EDITORIAL

On 31 July 2012, the European Commission outlined its “Strategy for the sustainable competitiveness of the construction sector and its enterprises”. The Communication acknowledges the economic importance of the construction sector which can significantly influence the development of the overall economy.

As in previous quarters, in Q1 2012 the macroeconomic environment in the EU and the euro area continued to be negatively affected by low consumer confidence, ongoing sovereign debt crises and high unemployment rates (which peaked in historical terms in countries such as Spain - 24.6% - and Greece - 22.5%) resulting in weak private consumption and subdued business investment. As a result, quarter-on-quarter growth rate in real GDP in the EU27 was flat, following from the modest 0.3% decrease in Q4 2011. On a yearly basis, real GDP in the EU slowed down compared to what was recorded in Q4 2011 (0.8%), and grew by a mere 0.1%, which has been the lowest rate observed since Q4 2009.

In 2011, the international community set itself the ambitious target of completing a new international climate change agreement by the end of 2015 for entry into force in 2020. In a Communication issued on 26 March 2013, the European Commission outlines the challenges of this exercise.

On 6 March 2013, CEMBUREAU organised an event for the launch of a study, commissioned with the Boston Consulting Group, on the Strategic Contribution of the Cement Industry to Europe’s Future. In his keynote speech during the event, Director General Calleja Crespo from DG Enterprise (European Commission), touched on a variety of topics amongst which the European Innovation Partnership (“EIP”) on Raw Materials.

In February, CEMBUREAU submitted its response to the European Commission’s stakeholder’s consultation on structural options to strengthen the EU-ETS. Over the past month, the Association has also provided input to the Commission’s consultation on unconventional fossil fuels.

On 9 January 2013, the Irish Presidency officially launched its Work Programme entitled “For Stability, Growth and Jobs.” This clearly sets the tone for a strong focus on measures that will direct Europe back on the path of recovery. Reference is made to the “European Semester Process”, an economic policy coordination tool that was initiated by the European Council in June 2010 when endorsing the European Commission’s 2020 Strategy.

Although actual 2012 annual data are not yet available, Q3 figures showed that the negative trend in the EU and the euro area economies that was observed throughout 2011 and 2012 continued. Short-term developments in the macroeconomic environment suggest that the worst could be over but economic recovery is lagging behind and is expected to be lacklustre in 2013, as unemployment rates are at record highs (stable as EU average with 10.7% in November, the peak being Spain with 26.6%).

On 5 December 2012, the European Commission presented new proposals in the area of state aid amongst which a proposal to exempt aid for innovation from the obligation of prior notification. So far, such exemption has only applied to research and development aid.

“Public intervention should create the right market environment and come up with remedies to market failures. Industry must itself develop its competitive advantages and strengths. The objective of industrial policy is to foster competitiveness, but businesses themselves will always be ultimately responsible for determining their success or failure in the global market.”

As in previous quarters, Q2 2012 short-term developments in the macroeconomic environment in the EU and in the euro area continued to be negatively affected by several factors. The ongoing sovereign debt crises somewhat eased over the summer, reflecting expectations for more effective action undertaken by the European Central Bank (ECB) and EU governments in order to tackle the rise in sovereign yields of “peripheral” euro area economies and to alleviate the credit crisis.