Action economy: European sovereignty arises from economic strength
The future of Europe depends on our ability to advance the causes of innovation, defense, and democracy — together and resolutely through close industrial cooperation — by furthering integration in Europe and strengthening the European Single Market.
Europe’s capacity to act is at its best where economic strength meets decisive political action and technological competence. In this context, we should not view innovation, defense, and democracy in isolation: Technological sovereignty reinforces democratic self-determination, and industrial productivity provides security policy options.
The European Single Market is the essential foundation for this. It enables scaling, division of labor, and specialization across national boundaries. Especially with future technologies, more European integration is highly beneficial when shared standards, harmonized regulations, and networked value chains ensure that innovations arise faster and realize their potential more fully.
Industry occupies a key role here. It translates political goals into operational reality through investments, production capacities, and technological development. Strong European cooperation among industry, science, and defense sectors is therefore not a constraint on national sovereignty, but rather its prerequisite. Europe’s ability to take cohesive action determines whether we will shape global change or be shaped by it.
The BDI advocates for implementing these goals together:
- We, the BDI, support #PowerUpEurope to transform European economic competitiveness into the foundation for its capacity to act and maintain sovereignty.
- We, the BDI, call for strengthening the EU Single Market and dismantling bureaucratic hurdles — because scaling and integration are Europe’s power base.
- We, the BDI, are a driver of European industrial and single-market policy: The inner-European market is the linchpin of integration and the foundation for growth, employment, and prosperity.
- We, the BDI, advocate for an accelerated integration of financial markets; the union of banks and capital markets must expand decisively to mobilize new investment.
- We, the BDI, emphasize that sovereignty and resilience do not stop at Earth’s boundaries — we must also advance and safeguard those interests in space.
Gestaltungskraft
Germany finds itself in the midst of deep technological, economic, and geopolitical changes. Old rules are giving way to a new geo-economic order.
Far from being some abstract future scenario, this realignment is already impacting industrial decision-making today. We are reevaluating global supply chains, exposing technological dependencies, and factoring geopolitical risk into our economic calculations.
Verbinden
Industrial strength does not come from the excellence of individual firms alone; it arises from an ability to bring together technological, economic, and scientific actors through intelligent networks. Studies show that industrial value creation reaches its peak impact in a cluster.
Dauerwandel
Transformation has become an all-of-society effort that can secure and grow our prosperity. Industry has a duty to tackle this task and drive it forward.
Change is no longer a one-off project; it is the new normal. Climate change, demographic trends, digitalization, and national-security requirements are fundamentally changing our markets and the means of production. This makes innovation a central source of future economic vitality.
Leadership
The question is not whether German industry is in the lead, but how it leads the way in this new order — for Germany and Europe.
Responsible leadership is a function of skill and impact. German industry demonstrates both in its technological excellence, deep industrial value chains, and international connections.
Fundament
Credible claims to leadership rest on economic strength. It preserves our capacity to act by securing sovereignty and resilience in a changed world.
A strong economy is a requirement for political freedom of action. It unlocks investment opportunities, enables technological development, and improves our ability to respond to crises. Without industrial substance, strategic autonomy remains an illusion
Systemkompetenz
Value creation today is a dynamic, interconnected fabric of closely integrated businesses, technologies, markets, and societal expectations. The reality of industrial production has fundamentally shifted. Products no longer emerge in isolated value chains but in complex networks of suppliers, platforms, services, and digital infrastructures.
Verbundkraft
Innovation and transformation emerge at the intersection of industry, commerce, and technology.
Many of the most impactful innovations of our time occurred at such intersections: of energy and industry, of digitalization and health, of mobility and infrastructure.
Verlässlichkeit
Germany and Europe boast a stable legal environment that enables reliable collaboration, a decisive locational advantage in the context of global competition. Legal certainty, dependability, and institutional stability are central prerequisites for long-term industrial collaboration. Germany and Europe provide an environment that builds trust between companies, investors, and governments.
Zusammenhalt
The international environment is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. A shifting balance of global power, hybrid threats, and the deliberate creation of economic dependencies are fundamentally altering the contours of what it means to be a global economic destination.
