Dear all,

The unprecedented wave of new legislation expected for the spring of 2021 is now truly upon us. This last month alone the Commission issued three pieces of legislation heavily impacting our industries: a draft regulation on Artificial Intelligence, a proposal for a Machinery Regulation (replacing the current Machinery Directive) and a package of measures on sustainable finance. While Orgalim fully supports the objectives of these measures, the devil is in the detail. We are concerned, for example, that the concrete measures proposed could actually harm our ability to maintain our global leadership in manufacturing technologies and damage a core pillar of Europe’s Single Market. In the midst of the action, the most notable and long-awaited policy announcement – the update of the EU’s overall industrial strategy – was once more delayed and is now expected on 5 May. We had the chance to discuss a preview of what to expect with Christiane Canenbley, deputy head of cabinet of Margrethe Vestager, at our latest “industrial strategy in focus” event. 

But policy was not the only thing that kept us busy in April. Last Tuesday we launched Orgalim for Corporates, a unique and targeted corporate access programme for future-oriented technology manufacturers. On the same occasion, we also welcomed Eaton as our first subscriber to the new offering. In this transformative decade for Europe's industries, it has never been more important for manufacturing companies to stay ahead of and influence the European policy agenda. Our new programme strengthens our capabilities further, by building on the expertise and collaboration that we leverage through our vast network of association membership.

The pace of policymaking central to our industries will intensify even more in the next few weeks ahead of summer. With the sheer volume of new legislation in the pipeline, the stakes could not be higher to get it right. Count on us to continue making sense of it all for our members and bringing our industries’ voice to the policy table. 

Best regards,