— The director of the Brussels office of the Galicia Europa Foundation opened the third meeting of the year of the “FGE | NextGeneratiOn Galicia” cycle.

— The director highlighted the importance of various regional initiatives in the automotive sector, such as the recently created Alliance of Regions with Automotive Industries (ARA).

Brussels, 26th April, 2022. The director of the Brussels office of the Galicia Europa Foundation, Ana Ramos, opened the third meeting of the year of the “FGE | NextGeneratiOn Galicia” cycle, the monthly discussion forum in which the Xunta and the European institutions exchange information on European policies with the greatest impact on Galicia. The meeting, dedicated to addressing the transformation of the European mobility ecosystem, was attended by a representative of the European Commission and Fernando Guldrís Iglesias, director general of the Galician Institute for Economic Promotion (IGAPE).

The European mobility ecosystem employs 14.6 million people and includes 1.8 million companies, 99.7% of which are SMEs. Its different sectors (automotive, rail and maritime transport) are already committed to their green and digital transition, although they are progressing at different paces and face specific challenges, such as workforce reallocation and training.

Ana Ramos stated: “In ARA and CoRAI, Galicia can raise its voice together and influence the development of legislative responses appropriate to its needs, contributing to a “fair and inclusive” transition in the automotive sector”.

In Galicia, the weight of the automotive industry in its economy is particularly noteworthy, accounting for nearly 14% of its GDP and employing more than 23,000 people, which corresponds to almost 14% of all industrial employment in Galicia. As in other EU automotive regions, the transition to zero-emission cars and vans can pose particularly difficult challenges, which is why Galicia participates in two regional forums sponsored by the European Committee of the Regions: the Interregional Group on the Future of the Automobile (CoRAI, for its initials in Spanish) and the Alliance of Regions with Automotive Industries (ARA). In both, all those initiatives that promote a just transition for the European automotive regions are promoted, in collaboration with the European institutions and other interested parties.