The “Industrial Accelerator” draft act, published by the European Commission on 4 March 2026, introduces targeted and proportionate “Made in EU” and/or low-carbon requirements for public procurement and public support programmes. According to the draft act, which has been prepared in line with the recommendations of the Draghi Report aiming to strengthen the EU’s competitiveness, these criteria will be applied in particular in selected strategic sectors such as steel, cement, aluminium, automotive and net-zero technologies; they may also be extended, where deemed appropriate, to other energy-intensive sectors such as chemicals.

IKV Chairperson Ayhan Zeytinoğlu made the following statement on the issue:

“The EU aims to use public procurement and public support strategically in order to strengthen production capacity in Europe and to increase competition in favour of clean technologies and products manufactured in Europe. The draft ‘Industrial Accelerator’ Act announced on 4 March 2026 constitutes one of the most important pillars of this process.
With the draft act, the EU aims to increase the share of manufacturing industry in its GDP from 14% today to 20% by 2035 and to create leading sectors in particular in decarbonisation and clean technologies.

By introducing ‘Made in EU’ and low-carbon preferences in public procurement and public support programmes, it is intended to increase demand for European industrial products ranging from cement and aluminium to net-zero technologies such as batteries, solar, wind, heat pumps, and nuclear. For the steel sector, special low-carbon preferences that will create market demand are envisaged.

Will Products Manufactured in Türkiye Be Considered “Made in EU”?

According to the draft, the “Made in EU” criteria that is planned to be applied will also cover the EU’s close partners. Countries that have a free trade agreement with the EU or, as in the case of Türkiye, a customs union can be included in this definition.
Content originating from partners with which the EU has concluded an agreement establishing a free trade area or a customs union, or that are parties to the Agreement on Government Procurement, will be considered as Union origin within the framework of the Union obligations under the respective agreement.

Accordingly, it will be possible for products in Türkiye to also be included in this definition. However, the Commission may exclude from this definition a third country that does not grant national treatment to products manufactured in the EU, in other words that applies discriminatory measures. From this perspective, in order for products manufactured in Türkiye to fall within the scope of “Made in EU,” the customs union relationship will be decisive. However, there is also the principle of national treatment for EU products.

With regard to foreign direct investments, conditions are introduced for large investments exceeding 100 million euros in strategic sectors such as batteries, electric vehicles, photovoltaics, and critical raw materials, where more than 40% of global production capacity is controlled by a single third country. These investments will be required to create high-quality employment, to support innovation and growth, to generate real added value in the EU through technology and knowledge transfer, and to comply with local content requirements. In this context, it is proposed to introduce a requirement of at least 50% European employment.

The draft act also aims to accelerate and digitalise permitting procedures for industrial projects. It is also envisaged to establish “Industrial Acceleration Areas” in order to enable industrial symbiosis and to promote the formation of clean manufacturing project clusters.

A glimmer of hope has emerged for products manufactured in Türkiye to also be included within the scope of “Made in EU.” However, even though there is a customs union, we will need to review discriminatory practices applied to EU products. The draft act will henceforth be examined and concluded by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union”.