FDBusiness.com

CIAA (the Confederation of the food and drink industries of the EU) has welcomed the publication of the European Commission’s ‘Communication for An Integrated Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era – Putting Competitiveness And Sustainability Centre Stage’.

The document presented under the guidance of DG Enterprise, aims to put industrial competitiveness ‘front and centre’ of the EU executive arm’s socio-economic and political ambitions. As an important pillar of the EU economy, the food and drink industry welcomes plans to strengthen the functioning of the EU Internal Market – a key priority for food operators across the Union.

Boasting an annual turnover of approximately Eur965b, food production is the largest manufacturing business in Europe today. The industry generates over 4.4 million jobs directly and is renowned as the largest food and drink importer and exporter across the globe.

Accounting for over 310,000 companies, the industry is also highly fragmented – over 99% of operators are SMEs (employing up to 250 staff). In light of today’s political reality, the development of an Industrial Policy which provides for a more integrated approach to policymaking across the EU, could help reduce the administrative burden on manufacturers and pre-empt policies on matters which affect how operators do business.

“The objectives, approaches and actions outlined in the Report on the Recommendations of the EU High Level Group on the competitiveness of the agri-food industry are a crucial starting point for the development of an EU Industrial Policy for Europe’s food and drink sector,” comments Jesus Serafín Perez, president of the CIAA. “Given the recent creation of the High Level Forum on the better functioning of the food chain, we are delighted to see that the latter will act as the mechanism to take forward the competitiveness goals for our industry, and, we look forward to playing an active and positive role in this new structure.”