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European industry has been in decline since the last financial crisis in 2008. But in fact, losing production to countries outside Europe is not a new phenomenon. Industry represented 15% of EU's GDP in 2014 falling from 18% in 2000. This decline must be reversed because Europe cannot only rely on the services sector. And this fight to save manufacturing industry can be wholly consistent with environmental considerations and a sustainable economy. The aim is to boost the industrial share of GDP from 15% to 20% by 2020. That is a difficult, but not impossible task. We must be aware that since the economic crisis began in Europe over 3 million industrial jobs have been lost! Lower costs and availability labour in other regions of the world explain a large part of the steadily decline of the industrial sector. To a lot of European leaders and managers industrial production was assimilated to mass production. But this was, at least partially, an inadequate analysis. That's because industry also means investment in R&D, of course exports and in addition a dynamic effect on the services sector. Not surprisingly, German enterprises are at the forefront when it comes to industry. They have launched with state support the "Industrie 4.0" initiative to be able to keep up with the digital revolution and thus develop fully automated "smart factories". And the robotization will also lead to the relocation of many industries which were too dependent on plentiful unskilled labour. But above all, the major effort will be to identify the industries of the future and then to finance and invest heavily in research and development .

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