Luxembourg industry federation Fedil is one of more than 1,300 signatories of the Antwerp Declaration, calling for urgent action on a European industrial deal in the wake of Europe’s industries “facing the worst economic downturn in a decade”.
“Faced with ongoing deindustrialisation in the eurozone and a deteriorating geopolitical environment, businesses need the European competitiveness agenda to be accelerated, giving rise to concrete and coherent measures on several fronts,” Fedil wrote in its related 11 February press communiqué. “Every additional delay results in investments being postponed, relocated outside Europe, or simply abandoned.”
Fedil managing director René Winkin, pictured, told Forbes that the Grand Duchy’s industrial challenges include energy costs, decarbonisation and real estate constraints. On 12 February, representing Fedil in Belgium, Winkin took part in a session dedicated to strengthening Europe’s single market and competitiveness, and he’s looking forward to seeing the results of the upcoming European Council session on 19-20 March, which will also highlight these topics.
Over-regulation: “top on our agenda”
Fedil also notes the “deteriorating geopolitical environment”, adding that, “Faced with pressure from the Trump administration, Europe must firmly and collectively defend European interests while maintaining a stable transatlantic relationship.”
Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden has been clear in his messaging, calling 2026 the country’s “year of competitiveness”, describing the need to remain relevant vis-à-vis competition from players like the US and Asia at a time when European regulation has reached a breaking point.
“The over-regulation issue is top on our agenda,” the Fedil managing director adds. “We worked quite hard these last years to avoid over-regulation that came out up until 2023-24, and since the 2024 European elections, it’s now the other way around. They found that even legislation that was only a half a year old might have gone much too far,” referring in part to the 24 February Council of the EU signing off on the Omnibus I simplification package. Fedil has also been meeting regularly with the economy minister. “The mindset is good to tackle topics [like overregulation] on a Luxembourg basis,” Winkin says.
Easing the burdens
Despite the challenges the industrial sector is facing, Winkin praises several of the Luxembourg government initiatives made to ease some of the burdens. One case in point is the new state contribution to grid costs—“a good sign towards the industry,” Winkin says. Though the measures apply to both household consumers and businesses, “in terms of percentage, the effect on industry was much higher. That was really welcome and showed the intention of the government to say that energy cost is an issue, and it wants to act where it can.”
Winkin also praised the economy ministry’s call for tenders last year for its scheme to provide financial aid to address the shortfalls for manufacturing sector companies face when implementing electrification in their industrial processes. When it comes to being on course with the country’s decarbonisation agenda, Winkin adds there tends to be an additional investment to be made when it comes to decarbonisation, but then there’s also the question of higher operational costs.
Although industrial players in different EU member states are facing similar issues, the real estate pressure in Luxembourg is unique—not just in terms of housing for staff, but it can additionally be challenging for industrial players to enlarge or find the space they need. This can require transforming old industrial sites into more modern ones or rethinking the builds. But “we have some legislation that makes it a very long process,” Winkin says, although he’s hopeful this could shift with government support. “For instance, if you really want to go greenfield and bring in companies, people tell us, don’t try to do it quicker than 8-10 years. And that’s simply not in line with the industrial or technological ambitions of the country.”
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