EU seeks to bridge economy-environment divide

The European Commission is to create a new high-level group on competitiveness, energy and environment by the end of this year. The EU executive announced the initiative on Wednesday as part of a new industrial policy for Europe.

The advisory group is to be co-chaired by commissioners for industry, competition, energy and environment and will pursue greater coordination and integration of policy making in the three areas. It will "ensure the coherence of individual initiatives while improving both sustainability and competitiveness", the Commission said.