Policies

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ECRN promotes successful regional policies and strategies concerning the competitiveness and the sustainable development of the chemical industry. As the socio-economic conditions in which the chemical industry operates are increasingly determined by European directives and regulations, ECRN takes a stand when EU legislation affects the growth, competitiveness and sustainability of the sector.

By leveraging the political support of its members and maintaining extended relations with the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions, ECRN speaks with a strong united voice on behalf of chemical regions.

Policy priorities

Our key focus areas

EU Energy Transition & Hydrogen

Renewable hydrogen is a key component for success for the EU energy transition and to lead Europe towards climate neutrality by 2050. Hydrogen has various applications across industries and economic sectors and it can be used as a feedstock, fuel, or an energy carrier and storage. Most importantly, it is essential to decarbonise the chemical industry and to phase regions out of coal or natural gas, without jeopardizing economic growth, the competitiveness of our companies or our social prosperity. Several ECRN regions have already committed to clean hydrogen solutions: they are working on the creation of electrolysis plants and financing cross-border investment projects to increase interregional collaboration, align climate-energy policies and boost innovation and competitiveness of the chemical sector. ECRN gives voice to those regions that are making the transition from the production of fossil fuels to alternative. The Network advocates for a greater role of regional and local authorities in the EU energy transition and for increased EU support to interregional innovative energy projects.
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Bio-Based Chemical Production

The development of a sustainable bioeconomy has enormous potentials to increase the competitiveness, sustainability and modernization of the European economy. As many bioeconomy-enabling products and solutions are based on chemicals, the role of the chemical industry is key to ensure the success of the European bioeconomy. Bio-based solutions have enormous potentials to replace fossil fuels, reduce energy demand, pollution and waste, while increasing the reuse and recyclability of materials and products. Since 2015, ECRN is raising awareness on the role of sustainable chemistry and regional bio-based production in the EU bioeconomy. ECRN is part of the Power4Bio Horizon 2020 project supporting 11 European countries in the development of regional bioeconomy strategies.
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Plastics & Chemical Recycling

In the EU, the potential for recycling plastic waste remains largely unexploited. Only 15% of EU-collected plastic waste in the EU finds its way back into the EU plastic market. For the EU to achieve its ambitions to become climate neutral by 2050, much more waste plastic needs to be recycled, European recycling capacities need to be expanded, as well a fully functional single market for plastic waste needs to be created. Several ECRN regions are already boosting innovation and investments in innovative recycling technologies. ECRN facilitate interregional cooperation to advance research and development of innovative solutions to halt plastics waste and brings the latest innovative technologies developed in ECRN members regions to the attention of the EU.
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Small & Medium Enterprises

European Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) employ around 100 million people and account for more than half of Europe’s GDP. SMEs are drivers of economic growth, key players in cross-sectoral and cross-regional value chains and enablers of innovation. They also have a central role in achieving Europe’s environmental and social goals. However, they are also the most vulnerable to the economic cycles and uninformed legislation. For this reason ECRN decided to make SMEs concerns a cross cutting theme across all its priority policy areas.

Other areas of expertise

Cross-cutting policy themes

Digitization of European Industry

The new industrial revolution, digitisation, industry 4.0 and advanced manufacturing are shaping the future of the European industry. As digitisation does not stop at regional or national borders, we should actively look for areas of possible cooperation to seize the opportunities provided by this transition. ECRN works to unlock the potential of this industrial transformation, focusing on the impact of digitisation on European chemical industry and the role of regional strategies to provide the appropriate framework conditions.

REACH Legislation

REACH regulation has a direct impact on chemical companies, their competitiveness, innovativeness and growth. After more than 10 years of existence, REACH has contributed significantly to the harmonisation of EU chemicals policy, safety and data transparency. Long-lasting challenges, however, remain untackled and need to be addressed on political level. REACH has been in the focus of ECRN work since the initial shaping of the policy at EU level.

Cohesion Policy

Cohesion Policy is the second-largest policy of the EU in terms of budget and it has as one of its main beneficiaries the European regions. By reducing social and economic disparities, it plays a key role in strengthening the European integration project and it supports regions to align their strategies to EU priorities. Given the importance of Cohesion Policy, ECRN has been working on a joint vision for the future of Cohesion Policy post 2020, emphasizing the contributions of the policy for European regions and the need for its continuity.