Industry should be at the core of the EU policymaking process

“The Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU is adamant that industry should be at the core of the European Union policy-making process,” said the Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business Chris Cardona yesterday as he addressed the first stakeholder forum entitled ‘Digitising European Industry’, in Essen, Germany.

Minister Cardona said that the Maltese Presidency is delivering on the call placed by the European Council to evaluate the impact of mainstreaming industrial policy into EU strategic initiatives and to consider concrete action to strengthen and modernise the industrial base of the Single Market. The Presidency is placing the competitiveness of European industry and its inter-relationship with innovation and digitisation on the agenda as it firmly believes that it is paramount for its success in the mediumto long-term.

The Stakeholder Forum is a yearly public event co-organised by the European Commission and the member states to address, interlink and consult with stakeholders from the entire digital value chain.

The forum aims to be an essential part of the coordination framework between the various actions on the digitisation of the industry at a national, regional and EU level known as the ‘European Platform of National Initiatives’.

Minister Cardona, Director General on Industrial Policy at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Wolfgang Scheremet, and Director of Digital Industry for the European Commission Khalil Rouhana, delivered opening speeches.