Dear all,

This extraordinary year may be approaching its end but that does not mean things are winding down. On the contrary, there's a clear sense of urgency in the air. An urgency not only to ease this second wave of the virus and provide relief to so many individuals and businesses that are suffering, but also to keep moving forward on the ambitious policy agenda that will set Europe on the road to a digital, green and resilient recovery. 

At Orgalim, we’ve been keeping up a sustained pace and have no intention of letting up, given the pivotal role our technology industries have to play in realising these recovery objectives. We have published no less than six new position papers in the past few weeks, contributing industry insights and expertise on key topics ranging from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and foreign subsidies to alternative fuels and cybersecurity. And we’ve also continued to bring industry’s voice to key policy discussions. Earlier this month, our President Rada Rodriguez spoke alongside Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans at the launch event of the European Parliament Intergroup on 'Long-Term Investment and Sustainable & Competitive Industry’. Meanwhile, I hosted our latest Industrial Strategy in Focus roundtable, which tackled Europe’s future trade strategy. The next event in this series, on AI in the industrial context, is coming up on 2 December. I hope to see many of you there.

​​​​​​​Finalising the new long-term budget is, of course, the precondition for moving forward on all these policy fronts. The uncertainty still hanging over it is very concerning indeed. Europe cannot afford a delay in the distribution of much needed funding, including to support our industries in maintaining Europe's technology leadership, global competitiveness, and hundreds of thousands of green and digital jobs.​​​​​​​

For its part, Orgalim now has everything in place for this crucial next phase. At our General Assembly this month, members expressed a clear endorsement of our ambitious agenda at the EU level in the year ahead. My thanks go to them and also to our outgoing Chair, Thilo Brodtmann, and Vice-Chair, Klas Wåhlberg, for their leadership over the past two years. We will go into the new year with a new Chair, Jaakko Hirvola, CEO of Technology Industries of Finland, and Vice-Chair, Stefan Brupbacher, Director General of Swiss association Swissmem. I look forward to working with them and with all of you to turn urgency into opportunity in the weeks and months ahead. 

Stay well, stay safe,