Apply EU recommendations for exit from the Corona crisis

• Otherwise permanent damage to production and supply chains
• Establish a common roadmap at EU level based on economic reconstruction

ZVEI supports the recommendations developed by the EU Commission to overcome the current economic and societal shutdown. However, a concrete roadmap must follow quickly in order to be able to initiate the economic recovery in a coordinated and gradual manner across Europe – considering the latest findings for appropriate health protection measures. Otherwise, many companies would be at risk of serious consequences, as a recent ZVEI survey among member companies shows. Around 70 percent of German electrical and electronic companies already have slightly disrupted supply and logistics chains, and a about 10 percent even reported serious disruptions or even interruptions. "If the exit is initiated too late, 60 percent of these companies fear permanent damage to their production and supply chains," explains Wolfgang Weber, CEO of ZVEI. "The damage is already clearly visible today and will increase the longer the restrictions are in place."

In this difficult situation, it is of utmost importance to maintain the European single market and the Schengen arrangements. The ZVEI therefore supports the proposal of the EU Commission to set up a "Rapid Alert Function" with the aim of restoring value chains within Europe, including the free movement of goods and labour across borders, and also to overcome the unnecessary disruptions caused by the different regulations regarding more or less "systemically relevant" industries. "A common approach must be reached at European level to ramp up the economy," demands Weber. "Uncoordinated, national measures are not the solution.” In addition, insights from the current situation must be more strongly integrated into the political agenda of the EU Commission for the post-Corona period. The crisis shows how necessary it is to drive forward the digitalisation of the economy and society: by building up the digital EU internal market, possibilities for increased data usage, cyber security and the expansion of 5G networks.