Brussels, Belgium: The EU executive has again delayed presenting a fiercely contested plan to favour European companies over foreign rivals in key sectors, pushing it back to March 4 to give more time for talks, officials said Monday.
The proposal was expected Thursday but there has been strong pushback from some EU states and senior officials inside the European Commission over the plans.
The cabinet of EU industry chief Stephane Sejourne, who will present the proposal, said it hoped "this additional week of internal discussions will allow to make the proposal even more rock-solid".
This is the third time the presentation of the plans known as the "Industrial Accelerator Act" to facilitate "Made in Europe" production has been delayed.
It was initially expected in December, then it was postponed to January before it was again delayed to February.
The EU executive's plans would tell companies that if they want to access public money, a certain percentage of the components for their goods like cars must be made in the 27-country bloc.
The new rules are expected to cover a limited number of strategic sectors, such as green technology, cars, chemicals and steel.
France has strongly defended the proposal, in a bid to protect its national electric car battery industry.
Germany has pushed back, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz saying this month it should be a "last resort".
Several countries including Sweden and the Netherlands -- supporters of free trade -- have warned against veering into protectionism.
There have been tense debates inside the commission over whether the EU's partners, such as Japan, should be included and the latest draft seen by AFP included a reference to "trusted partners" to address such concerns.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has supported the plans, arguing they would help "strategic sectors" and support scaling-up European production capabilities.
