Zurich/Brussels – Leading industry associations from five countries, including economiesuisse, have founded the European Biosolutions Coalition. It advocates adapting the EU regulatory framework so that new bio-solutions can be developed and brought to market more quickly.
Five leading industry associations from their countries launched the European Biosolutions Coalition at a constituent meeting in Brussels. The founding members are economiesuisse, the Confederation of Danish Industry(DI), the Dutch Employers’ Association(VNO-NCW), the Federation of Austrian Industries(IV) and the Italian industry association Assobiotec. Additional partners would be added in the coming months, according to a media release issued by DI.
“I am very happy that the coalition is now in place,” the coalition’s first director, Sofie Carsten Nielsen of the Confederation of Danish Industries, is quoted as saying in the document. “Bio-solutions have enormous potential to help Europe meet green targets and create sustainable growth and green jobs.” But restrictive regulations in Europe slowed the development of bio-solutions and weakened international competitiveness, she said.
“For example, industrial bio-solutions and the biological production of fuels are subject to regulations aimed at regulating fossil substances,” economiesuisse explained in its own statement. “These inappropriate regulatory frameworks hinder resource-efficient bio-solutions and the potential to advance the sustainability agenda.”
Even if the work initially focused on the EU’s regulatory framework, economiesuisse believes it is of great importance that corresponding reforms also take place in European countries outside the EU, such as Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Only in this way is cross-border cooperation possible, he said. And this is the only way Europe has a chance of keeping up with global competition. ce/mm
