External ECON Commission Seminar in Chemnitz 26/27-03-2024
Seminar on "Industrial Transition in the EU" with the participation of CoRAI members
Members of the ECON-Commission in the townhall of Chemnitz.
CORAI-Co-Chair Barbara Eibigner-Miedl (second from the left) next to CoRAI Chair Thomas Schmidt (second from the right).
CoRAI-Co-Chair Barbara Eibinger-Miedl next to CoRAI Member Sven Schulze.
Markku Markkula - Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions.
CoRAI-Co-Chair María Chivite (to the right) with CoRAI Chair Thomas Schmidt.
CoRAI Member Matteo Luigi Bianchi.
CoRAI Member Andres Jaadla.
Thomas Wobben (Director for Legislative work 2 of the European Committee of the Regions).
CoRAI-Co-Chair Barbara Eibinger-Miedl (to the left) speaking about Automotive Regions in Transition.
Dirk Vogel (AMZ – Network Automotive Supplier Saxony) during Session 2 on Automotive Region in transition.
Andreas Klugescheid (ACEA) speaking about changes in the automotive and supplier industry.
Group photo of all participants at the external ECON seminar in Chemnitz.
On 26 and 27 March 2024, members of the ECON commission of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) – among them CoRAI members – followed the invitation of CoRAI Chair Thomas Schmidt to Chemnitz in Saxony to hold an external seminar on the topic of ‘Industrial Transition in the EU’. The city of Chemnitz is considered the industrial heart of Saxony. It has long been home to mechanical engineering and vehicle construction. As a region, Chemnitz is an example of the challenges that the transition initiated by the European Commission has caused.
The agenda on the evening of 26 March in Chemnitz Town Hall included the presentation of Chemnitz as European Capital of Culture in 2025 and offered the Technical University of Chemnitz, simul+ (network and platform for innovation-based regional development), SAS (Saxon Agency for Structural Development) and AMZ (Network Automotive Supplier Saxony) the opportunity to present themselves in an exhibition.
The following day of the seminar featured speakers from the EU Commission, OECD and local authorities. Andreas Klugescheid from ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association) and Dirk Vogel from AMZ were invited as keynote speakers for the session on “Automotive Regions in transition”.
The discussions during the sessions demonstrated that all participants agree with the objectives of the European Commission, only there are different views on how to achieve them. Many of the industrial transformation processes are already in full swing. The debates, moderated by Thomas Woben (Director for Legislative work 2 of the European Committee of the Regions), have once again shown the scope to which the regions and their economies are affected, especially in terms of employment.
The will to shape this transformation was shared by everyone. However, the participants of the ECON seminar would like to see more freedom in the implementation, such as more openness to technological ideas. This was emphasised by the Ministers of Economic Affairs, on the one hand by CoRAI.Co-Chair Barbara Eibinger-Miedl from Styria, and on the other hand by CoRAI member Sven Schulze from Saxony-Anhalt. There is also a need for concrete support from the EU Commission. The call for a support instrument for a just transition in various fields was stressed vividly by the representatives of the regions.
The regions have the solutions and the expertise to implement them locally; innovation and research play a major role in this, as Markku Markkula (Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions) impressively demonstrated. How ambitiously and confidently the regions are tackling the challenges was also made clear in the keynote speech by President and CoRAI-Co-Chair María Chivite from Navarra.
The exchange between the keynote speakers, ECON members and CoRAI members demonstrated:
- Industrial transition is ongoing: regional economies are already affected
- Main task is how to shape the changes and maintain employment
- Regions need reliability with political targets
- New EU Commission should focus on implementation with SMEs
- Regions need leeway for implementation
- More technology openness and tailor-made solutions for regions necessary
- Regions need support from the European Commission and Member States
- A fair and just transition needs a substantial cohesion policy
The seminar was rounded off with a visit to Volkswagen (VW) in Zwickau. The ECON members had the opportunity to speak with the management and workers' council of VW and were given a tour of the e-car factory.
