Welcome to European Chemical Regions Network (ECRN)

The chemical industry is one of the key European industrial sectors. It is also true to say of Europe that the entire business structure would be considerably lop-sided without chemistry. About one in three of all industrial employees in Europe are working in this sector; one tenth of the entire industrial turnover is generated by chemical firms. Yet, however different the characteristics of the European chemical regions, they all have to cope with a large variety of challenges to safeguard their competitiveness, such as the impacts of globalization, the enlarged European Union with chemical regions in Eastern Europe and above all the requirements of a new chemicals policy.

The European Chemical Regions Network (ECRN) was originally started as an INTERREG IIIc project in 2004 with 13 member regions from 7 different European countries. The idea was to bring chemical regions from all over Europe together in order to better tackle the special challenges for these regions by exchanging information, exploring solutions for common problems and by speaking with a single voice.

The regions convened for a congress already in February 2004 in Halle where 250 attendees participated in an exchange of experiences into which also the then EU Environmental Commissioner Margot Wallström involved herself. Notably the organization of the future EU chemicals policy is of outstanding significance for the network activities within the regions.

Today the young network has grown from a temporary project to a constant organization with currently 21 member regions from 9 different countries and with a Brussels-based secretariat. The ECRN is now registered as an association under German law and is a recognized "European stakeholder" for regional issues of the chemical industry and policies.

Apart from its participation in the European Commission - initiated “High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the European Chemical Industry”, where the ECRN has represented the regional perspective among representatives from the public and private sector and from civil society, the ECRN has also been appointed as an observer of the experimental game that is implemented by the EU Commission for the implementation of the EU regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH Systems). In addition the network is providing consultation to the European Commission for actions relating to climate change after the term of the Kyoto Protocol from 2012.

Other current projects and priorities developed by the ECRN and by its partners are in the field of logistics (ChemLog), cluster building (ChemClust), development of skills and innovation, technology platforms (SusChem), REACH, emission right trading and climate change. The ECRN also works together with relevant stakeholders including CEFIC, EMCEF, ECEG, EPCA, EEN, EEB, national chemical associations, partners from the Social Dialogue etc.

The network is always open for the collaboration with further regions, in particular with a view to the enlarged European Union. Please feel free to contact us for further information!

Objectives

Being a recognized "European Stakeholder" and as a member of the High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the Chemical Industry in Europe which has been set up by the European Commission in 2007, the central objective of the ECRN is to continue to commit itself to regional concerns of the chemical industry and chemical policy in Europe. ECRN work is focusing on:

• Improving regional development strategies in chemical regions
• Maintaining competitiveness by fostering European cooperation of regional actors
• Developing a European partnership of regional partnerships in chemical regions
• Articulating common interests of chemical regions to the European institutions
• Ensuring recognition of the European Chemical Regions Network as a genuine stakeholder in the future debate on chemical policy

This involves among other things:

• Exchange of experiences
• Exchange of information
• Know-how transfer between regional administrations
• Development of joint statements relating to major topics relevant for chemical policies
• Development of joint cooperation projects, e.g. in the fields of R&D, innovation, etc.
• Cooperation of chemical stakeholders at the European level