During the crisis, the EU is winning the confidence of its citizens, Member States are losing it. The European Council must now set the course to increase this trust with sound economic policies.

Brussels/Frankfurt, 1 October 2020 - Determination and solidarity have paid off: According to a survey by the EU agency Eurofund, citizens in many EU countries have developed more trust in the EU during the Corona crisis than in their governments. However, this trust is linked to the expectation that living and working conditions

in Europe will improve again. At its special meeting, the European Council is called upon to give further signals for a stable economic future. However, the call for economic autonomy is counterproductive: jobs and prosperity are created by open markets and not by protectionism.

"Europe's citizens primarily expect good and secure jobs and economic prospects," says Thilo Brodtmann, Executive Director of the VDMA. "To achieve this, we need competitive companies that have fair access to the EU single market and global markets.” For the VDMA, the call for autonomy is the wrong way: "That soundstoo much like isolation and self-sufficiency. Europe must strive for political and technological sovereignty so that companies can be successful on the world markets and we can continue to enjoy the advantages of trade, export and division of labour," emphasizes the VDMA's Executive Director.

Economic sovereignty does not come about through isolation or the artificial creation of European champions by policy makers, but through technological leadership, innovation and open markets. Mechanical engineering is the best example of this. "We should not carelessly put a proven model of prosperity at risk, but continue to rely on good, industry-friendly framework conditions and open access to the world market. Only in this way, both European values and the European economic model can be successfully exported," summarizes Mr Brodtmann.

A photo of Thilo Brodtmann, Executive Director of VDMA, can be found here

The VDMA represents around 3300 German and European companies in the mechanical engineering industry. The industry represents innovation, export orientation, medium-sized companies and employs around four million people in Europe, more than one million of them in Germany.

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President: Carl Martin Welcker
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