25
CECE
CONSTRUCTION EUROPE
DECEMBER 2013-JANUARY 2014
The industry is calling
for immediate action
That is why the two European
associations for the construction
equipment (CECE) and the
agricultural machinery industry
(CEMA)
invited
industry
representatives and EU-politicians
to attend a summit at the
European Parliamnent in Brussels
in October.
Those who had expected fierce
debates to take place had to
wait almost until the end of the
event. This was mainly because
there was widespread consensus
among all participants of the
summit on the goals of European
industry policy, however not on
the measures to be taken to reach
these goals.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
The keynote speakers from
the political side were Amalia
Sartori, Member of the European
Parliament and chair of the very
important committee for industry,
research and technology, as well
as Massimo Baldinato, member
of the cabinet of Antonio Tajani,
vice president of the European
Commission.
They each underlined the
importance
of
competitive
industrial production for the
European community.
Last year, the European
Commission
formulated
a
laudable and ambitious goal –
to raise the share of industrial
production in Europe’s GDP to
20% by 2020. Both construction
equipment and agricultural
machinery companies welcomed
the fact that this topic has
now climbed up on top of the
European agenda.
The figures on industrial
competitiveness presented by the
Commission in October served
as a first indicator on where the
journey has taken Europe so far.
However, rather than moving
towards the 20% mark, the share
of industrial production in the EU
once again slid downwards – from
15.5% a year ago to 15.1% in the
summer of 2013.
With
domestic
demand
remaining weak in most Member
States, a sharper drop was only
prevented by strong foreign
demand which resulted in a
number of recovery gains owing
to exports outside the EU.
Notwithstanding this positive
aspect, recent developments
are still a major worry from an
international point of view. The
consistent decline of the EU’s
manufacturing output on a global
scale has remained unstopped,
which means that for the first
time the EU’s share will fall behind
China’s in the very near future.
The industry is clear about
what can be done, calling for
less regulation, less bureaucracy,
more coherent legislation, more
and better market surveillance,
and higher budgets for education,
training and infrastructure.
European legislation must foster
innovations and not stifle them,
claimed Stefan Top, for example.
He is managing director of AVR,
a medium-sized manufacturer
of agricultural machinery. And
Cem Peksaglam, CEO of Wacker
Neuson, highlighted that in order
to bring a “normal” hydraulic
hammer to the market, a stack of
paper more than 300mm tall has
to be filled in – for a single product.
One of the major tasks for
politicians was to create a fair
competitive environment in
Europe, said Eric Lepine, CEO of
Caterpillar France.
This was not the case since there
are still many machines coming
to the European market that do
not comply with the conformity
requirements of the EU. This is
because market surveillance
is not applied properly in each
national state.
According
to
industry
representatives, the position of
CECE Secretariat
Diamant Building –
Bd A Reyers 80
B – 1030 Brussels
Tel:+32-2-706 82 26
Fax: +32-2-706 82 10
AEB
AGORIA
ANMOPYC
APCEMP
CEA
CISMA
COMAMOTER
FMIB-CWM
IMDER
SACE
SVSS
Teknologiateollisuus
UCOMESA
Unacea
VDMA
The CECE-CEMA Summit saw a great deal of consensus among
participants on the goals of European industry policy, but not on the
measures to be taken to reach them
S
trong and competitive
industrial production in
Europe is seen as crucial by
CECE – it creates and secures jobs
and prosperity.
This is seriously threatened by
over regulation and an unlevel
playing field for global market
players in Europe, and the industry
is calling for immediate action.
policy makers in the EU is far from
how the industry is working.
Industry speakers pointed out
on two or more occasions that
construction equipment and
agricultural machinery could
not be compared to cars, and
that a mutual dialogue was vital
for politicians to understand
better sector-specific needs and
challenges.
Therefore, the associations
urged company representatives
to intensify dialogue and contact
with their individual MEPs.
ACTION PLAN
The sectors have summarised
their positions and claims in a
manifesto with a ten-point
action plan for strong industrial
production in Europe.
By doing this, the industries
underlined
that
they
are
committed to playing an active
role in reaching the target of the
European Commission.
CEMA
President
Gilles
Dryancour, while handing over
the manifesto to MEP Malcolm
Harbour, said,“We call on the EU to
make industrial competitiveness
the centre of EU policymaking,
and this is our contribution.
“Strong
and
competitive
industrial production in Europe
is essential to drive Europe out of
recession and keep our common
economic area wealthy and
economically successful.”
Both industries claimed again
that as global competition was
fierce, the EU needed to set the
right framework conditions for
them to deliver growth, create
jobs and compete at international
level.
The CECE-CEMA summit, with
more than 300 participants from
the industry and its partners as
well as from EU institutions, is
held every two years in Brussels.
The next CECE Congress will be in
Antwerp next October.
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