KIRUNA, Sweden (Reuters) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday it was important to assess what funding the EU clean tech sector required to ensure a level playing field with the United States before creating an instrument to distribute money.
Asked about the $370 billion the United States has pledged to invest through the Inflation Reduction Act in climate and energy security, much of it in the form of subsidies, von der Leyen said the European Union was already investing large amounts through post-pandemic economic stimulus.
“We want to compete on quality. That’s important. We do not want to compete on subsidies… It is important first of all to have the needs assessment,” she told a news conference, saying that would determine where public funding should go.
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Writing by Philip Blenkinsop, Editing by Gabriela Baczynska)
