Dear all,

As always, when reaching the end of the year, I look back at the months behind us and the progress made to date. Our industries have rebounded faster than previously expected, as shown in our 2021 autumn economic report. However, widespread disruptions in supply chains have led to production difficulties across the industry during recent months and are expected to hold down growth for the period ahead.

On the policy front, the scale and pace of the EU reform agenda have sped up another notch, raising questions on how to balance the ambition for progress with the quality of the results. We will be operating in a fundamentally redrawn regulatory environment, which will be with us for many years. The importance of getting the forthcoming decisions right therefore cannot be overstated.

The vulnerabilities in the EU economy, and the importance of developing a broad policy consensus on the priority issues at industry level, were core to the discussions we had during last week’s Industrial Forum. We stressed the importance of accelerating the transition to Advanced Manufacturing across industrial ecosystems to sustain our future industrial competitiveness and resilience, and to drive Europe’s digital and green transformation. This will remain central to our policy work in the coming year. In this context of rapid change and high stakes, we must also ensure we keep our feet on the ground. This is the goal of our Technology at Heart series: to provide concrete examples and insights ‘from the front line’. Our latest edition focuses on case studies from four Slovenian companies making the green transition happen, with technology ‘Made in Europe’. It illustrates the enablers and the obstacles of this transition as well as implications for policymaking at EU and national levels. 

Talking about the front line, I would like to thank my colleagues at Orgalim: our members, for their trust; and our staff, for their drive and competence. The pandemic keeps reminding us that, after all, the human touch is what ultimately makes the difference. It is in that spirit that we have collected our Christmas wishes for 2021. On this note, I wish you a peaceful and relaxing holiday season and a great start to the New Year.

Take care,