The energy crisis weakens the competitive position of Dutch companies

What can we do about this?

As a result of the energy crisis in the first half of 2023, the production costs of energy-intensive sectors in the Netherlands increased from 70% to more than 85%, according to an impact analysis done by PwC (November 2022). This causes The Netherlands to have the highest increase within Europe relatively. In France and Germany for example, production costs only increased by 40%.

Ecorys notes that the energy crisis may have major consequences for essential industry in the Netherlands and Europe. The future resilience and competitive position of especially the energy-intensive sectors in Europe are at stake. Policy at the European level is required to preserve and further strengthen the future resilience of these industries.

In the opinion piece below (Dutch) we put forward a number of questions that need to be considered if we want to maintain or even strengthen the competitive position of Dutch industry, both within and outside Europe.