Thilo Brodtmann on the European elections
"Against the division of Europe"
Europe has voted. Voter turnout was the highest since before the fall of the Berlin Wall. A commentary by Thilo Brodtmann, Managing Director of the VDMA.
"Europe is drawing people back to the ballot box, and that's a good thing! The high voter turnout and the clear majority for pro-European parties are encouraging and good news for mechanical engineering. They show that citizens want a strong EU and a Europe based on partnership. This election is a call against division. Member states, Parliament and the new Commission now have a duty not to disappoint these expectations. We need an alliance of the forward-looking in Europe in order to constructively advance the EU on important issues such as digitalization and climate protection. The strong gains made by nationalist parties in individual countries are a reminder to politicians, business and civil society that we must not only fight passionately for the European project in the weeks leading up to the European elections. It is also important that the member states and the European Parliament clarify in a timely manner who will be the new Commission President and in which political groups the parties want to work together in the future. Europe cannot afford a months-long stalemate and would also be impossible to communicate to the citizens.
With its "Go Vote" campaign, the mechanical engineering industry has called on its companies and all citizens to take part in the European elections in recent weeks. We are delighted that this campaign has met with such a great, positive response."
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