Study on investment needs and obstacles along industrial value chains

The European Union currently faces a need to invest in modernising its industry across all value chains in order to maintain its competitive position and economic relevance worldwide. Particularly since the start of the global financial crisis, the pace of economic recovery in the European Union has been slow, in part due to weak investment. To reverse this trend, collective and coordinated efforts at European level are needed. Based on the current modernisation needs of the European Union industry, this study aimed to identify specific investment needs, financing gaps and obstacles to investment along a number of industrial value chains and proposed remedies to overcome those obstacles that are specific to the coordination of investments along an industrial value chain. The study shows an integrated and coordinated approach is required to foster investment and technology adoption. Investment in technology adoption must be paired with investment in other assets, such as skills, network assets and related functional procedures.