Our CEO Martin Babilas at yesterday’s high-level chemical industry summit in Berlin. As presidium member of #TeamVCI he joined the discussions about what needs to be done to keep one of the country’s key industries competitive in a global market. #Innovation #Deregulation #EU
The German chemical industry is at the crossroads. What needs to be done to keep one of the country’s key industries competitive in a global market? This was at the center of the inspiring, high-level chemical industry summit organized by German Chemical Industry Association VCI yesterday. “We need to dare a new beginning now“, said VCI President Dr. Markus Steilemann. And I believe that the summit was an important step. The very fact that both German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner, as well as opposition leader Friedrich Merz joined the event, is a great signal. Following a hands-on approach, our industry is asking for competitive energy prices, cutting back bureaucracy, a more competitive tax regime, an industrial #EU deal and investments in education & infrastructure. Among these, three topics were of particular interest: #Innovation: „Innovation is and remains one of the main reasons for Germany’s success as a world-leading export nation“, Chancellor Olaf Scholz pointed out in his opening remarks, reminding us that German companies and the public sector invest more than 120 billion euros annually in R&D. Yes, innovation is of importance, especially for the specialty chemicals sector of our industry. However, R&D can only result in sustainable market success if the resulting product and solution offering is competitive. And that needs a supporting environment in Germany and the EU. Bureaucracy & #deregulation: In a recent poll, two thirds of VCI members called bureaucracy the most burdening issue. At the summit, political leaders agreed, promising to further expedite planning and approval processes and to curb domestic legal additions to EU regulations, for example. #EU growth deal: On its path to sustainability, Europe’s chemical sector is undergoing a fundamental transformation, which will only succeed if the EU’s Green Deal becomes a growth deal. This requires a new industrial policy by encouraging more R&D, tax incentives to invest as well as competitive energy prices, the sufficient supply of sustainable energy, and direct public investments both in infrastructure and education. It was encouraging to see that this summit addressed a wide range of challenges with an open mind, showing that our industry is committed to a “can-do“ approach when it comes to resolving the current structural shortfalls of Germany’s economic framework for the chemical industry. Now, the summit has to be followed by action. #Germany #chemicalindustry #wearealtana #energy #deregulation