• Securing Europe’s Place in a new world order

President Macron, Chancellor Merkel and President-elect von der Leyen meet ERT delegation in Toulouse

Read the Press Statement

TOULOUSE – President Macron, Chancellor Merkel, European Commission President-elect von der Leyen and Members of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT) met in Toulouse today to discuss the best ways to enable a renewed long-term industrial strategy for Europe.

ERT Members, all CEOs and Chairs of Europe’s largest industrial companies, underlined that European integration has delivered peace and prosperity over the past seven decades – but urged Europe to take action to deliver on the most pressing issues for the generations to come. As significant employers, innovators and investors in European regions, industry wants to contribute.

The Leaders exchanged on the following priority areas:

  1. Boosting Europe’s global competitiveness by unleashing investment in research and innovation, strengthening the Single Market, and developing an effective European industrial strategy that includes smart competition policies.
  2. Driving forward Europe’s digital transformation by rapidly rolling-out 5G, unleashing the full potential of digitalisation, data and artificial intelligence so that Europe can be at the global forefront.
  3. Increasing climate action towards carbon neutrality by advancing an effective energy transition and an industrial policy to reach the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement, while safeguarding European companies’ global competitiveness.
  4. Ensuring fair and rules-based global trade and taking a strong position in the face of unfair behaviour.
  5. Addressing the skills gap by increasing investment in education, training, and reskilling while facilitating co-operation between the public and private sector.

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A list of the ERT Delegation at the meeting is available on page 2 of the pdf of this Press Statement.

Note to Editors:

The European Round Table for Industry (ERT) is a forum that brings together around 55 Chief Executives and Chairmen of major multinational companies of European parentage, covering a wide range of industrial and technological sectors. ERT strives for a strong, open and competitive Europe, with the EU, including its Single Market, as a driver for inclusive growth and sustainable prosperity. Companies of ERT Members are widely situated across Europe, with combined revenues exceeding €2,250 billion, sustaining around 6.8 million jobs in the region. They invest more than €50 billion annually in R&D, largely in Europe.

CONTACT:       Robert O’Meara, Communications Director
Tel + 32 2 543 10 51 – E-mail: robert.omeara@ert.eu
www.ert.eu – Twitter: @ert_eu