Brussels/Frankfurt, 15 June 2021 – Commenting on the EU Commission's "Lessons learned" about the Corona pandemic Thilo Brodtmann, Executive Director at VDMA, says:

"Pandemic management also includes analysing one's own reactions, recognising mistakes and thus being better prepared for future crises. It therefore makes sense that the EU Commission has begun working through the pandemic response and is drawing its lessons from the crisis. Autonomy and isolation are in any case not the right answers. For the industry it is clear that open markets and global partnerships are the only right way out of the crisis and contribute to economic recovery.

Global supply chains in the strongly export-oriented machinery industry have passed the extreme stress test of the Corona crisis. Disruptions have been caused mainly by the uncoordinated border closures in Europe and the partial closure of production facilities in Europe. The pandemic shows that only European-thought and jointly agreed measures are effective. International cooperation, open trade and a strong EU internal market are prerequisites for successful crisis management."