On 21st July 2020, the EU leaders agreed on an ambitious plan to repair the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “Next Generation EU” firstly aims primarily at kick-starting the economy and protecting employment. In addition to short-term economic and social aid however, the recovery plan has the strategic objective make Europe´s Economy green, digital and resilient. We, the three main organisations dedicated to manufacturing innovation, welcome the ambition of the Next Generation EU recovery instrument.

Europe’s two million and more manufacturing companies are the backbone of its Economy. In 2018, they provided more than 14% of the European GDP while employing 32,9 million people directly and additional millions though complementary jobs. Europe is a leader in manufacturing and the origin of the new industrial digitalisation paradigm, Industry 4.0. Societies across the world seek the prosperity and jobs that are created by a successful manufacturing industry and compete for it fiercely. Europe needs both disruptive and incremental innovation to increase the competitiveness of manufacturing and strengthen its resilience. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of a resilient and strong European manufacturing industry, which is able to produce important parts and products, without strongly depending on global supply chains.

European manufacturing industry is facing several major challenges simultaneously: demographic changes, rapid technological progress, increasingly varying consumer demands, scarcity of raw materials and environmental concerns as well as fierce global competition which overuses commoditization, monopolistic and even dumping approaches. Digitalization and emerging technologies bear a huge potential to increase competitiveness, innovation and sustainability, yet Europe’s manufacturers, especially SMEs, are often struggling implement such solutions in a useful manner.