On the occasion of the current strong pressure on the European solar industry and the decision of the solar company Meyer Burger today to discontinue its solar production in Germany, Henrike Hahn, Member of the European Parliament (The Greens/EFA), member of the Industry Committee (ITRE), industrial policy speaker and deputy head of the German Greens in the European Parliament, comments:
"Solar energy is central to our energy transition in Europe. And yet the European photovoltaic industry is currently in crisis. Meyer Burger is not an isolated case - and this is unacceptable.
The FDP's blockades of the “resilience bonuses” in Germany go against companies' interests - this is party political maneuvering on the back of European solar companies.
More and more solar companies in Germany and Europe are questioning their domestic production in view of the recent influx of modules from China and falling prices.
Europe must become the heart of the climate industry. We already have a precious solar value chain in Europe, from the solar cell to the module to the finished solar system, with companies such as Wacker Chemie in Bavaria and Solarwatt in Saxony, Energetica in Austria. The task now is to maintain and further expand this solar industry.
It is in the centre of Europe's interest to produce a decisive share of transformation technologies here in Europe and independently of China. Safe and affordable energy production 'Made in Europe' has now also become a necessity in terms of security policy.
In concrete terms, this means that in addition to the resilience criteria for public procurement in the Net Zero Industry Act, we now need resilience tenders in the photovoltaic sector, as discussed in Germany - and we must support competitive European value creation with the highest possible ecological and social criteria as a positive location factor.
The European market is also under pressure because partners such as the USA are closing their market using forced labour criteria. We therefore also need robust supply criteria in Europe as quickly as possible that consistently exclude dumping products from forced labour. Our industry needs a level playing field with the highest possible social and ecological production criteria.
The Council - and a German Finance Minister Lindner in particular - must also take an unequivocal stand on the side of European companies when it comes to financing issues: We must create an EU sovereignty fund that invests in a European solar industry. This is the only way to ensure an energy transition "made in Europe"."
I will be happy to answer any further questions