Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti called for a common European Union approach to support competitiveness and protect strategic production in response to massive subsidies under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Reuters reports.

The EU fears that the $430 billion IRA scheme, with its generous tax breaks for domestic production of energy sector components, could poach business from the EU and disadvantage European companies, from automakers to clean-tech manufacturers.

"We are in favour of a European IRA plan with the objective of reducing inflation," Giorgetti said in a statement issued on the sidelines of a meeting with fellow euro zone finance ministers in Brussels.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier that the EU would adapt its state aid rules so that governments could help their industries withstand the negative effects of the IRA bill.

Georgetti said the EU should act together rather than follow a case-by-case approach.

"We see measures that favour competitiveness and protect strategic production as positive, but at the same time we think any intervention must be taken at the European level, preserving the integrity of the single market," Giorgetti added.