To the attention of Commissioners:
• Teresa Ribera, Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition of the European Commission
• Ekaterina Zaharieva, Startups, Research and Innovation
• Valdis Dombrovskis, Economy and Productivity Implementation and Simplification;
• Stéphane Séjourné, Prosperity and Industrial Strategy

As the Additive Manufacturing (AM) industry continues to evolve, it is increasingly evident that it already plays a pivotal role in Europe’s industrial and technological future – a role that could become even more significant if the EU addresses existing barriers to market access. AM is not just an innovative production method, but a transformative technology that can reduce costs, accelerate innovation and have a substantial, positive impact on key European sectors such as medical and biotech, aerospace, energy, defence and automotive manufacturing. At the same time, if steered by appropriate public policies, AM can contribute to a more sustainable, resilient and socially just industrial model by enabling shorter supply chains, supporting quality jobs in local communities and fostering more democratic access to advanced manufacturing capabilities across Europe.

Despite the EU’s strong position in AM research and innovation, global competition is accelerating, with the US, China and other countries strategically placing AM at the core of their industrial policies. To ensure that Europe maintains its leadership, preserves its strategic autonomy and supports the reshoring of critical supply chains in an increasingly tense geopolitical context, it is imperative that the next EU R&D framework programme prioritises AM as a critical enabling technology. At the same time, this must be done in a way that aligns with the Union’s social, environmental and cohesion objectives – ensuring that AM contributes to quality jobs, fair working conditions, reduced inequalities between regions and a just transition for workers and communities affected by industrial change.

While the EU has supported AM through framework programmes such as FP7, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, further efforts are needed to bridge existing gaps and fully unlock the potential of this technology in the public interest. For example, some legislative and certification-related barriers still hamper the wider uptake of AM in many sectors especially for SMEs and local production ecosystems. We therefore strongly urge the Commission to consider the following four priorities in the design of the upcoming EU R&D framework programme, ensuring at the same time that support for AM is closely linked to climate objectives, and social and territorial cohesion.

Establish a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) on additive manufacturing. A European PPP dedicated to AM would serve as a collaborative platform bringing together industry leaders, research institutions, SMEs, workers’ representatives and policy makers. Similar to the “America Makes” initiative in the US (americamakes.us), such a partnership would drive research, certification, standardisation, industrial adoption and workforce development, while also facilitating knowledge transfer and cohesion across EU Member States. By supporting pre-competitive research on material properties and sustainability , process reliability and quality assurance, the partnership would help to establish clear certification pathways, thereby reducing the time and cost required for companies – in particular SMEs and local producers – to bring AM products to market, while promoting quality jobs, fair working conditions and environmentally responsible industrial practices.

Build on the outcomes of EU-Funded projects. The EU has already invested significantly in AM through projects under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. However, many successful project results remain underused due to a lack of structured follow-up initiatives and insufficient support for their uptake by SMEs, public services and local production ecosystems. To fully leverage these past investments in the public interest, the Commission should establish mechanisms to ensure that project results are translated into industrial applications, scale-up opportunities and further innovation cycles, and that their findings are taken into account in upcoming legislative proposals, such as the revision of the Medical Devices Regulation. This includes developing initiatives that facilitate the integration of AM innovations arising from EU-funded research, while ensuring alignment between completed projects and future funding priorities. In addition, past project results offer a strong foundation to support standardisation efforts and application-specific standards. Strengthening such standardisation frameworks would enable wider adoption of AM, create synergies with existing industrial technologies and position European industries at the leading edge of global competition while contributing to quality jobs, fair working conditions and a just transition across regions.

Expand cascade funding for AM to reach more micro and small enterprises. While AM has demonstrated its potential in high-value sectors, its adoption across the broader EU industrial landscape, particularly among SMEs, cooperatives and local production ecosystems, remains limited. Expanding cascade funding mechanisms dedicated to AM would enable a wider range of actors to participate in R&D projects, fostering innovation and the integration of AM technologies at all levels of the supply chain, and ensuring that they are embedded into diverse and more localised production networks. By lowering financial barriers, the EU can stimulate entrepreneurship, accelerate the uptake of AM technologies so contributing to quality jobs in Europe.

Promote scale-up of additive manufacturing through coordinated EU-level support. To fully capitalise on Europe’s strong AM research base, greater emphasis must be placed on supporting the scale-up and wider deployment of mature and sustainable AM technologies. The European Innovation Council (EIC) should play a central role in facilitating this transition by supporting large companies as well as SMEs and other innovation actors in bringing proven solutions to industrial scale. This includes helping innovators and creators to navigate the challenges of market entry, production ramp-up and integration into existing manufacturing ecosystems while ensuring that workers and local communities also benefit from these transformations.

Furthermore, coordinated action across EU funding instruments – such as the EIC, the Digital Europe Programme, Cohesion Policy Funds and InvestEU – is needed to ensure that promising technologies such as AM can be widely adopted across regions and sectors, including in less-developed and transition regions. By aligning funding strategies and providing targeted support for the demonstration, roll-out and replication of AM solutions, the EU can foster a more resilient and competitive manufacturing base, especially among SMEs and mid-caps. Such coordination will also help to close regional innovation gaps and ensure a more balanced uptake of AM technologies across the Union.

Address legislative barriers to market access. Today, it is disproportionately difficult to place 3D-printed objects on the EU market because current CE certification rules were conceived for centralised, industrial production lines rather than for decentralised, digital and distributed manufacturing. This situation makes it hard, even for EU-funded project results, to actually reach the market, and also prevents the economically viable production of small series of highly customisable products tailored to specific needs. The consequence is clear: innovation is slowed, circularity is penalised, and local regenerative production, community-based manufacturing and quality job creation are legally constrained, with negative impacts that are felt most acutely by SMEs, local producers and citizens who could benefit from more accessible, decentralised production models.

In several instances, sectoral EU legislation even blocks market access for products manufactured using AM technologies. The Medical Devices Regulation, for example, sets major barriers that do not allow timely and full market access for non-personalised medical devices produced at scale using AM. Barriers also exist in other sectors, including construction products and materials, toys, spare parts and others with a particularly negative impact on SMEs, local producers and public services that could benefit from more flexible and decentralised production models.

The European Commission should assess the existence and impact of such legislative and regulatory barriers and address them by revising existing legislation, including by explicitly allowing the placing on the market of products manufactured using AM technologies and at the same time safeguarding high levels of safety, consumer protection, workers’ rights and environmental standards.

The European Union now has an opportunity to secure a leading position in AM and to drive the future of advanced manufacturing on a global scale. Achieving this will require targeted investments, strategic coordination and a strong commitment to translating research into tangible industrial and social impact. We therefore strongly urge you to take decisive action in the next EU R&D framework programme to ensure that AM remains a cornerstone of Europe’s innovation ecosystem contributing to a just green digital transition.

We appreciate your consideration of these proposals and would welcome the opportunity to discuss them further. Please do not hesitate to contact us for additional insights or potential collaboration opportunities.

Sincerely, the undersigned MEPs