Frankfurt/Brussels, 9 May 2025 – VDMA Executive Director Thilo Brodtmann comments on the first visit of the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Brussels:

• “Friedrich Merz is traveling to Brussels shortly after taking office, sending a clear and strong signal for a united Europe. It is particularly important for European industry that Germany once again plays a stronger role in Europe. The days of the “German vote” in the EU must be a thing of the past.”

• "In order to make European industry competitive again, tangible impetus and relief from the EU are needed. We expect Chancellor Merz to commit to the permanent reduction of bureaucracy—both nationally and at the European level.”

• “Europe must regain its influence on the international stage. Ambitious efforts to deepen the single market are also in the interests of the German economy, as is the conclusion of free trade agreements. Other countries are moving faster in this regard. Today, the European machinery and equipment manufacturing industry is more dependent than ever on free markets and smooth trade.”

VDMA Executive Director Thilo Brodtmann

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 870 billion euros. Around 80 percent of the machinery sold in the EU comes from a manufacturing plant in the domestic market.