Frankfurt/Brussels, 26 February 2025 – Commenting on the European Commission's Clean Industrial Deal, VDMA Executive Director Thilo Brodtmann says:

• “Competitiveness and climate protection are not terms in contradiction; the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal are fundamentally sound. However, EU policymakers urgently need to improve the conditions for business in Europe across the board so that innovation and new technologies can fulfil their potential for a competitive and clean economy.”

• “The technologies of the machinery and equipment manufacturing industry are indispensable for developing and scaling new, clean solutions efficiently and quickly.”

• “For the Clean Industrial Deal to deliver for industry, it must go beyond treating the symptoms of crisis-hit sectors. It will be important to take a holistic view of value chains, including components and manufacturing technologies. The aim must be to address the root causes of competitive disadvantages.”

• “The Clean Industrial Deal must not become another bureaucratic and subsidy monster. It must reinforce a level playing field. Interference in supply chains and product design that limits companies' ability to act and compete must be avoided.”

   VDMA represents 3600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies. The industry stands for innovation, export orientation and SMEs. The companies employ around 3 million people in the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of them in Germany alone. This makes mechanical and plant engineering the largest employer among the capital goods industries, both in the EU-27 and in Germany. In the European Union, it represents a turnover volume of an estimated 910 billion euros. Around 80 percent of the machinery sold in the EU comes from a manufacturing plant in the domestic market.