Press Release: Strategy for a strong and competitive EU chemicals industry

The European Chemicals industry employs around 1.2 million people and is a world trade leader. Today the High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the European Chemicals industry met for the last time and adopted its report The report analysed the key challenges this sector is facing in the medium to long term and made recommendations on how they can be successfully addressed. The Group looked into a number of areas, which are strategically relevant for the future of this important industrial sector such as innovation, energy, climate change and trade. It developed some forty recommendations which aim at fostering the competitiveness of the European chemicals industry while contributing to sustainable development. They confirmed the need for setting stable and foreseeable framework conditions and orientations, notwithstanding the economic crisis which has hit the chemicals sector.