Dear colleagues, 

In the next few days, we will pass a sobering milestone: a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. And in another year from now, the EU will be in full-on election mode, ahead of the 2024 European elections which will once again reset the political compass for Europe. Wedged between these two events, the policy decisions taken during the coming months could not be more significant for the future of Europe. Not that the EU institutions need reminding, nor we here at Orgalim. No sooner had Commission President von der Leyen floated her Green Deal Industrial Plan in Davos, than that plan was published and then endorsed by the European Council, with the aim to “enhance the competitiveness of Europe's net-zero industry and support the fast transition to climate neutrality.” The next steps – a Net Zero Industry Act, the Critical Raw Materials Act, and more – will come thick and fast. 

Amid this flurry of legislative activity, our focus is firmly on both getting the big picture right and on helping to shape the many still sketchy details that will make all the difference if this welcome ambition to boost Europe's industrial competitiveness and net zero transformation is to succeed. We will, for example, work to deliver the optimal investment conditions for enabling technologies, including in the EU taxonomy, as one of 28 member organisations appointed from over 200 applicants to the next EU Platform for Sustainable Finance. Another priority will be making sure that steps for easing the regulatory burden go well beyond plans for speeding up permitting procedures for renewables. Along with our agenda to recommit to the Single Market on the occasion of its 30th anniversary, we are relaying the crescendo of industry voices from across the Orgalim industries warning that the tsunami of legislation is overwhelming their ability to innovate and compete. The new Machinery Products Regulation, for one, will be in the spotlight during our upcoming Policy Exchange. 

Undoubtedly, the new industrial plan will frame much of our work over the coming weeks and months, and rightly so, as our industries are at the heart of it. It is crucial to keep pressing home that the net zero transformation is not only about accelerating renewables uptake but just as much about driving energy and material efficiency, through electrification, sector coupling, advanced manufacturing and the many other enabling technologies our industries produce. Our latest Technology at Heart report showcases this once again with compelling case studies which are well worth the read.  

In short, the potential for the year ahead to be transformative has never looked greater. We will be sure to make it count. 

Best regards,