Frankfurt/Brussels, 21 November 2024 – Holger Kunze, Head of the VDMA European Office, comments on the agreement in the EU Parliament on the new EU Commissioners:

• "It is good to see that the timetable for the appointment of the new EU Commission is on track and that the agreement between the majority groups in the European Parliament has now paved the way for the start on 1 December. With a new US president on the horizon, Europe cannot afford to waste any more time on itself and the domestic political turmoil in some large member states. There is a lot to do!"
• "It is encouraging that strengthening the competitiveness of European industry played a central role in the hearings. However, to revive European industry, the EU must now turn its words into action. This applies in particular to the announcement of a comprehensive simplification of the EU's regulatory framework. The Commission must show ambition and deliver urgently - and consult industry associations. We are open for dialogue!"
• "We must not lose our ambition in trade policy. On the contrary, the EU must finally conclude free trade agreements more quickly and pragmatically, for example with Mercosur. Open markets are essential for the success of export-oriented European industries such as machinery and equipment manufacturing, and they also contribute to greater competitiveness."

A photo of Holger Kunze, Head of VDMA European Office in Brussels, can be found here.

The 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.