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Dear colleagues, members and business partners,
2018 is drawing to a close. It has been a successful year for Cefic, for our voice has been heard on several key files, notably a clean energy package that offers many opportunities for our industry, an Emissions Trading System matching our positions and Horizon Europe, an EU Research & Innovation Programme 2021-2027 that recognises the innovative and enabling role of industry.
On the economic front, we expect chemical industry growth to stabilise in 2019, at a modest 0.5% compared to 2018, which proved to be a challenging year because of weaker demand from customers and the low levels of the Rhine causing transport delays.
We have gained greater visibility this year, receiving the European Association Award for the Best Advocacy Campaign on EU industrial policy strategy, as well as encouraging feedback on our Brexit and ChemistryCan campaigns.
Next year promises to be an exciting and at the same time challenging year. It will see the appointment of a new Commission in November, as well as crucial elections for a new European parliament in May. We shall be briefing the new policymakers on our activities and look forward to working with them.
We will be launching our Mid-Century Strategy (see our website for more details), which marks the first step of our journey to discuss the future of the chemical industry with a wide range of stakeholders.
Lastly, as many of you already know, we shall soon be moving to a brand new office. We aim to be up and running in our new building at rue Belliard 40 on January 7th. This will put us right in the heart of the European Quarter, enabling us to engage more easily and effectively with our stakeholders in the EU institutions.
I would like to thank you all for your cooperation and hard work.
I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Marco Mensink,
Director General, Cefic
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