PRESS STATEMENT Fit for 55: Policymakers must now create the necessary framework conditions

Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall, on the European Commission’s climate package:

The package of measures presented by the European Commission today is, as expected, ambitious. But stricter targets alone are not enough. That is why policymakers must devote all their energy to creating the necessary framework conditions so that these goals can be achieved in a socially responsible manner that promotes employment.

The expansion of the necessary infrastructure—primarily for electrification as the cornerstone of industrial decarbonization, including the massive expansion of renewable energy and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles—the creation of markets for low-carbon and carbon-free products, and the protection of Europe as a production hub against environmental and social dumping—these are the crucial issues. This is what policymakers must address now. Above all, however, policymakers must establish a framework for active employment and skills development policies, as well as for modern regional structural policies. For if we fail to prepare today’s workers for the jobs of tomorrow and to establish future-oriented industries in those regions most affected by decarbonization, the entire green transformation project will be jeopardized.

Further information and press photos of Jörg Hofmann