Commitment to the business and industrial location is important, words must now be followed by further deeds – regrettable the lack of commitment to the Mercosur agreement
Vienna (OTS) – In today’s press hour, Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer made a clear commitment to Austria as a business and industrial location. The current discussion on dealing with internal combustion engines is of particular relevance in terms of industrial policy, especially with regard to the European and Austrian industrial strengths of the automotive and supplier industry. It is precisely this central sector that accounts for a third of all private research and development expenditure in the EU. “A solution approach that is as technology-neutral as possible in the decarbonization of our future mobility is crucial. In the current discussion, the focus should be more on solutions through research and development and less on bans,” said IV President Georg Knill.
Open discussion about future key technologies for CO2 reduction
The same applies in the fight against climate change – so all possible options for decarbonization should also be used here: “on the one hand, the use and application of climate-neutral hydrogen must be further expanded, for this we need the appropriate partners and alliances.” be the basis of a key technology on the way to decarbonization in energy-intensive industry. “On the other hand, there needs to be access to new methods and technologies that is open to all technologies. So we should also openly discuss the potential of carbon capture and storage as a possible way to a clean future,” demands Knill.
Lack of commitment to Mercosur
In order to secure the supply chains of the industry and to implement the energy and climate transformation accordingly, we have to diversify trading partnerships and open up new sales markets. The government should also reassess the new developments in the contract design of the Mercosur Agreement and commit to European trade partnerships. Fair trade agreements with partners all over the world have “always been an essential pillar of our industry. In view of the tense geopolitical situation, we should therefore not close our minds to new partners, but seize the opportunities right now and shake hands with others so that we don’t fall further behind in comparison to others,” Knill said, referring to the current discussion and emphasized: “The change at Brazil’s head of state in particular opens up new perspectives for protecting the climate and the environment and thus also momentum for the European Union to export values and standards in order to actively contribute to protecting the rainforest.”
Performance must be worthwhile again – set appropriate incentives
The shortage of workers and skilled workers, which is worsening for Austria’s companies, is one of the central challenges and will be the key issue in the coming years. President Knill therefore insists on an ideology-free and honest performance debate: “As Chancellor Nehammer mentioned, the main focus should be on stimuli for working beyond retirement age and on performance incentives for people who work overtime,” says Knill Domestic alone is not enough to alleviate the shortage of skilled workers and labor: “There has long been competition for skilled workers from countries with large labor potentials. We need to speed up the processes so that we can attract the best talent more quickly and not fall behind in Europe”.
Questions & contact:
industrial association
Marlena Mayer
press secretary
+43 (1) 711 35-2315
marlena.mayer@iv.at