According to ESIA, European electronics is ranked as the most R&D intensive sector by the EC, with the ecosystem supporting some 200,000 jobs directly and up to 1million indirect jobs in systems, applications and services.
The signatories – who have published a Joint Declaration – say Europe’s industrial sector employs more than 34m people directly, adding ‘European manufacturing industry has tremendous capacity for research and innovation, boasts a skilled workforce and has earned a global reputation for quality and sustainability’.
The Declaration says that, between 2000 and 2014, manufacturing’s share of total EU output fell from 18.8% to 15.3%, with 3.5m manufacturing jobs lost between 2008 and 2014. Because of this, the partners say ‘the time has come to raise the alarm about the considerable challenges that we are all facing’. The solution, they contend, is ‘the swift and determined support of European institutions and Member States to create more jobs and growth in Europe’.
According to the cosignatories, the EC should:
- reaffirm its commitment to reaching the target of 20% of GDP from industry, with an ambitious and realistic timeline;
- adopt an Action Plan to tackle the challenges that the industrial sectors are facing; and
- commit to implement this Action Plan in a timely manner and regularly report on progress.
The partners conclude: ‘We, the signatories of this Joint Declaration, are ready to step up our cooperation with the EC, the European Parliament and the Competitiveness Council to define and implement an ambitious and coordinated European industrial strategy that will help safeguard the world leadership of European manufacturers and jobs in Europe’.
