Focus on SMEs in fashion industry - EURATEX

During the lunch the participants shared with the Vice-President Tajani their views related to: [a] the strategic importance of the need to maintain an integrated fashion value chain; [b] the proposed area that might have an impact on the competitiveness of the sector: skills and innovation; protection of creativity and digital world; ensuring worldwide reciprocity and level playing field.

Mr. Alberto Paccanelli, said “I truly believe that we need a clear action plan that takes into account what already exists and does not duplicate initiatives. We should focus the efforts and use the existing instruments at Commission and Industry level in order to increase the SMEs competitiveness in particular in the upper part of the value chain.

“I share the views of my colleagues that we should all together, united, enhance the value of the manufacturing sector for the fashion industry, with a positive communication. Finally to be innovative we should improve therapid transfer of innovation into final products, a view that is in line with the demand-side policies approaches that Commission and Member States intend to promote in the years to come.”

All those points with other actions and measures (short and long term) will be included in the Communication on key aspects of the competitiveness of the fashion industry expected for the last quarter of 2012. In concluding Mr. Alberto Paccanelli underlined that in his views his conclusions of November 2011 remained more than valid. He reiterated that “the textile and clothing value chains are crucial to nurture both the high-end luxury and the very innovative technical applications.

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