Mikel Jauregi: “The Bilbao Declaration is a commitment to a more European and more sustainable automotive sector”

• The Regional Minister for Industry today opened the plenary session of the Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA), a network promoted within the framework of the European Union’s Committee of the Regions, bringing together regions with a strong automotive industry presence. The session was held at the headquarters of AIC-Automotive Intelligence Centre in Amorebieta.
• The 41 regions of the ARA approved the so-called “Bilbao Declaration”, which calls for regions to play a leading role in European industrial policy; supports the commitment to “Made in Europe” and local content within the automotive sector; and advocates technological neutrality to reduce emissions.
• Jauregi defended local content requirements for the European automotive industry as a way to strengthen the IRABAZI industrial sector for automotive components. “We know that Chinese manufacturers are going to produce cars in Europe, but they must do so using locally manufactured components. And in our case, Chinese cars with Basque parts”
• The regional minister has emphasised the “need for technological neutrality to reduce emissions, combining electric cars with hybrids and vehicles that run on renewable fuels”.

The Basque Government’s Minister for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, Mikel Jauregi, highlighted “the strength of Europe’s industrial regions, including Euskadi, in reinforcing ‘Made in Europe’”. Jauregi today opened the plenary session of the Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA), held at the headquarters of AIC-Automotive Intelligence Centre in Amorebieta.

Jauregi stated that “Europe’s leading automotive regions are making a twofold commitment: we are the industrial foundation of Europe and we believe in an open Europe. We welcome the establishment of foreign automotive manufacturers in Europe, but under the same rules of the game:  local content and technological neutrality. The Bilbao Declaration calls for regions to play a leading role in European industrial policy; for commitment to ‘Made in Europe’ and local content in the automotive sector; and finally, for technological neutrality to reduce emissions. It is a commitment to a more European and more sustainable automotive sector.”

In this context, the Declaration also calls for the co-design and co-implementation of European industrial and investment instruments together with automotive regions. It also underlines the strategic importance of talent, supporting the objectives of the Roadmap for Quality Employment and the future Quality Employment Law, as well as the integration of gender equality as a structural criterion in the sector’s labour policies.

Jauregi defended local content for the European automotive industry as a means of boosting the IRABAZI industrial sector for automotive components within the framework of the Industry Plan Euskadi 2030. “We know that Chinese manufacturers are going to produce cars in Europe, but they must do so using locally manufactured components. And in our case, Chinese cars with Basque parts.” “This is what will truly help defend and develop an automotive components industry which, in Euskadi, is critical. It is a strategic sector for us, on which 40,000 jobs depend,” he stressed.

The regional minister has emphasised the “need for technological neutrality to reduce emissions, combining electric cars with hybrids and vehicles that run on renewable fuels”.

In addition, he reiterated the commitment set out in the Munich Declaration to make the 2035 deadline for the manufacture of internal combustion engine vehicles more flexible. He defended technological neutrality when incentivising the purchase of lower-emission vehicles and called for guarantees that the transition of the automotive sector will consolidate production, investment, and value chains in Europe.

“We need new incentives to drive this intelligent decarbonisation,” added Jauregi, “and the regions have a fundamental role to play in experimenting with new policies and incentives, as well as in sharing good practices with other institutions, especially the European Commission.”

As he stated during his speech last September at the ARA meeting held in Munich, the Minister for Industry today again insisted on the central role that European regions must play “because we are close to our industries, we understand their challenges and potential, and we can act quickly and effectively. We are the ones closest to the 30 million people working in this sector.”

The Bilbao Declaration

The 41 regions of the Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA) have approved the “Bilbao Declaration”, a joint political position on the two initiatives that will define the sector’s immediate future: the Industrial Accelerator Act and the Automotive Package. ARA considers the Industrial Accelerator Act to be a key instrument for strengthening European value chains, reducing strategic dependencies, and supporting the long-term competitiveness of automotive ecosystems across the EU.

In essence, the Declaration supports the introduction of “Made in EU” requirements, provided that they are specific, proportionate, and robust, offer legal certainty, avoid undue burdens on SMEs and regional supply chains, and remain compatible with the Union’s international commitments. The Alliance’s regions underline that the Industrial Accelerator Act will only realise its full potential if it is coherent with the Automotive Package, the Automotive Action Plan, and the broader regulatory framework, and they call for a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of the Automotive Package and its interaction with the Industrial Accelerator Act to ensure that the overall framework remains fit for purpose.

Regarding the technological dimension of the transition, the ARA reaffirms the principle of technological neutrality as the guiding criterion for regulatory measures. The Alliance supports the European initiative on small and affordable electric vehicles as a tool for bringing zero-emission mobility closer to all European citizens. At the same time, it underlines that support for the transition should not rely exclusively on this initiative, preserving manufacturers’ ability to offer a diverse vehicle portfolio guided by market demand. The Declaration also calls for an assessment, before 2035, of the role and effectiveness of sustainable renewable fuels, including biofuels, in line with the principle of technological neutrality and the objective of climate neutrality by 2050.

Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA)

The Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA) is a network promoted within the framework of the Committee of the Regions, bringing together regions with a strong automotive industry presence. It is a platform for interregional political cooperation focused on European industrial policy in the automotive sector and acts as an interlocutor with the European Commission, Member States, and other institutions and industrial alliances.

ARA’s objective is to ensure that the transition of the European automotive sector does not weaken the industrial fabric, takes into account the different territorial realities, and protects jobs and the European supply chain. Ultimately, the goal is for the transition to be competitive, fair, and balanced across regions.

At present, Euskadi holds the vice-presidency of ARA, while Grand Est (France) holds the presidency.

The Bilbao meeting, originally intended as preparation for the annual assembly to be held in Valencia in September, has gained particular relevance as it coincides with the publication of the European Automotive Package in December and the Industrial Accelerator Act. Both legislative initiatives were assessed during the meeting, which concluded with the adoption of a joint final statement under the name “Bilbao Declaration”.

The plenary session was attended by the President of Navarre.

Following Jauregi’s speech, the opening session also featured interventions by Brigitte Torloting, Vice-President of Grand Est; Andriana Sukova, Deputy Director-General of DG Employment; and Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and President of the COTER Commission of the European Committee of the Regions. Emil Boc served as Prime Minister of Romania between 2008 and 2012. This was followed by the keynote presentation delivered by Andriana Sukova, Deputy Director-General of DG Employment.

A session focusing on the regions’ position regarding the Industrial Accelerator Act then took place, featuring a round of brief interventions from different territories. The institutional debate continued with contributions from key figures such as Christophe Grudler, European Parliament rapporteur on the Industrial Accelerator Act, and the President of the Government of the Chartered Community of Navarre, María Chivite, who addressed different perspectives on industrial policy and the European automotive sector.

The final part of the programme included a thematic panel presenting the perspective of industry clusters, followed by concluding remarks and the closing of the meeting. The event concluded with a visit to the Automotive Intelligence Center, a European open innovation centre focused on technological development, talent, and sustainable mobility within the automotive sector.