The 2025 edition of EU Industry Days, a flagship event promoted by the European Commission, has been held in Rzeszów, the capital of Poland's Podkarpackie Region, and hosted by ECR 1st Vice-President and Marshal of the Region, Władysław Ortyl. Key stakeholders and industry leaders have gathered to discuss competitiveness, resilience and the strategies to foster economic growth and innovation in the EU. Stéphane Séjourné, European Commission's Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, and Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space, were among the high-level speakers who attended the event.
During his intervention, Marshal Ortyl underlined how "Europe's competitiveness has been lagging behind our main international competitors for years" and how "China and the United States have clearly surpassed the EU in GDP growth, innovation, and the development of new marketable technologies". While Europe is a powerhouse in terms of research, it still fails to translate it into "marketable products and services".
Nonetheless, events like the EU Industry Days can "become a catalyst for deeper synergy between the worlds of science, industry and public administration" and the discussions held here will bring us closer to answering the question of how can we build a "strong, modern European industry in times of global turbulence", Mr Ortyl added.
Today, in an era that demands digital transformation and the rebuilding of strategic production capacities, industry needs new operating models – models based on sectoral synergy, business agility, resource efficiency, and openness to international cooperation. Therefore, "Europe must not merely follow global change – it must lead it".
Of particular importance now are dual-use technologies, which integrate civilian capabilities with security needs. The defence sector – once considered marginal – is today emerging as a driving force of industrial transformation. "My region has heavily invested in research and development in dual-use technologies and became a major hub for Western armaments and aid supply to Ukraine, showcasing that being resilient and adapting to new scenarios is crucial for growth and competitiveness", Mr Ortyl pointed out.
Mr Ortyl would like to see any future industry-related strategy should be implemented by dialogue with local and regional authorities, as regions and cities "make more than half of total public investments in the EU".