11 July 2017
WindEurope delivers joint call for industrialisation to Estonian Presidency and ITRE Chair
European industries exchange with Estonian Minister
Today, WindEurope’s Chief Policy Officer Pierre Tardieu and Directors from 14 other European trade associations handed a joint declaration to Ms Kadri Simson, Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure and current Chair of the EU Competitiveness Council, and MEP Jerzy Buzek, Chair of the European Parliament’s Industry Committee (ITRE). 130 European trade associations signed the joint declaration that advocates for more efforts to industrialise Europe.
Between 2000 and 2014, the share of manufacturing in total EU output fell from 18.8% to 15.3%, while 3.5 million manufacturing jobs were lost between 2008 and 2014. The former Industry Commissioner and current President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani then set a 20% target for 2020. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has confirmed this commitment to help the EU remain a competitive global industrial power playing in a fairer world market. He also pledged to make the EU number one in renewable energy technologies.
With this joint declaration, WindEurope together with European trade associations from other manufacturing sectors calls on the European Commission to:
- reaffirm its commitment to reaching the target of 20% of GDP from industry, with an ambitious and realistic timeline;
- adopt an Action Plan to tackle the challenges that the industrial sectors face, in the framework of a Communication that would include concrete steps and milestones;
- commit to implement this Action Plan in a timely manner and regularly report on progress.
The industries are currently developing a joint vision, which they will present in autumn.
