CECIMO's reply to the public consultation on EU 2020 Strategy
15 January 2010

CECIMO welcomes the opportunity to express the views of the European Machine Tool industry in the public consultation on “EU 2020: a new strategy to make the EU a smarter, greener social market”.

Like in most economic sectors, 2009 was a very difficult year for the European Machine Tool industry. Orders of new machines dropped by 60%, production fell by 37% year on year. Despite some recent positive indicators on business confidence as well as the good impact of some national stimulus plans on the capacity utilization of our end-user industries (especially in the car industry), CECIMO expects a difficult 2010, both in terms of production and employment levels.

As well as taking some short-term emergency measures to fight against low demand and unemployment, a long-term industrial strategy must be defined. The European machine tool industry supports the idea that the exit from the current crisis should be the point of entry into a new sustainable social market economy, led by innovation and knowledge.

CECIMO Self-regulation Intiative on EuP Directive
1 January 2010

The Self Regulation Initiative (SRI) is CECIMO’s response to the European Commission’s plan on evaluating mandatory requirements for the metalworking industry. The machine tool industry prepares to commit itself, through a voluntary agreement with the Commission, to meet the energy reduction targets set by the eco-design directive.

“We have the Implementation Plan. We did a lot of work in a short period of time. There are concrete results, not least the creation of an ISO WG” stated Mr. Filip Geerts, CECIMO Director General, at the EuP Consultation Forum on 17 November 2009. At the meeting, the Commission welcomed the SRI on eco-design presented by CECIMO and decided to launch the sectoral evaluation study of the machine tool (MT) industry at the beginning of 2010.

What can we expect from the EU-South Korea FTA?
1 January 2010

The EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement was signed on 15 October 2009. This is the most comprehensive free trade agreement ever negotiated by the EU. The FTA will remove €1.6 billion of customs duties each year. The Machinery & Appliances sector will represent 25% of total savings. The removal of customs duties will be done over a transitional period so that domestic producers can gradually adapt.