EU Parliament Draft Seeks 50% “Made in Europe” Rule and Tighter China-Linked Investment Controls

The European Parliament’s draft report on the Industrial Accelerator Act would push the EU toward a stronger industrial-preference and economic-security policy. Its central idea is to direct more public support and procurement toward European, low-carbon manufacturing, while making major foreign investments in strategically sensitive sectors more conditional. The Commission proposed the underlying regulation on 4 March 2026; the Parliament report remains part of the legislative process rather than a final obligation. 57

The proposed 50% European-content benchmark

The draft report calls for a 50% threshold for “Made in Europe” and low-carbon products in strategic sectors by 2036. In practical terms, the proposal is intended to make EU public funds and purchasing power more likely to support production and supply chains located in Europe. 68

The Industrial Accelerator Act already proposes “Made in EU” and low-carbon requirements in public procurement and public-support schemes. The Parliament’s approach would raise the political ambition of those preferences and place greater emphasis on European content. 1718

Net-zero technologies would face higher EU-content expectations

The report also seeks more EU content in net-zero technologies, including areas such as solar panels, wind turbines, heat pumps and nuclear power plants. 69

That matters because the Act covers sectors at the intersection of decarbonisation and industrial resilience. The Commission identifies energy-intensive industries, net-zero technologies and automotive manufacturing among the proposal’s key areas. 24

Foreign investment rules could become more restrictive

The Commission’s proposal sets conditions for foreign investments of at least €100 million when the investor comes from a non-EU country that controls more than 40% of global manufacturing capacity in specified strategic areas, including electric vehicles, batteries, solar and critical raw materials. 18

According to reporting on the Parliament rapporteurs’ draft, the report would lower that trigger to €50 million in sectors where one country has that level of global manufacturing dominance. The move is widely understood in the context of concern about Chinese strength in several relevant supply chains, although the legal test is framed around manufacturing concentration rather than naming a country in the rule itself. 723

What an eligible investment could be asked to deliver

The Commission’s original framework already contemplates attaching industrial-value conditions to covered foreign investments. These include a foreign ownership limit of 49%, a joint venture with an EU partner, intellectual-property or technology-sharing commitments, spending 1% of annual revenue on EU-based research and development, sourcing 30% of inputs from the EU, and employing a defined share of Union workers. 112

Reporting on the Parliament draft indicates that rapporteurs want tougher terms, including a potential requirement for at least 60% EU-based workers, alongside the €50 million scrutiny threshold. The exact formulation and which conditions would apply together will depend on the text approved by Parliament and the subsequent negotiations with member states. 7

The policy logic is clear: investment should do more than create an assembly operation in Europe. It should generate jobs, research activity, local sourcing, technology capability and a more durable EU industrial base.

Why China is central to the political context

The draft arrives during a period of heightened EU-China trade friction. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said Beijing needed to produce “concrete results” by October in efforts to rebalance the trade relationship, warning that failure could lead to harsher EU measures. 21

The Industrial Accelerator Act is not solely a China measure. Its stated purpose is to increase demand for low-carbon, European-made products and technologies and reinforce EU manufacturing capacity. 17 But the report’s focus on countries that dominate strategic manufacturing supply chains gives it a clear economic-security dimension.

What happens next

The headline figures in the draft—particularly the 50% EU-content target, the €50 million investment threshold and the tougher investment conditions—should be treated as negotiating proposals, not settled rules. Parliament must first adopt its position, after which negotiations with EU member states can determine the final regulation. 712

For manufacturers, clean-tech suppliers and foreign investors, the direction of travel is significant: access to public support and strategic European markets may increasingly depend not only on price and emissions, but also on where production, workers, research and supply chains are located.