE), internal market (IMCO) and trade (INTA) committees handle the file jointly, with co-rapporteurs Christophe Grudler (Renew Europe), Pierre Jouvet (S&D) and Anna Cavazzini (Greens/EFA). Their draft report of 8 September goes further than the Commission: a 50% ‘Made in Europe’ threshold by 2036 for strategic sectors, plastics for construction added to the scope, higher EU-content requirements for net-zero technologies and stricter rules against circumvention. Amendments closed on 7 October and the committee vote is planned for 1 December 2026. Parts of the EPP and the ECR group consider the text too complex and the investment conditions too restrictive.
• Council. Industry ministers held a first debate on 28 May 2026. The Irish Presidency aims for a negotiating mandate this autumn; on 24 September ministers received a state of play.
• Timing. Adoption is not expected before 2027. As proposed, the procurement requirements would apply from 1 January 2029.

What it means in Belgium

In Belgium, the IAA lands on several desks at once.

• Public procurement law is federal (the law of 17 June 2016), but the buyers are federal, regional and local: ministries, regional administrations, municipalities, intermunicipal companies and infrastructure operators. Each would have to apply the new content rules in its tenders.
• Support schemes for industrial decarbonisation are largely regional, so the new conditions would be applied by Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels to their own budgets.
• Permitting is regional: the single digital access point and the acceleration areas would have to be organised by three regions, each with its own permit system.
• Foreign investment screening already runs through an interfederal mechanism in force since 1 July 2023; the IAA conditions would come on top.

Belgium’s position in the Council is agreed between the federal government and the regions. Input therefore matters at both levels, and early.

What to do now

1. Map your exposure. Do you sell steel, cement, concrete, aluminium or vehicles to public buyers — directly or through contractors — or depend on public support schemes?
2. Document origin and carbon footprint. Low-carbon claims would rest on instruments under the Construction Products and Ecodesign regulations, such as environmental product declarations. Start collecting the data now.
3. Check your non-EU supply chain. Whether a supplier’s country counts as ‘Union origin’ depends on its trade relationship with the EU: free trade and customs-union partners would in principle count for both procurement and support schemes, countries covered only by the GPA for procurement only — and the Commission could exclude countries.
4. Engage while the text is open. Scope, thresholds, derogations and third-country treatment are being negotiated in Parliament and Council over the coming months. In Belgium, that means talking to both the federal and the regional level.

Sources

1. European Commission, Commission proposes new measures to boost EU industry and jobs, 4 March 2026, and the proposal for the Industrial Accelerator Act itself (Articles 8, 9 and 12 on Union origin and third countries).
2. European Parliament, Legislative Observatory, procedure 2026/0068(COD) and Legislative Train: Industrial Accelerator Act.
3. Renew Europe, Presenting the draft report on the Industrial Accelerator Act, 8 September 2026.
4. Agence Europe, Three European Parliament co-rapporteurs on Industrial Accelerator Act think it possible to reconcile different points of view.
5. Council of the EU, Competitiveness Council of 28 May 2026 and 24 September 2026.
6. Linklaters, European Commission publishes draft Industrial Accelerator Act.
7. Loyens & Loeff, The EU Industrial Accelerator Act: takeaways for public procurement.
8. Holland & Knight, The European Union’s ‘Made in Europe’ push, May 2026.
9. Carbon Brief, Q&A: What the EU’s new industry and ‘Made in Europe’ rules mean for climate action.
10. CMS, The Belgian foreign direct investment regime comes into force on 1 July 2023.

This analysis reflects the state of the file on 8 October 2026. We update it when the file moves.