Brussels, 16 September 2026 – Commenting on the State of the Union address by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, VDMA Executive Director Thilo Brodtmann says:

• “The European Commission is quite rightly identifying Europe’s competitiveness as a top priority. Ms von der Leyen herself says: ‘Words are good, but actions are better.’ Unfortunately, Ms von der Leyen’s explicit reference to low unemployment figures in Europe shows that the European Commission has not yet grasped the gravity of the situation facing European industry. Europe needs measures that will strengthen its position as an industrial hub in the long term – and it needs them immediately.”

• “When it comes to cutting red tape and reducing regulation, Ms von der Leyen is taking the easy way out by shifting the responsibility onto the member states. Of course, the member states also have a role to play in this regard. However, the European Commission’s proposals to date are far from ambitious enough and do little to ease the burden on businesses. The Commission must step up its efforts significantly in this area.”

• “The European Commission is finally acknowledging that there is no level playing field in competition with China. If the forthcoming EU-China negotiations fail to produce results, concrete and effective measures must follow swiftly to protect European industry from further unfair competition. The VDMA has set out clear demands in this regard. (VDMA Position Paper on China [1])”

• “Thanks to Europe’s industrial strength, artificial intelligence represents a major opportunity for Europe and offers immense potential for the European machinery industry sector. It is good that the European Commission explicitly recognises this and is making it a political priority. The VDMA stands ready to play an active role in shaping the announced ‘groundbreaking initiatives’ from the perspective of the European mechanical and plant engineering sector.”

The VDMA represents 3,500 German and European companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sector. The industry stands for innovation, export orientation and small and medium-sized enterprises. The companies employ a total of around 3 million people across the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of whom are in Germany alone. This makes mechanical and plant engineering the largest employer among capital goods industries, both in the EU-27 and in Germany. It accounts for an estimated turnover of around 900 billion euros in the European Union. Around 80 per cent of the machinery sold in the EU originates from a manufacturing facility within the single market.