Glass for Europe in Strasbourg for the plenary session of the European Parliament

In the week of 16 September, Bertrand Cazes, Secretary General of Glass for Europe and Adrien Carton, Sustainable Construction and Industrial Policy Manager travelled to Strasbourg to meet with representatives of the European Parliament. A great opportunity to meet with new MEPs and reconnect with re-elected ones.

The second plenary session of the 2024-2029 mandate was particularly relevant for Glass for Europe to attend as Mario Draghi presented his report on the future of European competitiveness. The subsequent debate in the European Parliament showed a broad consensus among the political groups on the report’s conclusions. However, not all groups agree on the solutions to be implemented to tackle the lack of competitiveness. Glass for Europe had the opportunity to exchange views with MEPs on how to improve the competitiveness of the industry, with decarbonisation at the centre of all discussions. In particular, Glass for Europe presented some of the proposals set out in Davide Cappellino’s (AGC Glass Europe) op-ed entitled “Time for the flat glass industry’s decarbonisation efforts to pay off“.

The trip to Strasbourg was also motivated by the ‘Meet the Press’ event organised by Euractiv. The event was sponsored by Glass for Europe and aimed to establish connections with MEPs and journalists. The event allowed us to engage in a less formal context, but always with the same key messages: energy efficiency, decarbonisation, competitiveness and circularity.

Glass for Europe is eager to keep on meeting with MEPs ahead of the start of the legislative work.