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Orgalime welcomes Competitiveness Council’s conclusions

Date

29 May 2009

Sections

Sustainable Dev.

Europe’s solution providers – manufacturing and in particular the electrical & electronic engineering “Electra” industries. Orgalime welcomes Competitiveness Council’s conclusions

Manufacturing industries and in particular, Europe’s electrical and electronic industries - have the potential not only to provide significant growth and employment in the EU, but it is they who will also provide solutions for today’s most pressing societal issues. These are some of the conclusion of the EU’s Competitiveness Council convening this week. Commented Orgalime Secretary General Adrian Harris: “We congratulate the Ministers in the Competitiveness Council and the Czech Presidency of the EU for the recognition that they have given to the strategic role that our industry plays in the economy of Europe today and for the future through providing lead technologies which can be developed and applied both in Europe and then worldwide.”

The Ministers call for more and better application of energy efficient technologies across the board – in homes and buildings, in industry and transport and for the production, transmission and distribution of electricity. The Council’s conclusions will be incorporated into the European Commission’s industrial policy, thereby singling out the Electra industries as one of the strategic technology areas of Europe. This follows the issue of the Electra report, drafted by representatives of the sector together with Commission officials, which carried out an in depth analysis of the sector[1] and concluded that the sector had the potential to grow and flourish in Europe. “It took the economic crisis and the Commission’s economic recovery plan to focus minds once again on the role that our industry, with the 11 million jobs it provides, plays in the economy of Europe. Now our companies are finally getting the recognition they deserve: these are the industries which come up with solutions for the issues we face today and tomorrow: employment, climate change, energy security, the rising cost of health care, urbanisation, an aging population, etc… Now what counts is that national governments and the European Commission apply the measures that the Ministers have recommended. Will our institutions now manage to snap out of a “business as usual mode”? We really hope so”, concluded Harris.

Ends

Notes for Editors:

1. http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/electr_equipment/electra.htm

2. http://www.orgalime.org/news/news.asp?id=294

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