Dear President von der Leyen,
Home appliances are essential to modern life. They keep food safe, enable hygiene, preserve health, and help millions of Europeans cut energy bills and emissions every day. Behind them stands a strategic industrial sector that contributes €79 billion to the EU economy, supports 1 million jobs, and operates 130 factories across Europe, designing, engineering, and manufacturing here, for Europe and the world.
At a time when the Union needs industries that are resilient, future-oriented, and deeply rooted in communities, we are exactly that kind of industry. And yet, we are being left out of Europe’s industrial strategy, caught in a policy gap between green ambition and industrial reality.
Rising costs from soaring energy prices, fragmented regulations, and overlapping standards, coupled with escalating global trade tensions, place serious pressure on our industry. These internal and external challenges are already pushing some companies to relocate production outside Europe.
The cost of inaction is severe. Failure to act will undermine Europe’s manufacturing base, with an impact on factories and the livelihoods of many employees. Europe will lose control over a crucial decarbonisation engine, crippling progress on the Green Deal as 1.5 billion appliances are expected by 2030. Our leadership in smart home technology, a market forecast to reach $600 billion by 2030[1] will be ceded to global competitors. The potential loss of local production will erode Europe's industrial sovereignty, making households and industries dangerously vulnerable to external shocks. Crucially, European consumers will be denied access to the efficient, innovative, and cost-saving products developed and produced within Europe that vitally reduce energy bills and support smarter living.
To avert these critical failures, we demand a unified European industrial strategy that recognises home appliances as a strategic asset. We need effective frameworks that reward innovation and decarbonisation and provide dedicated funding mechanisms for digital and green innovation. Circular manufacturing must be strongly supported with product-level targets and systemic thinking, enabling industrial clusters. Finally, Europe must establish itself as the go to continent for manufacturing , setting ambitious yet fair and enforceable standards that are trade-ready.
Our industry is more than a manufacturer of consumer goods, it is a quiet infrastructure enabling how Europe lives, saves, and sustains. Our appliances are not luxuries, but tools of resilience and transformation, sitting at the intersection of climate, competitiveness, and daily life.
Europe has the capacity, but it must act now with the urgency required to remain an industrial leader, not to slowly become an open-air museum.
We are committed to leading with innovation, integrity, and purpose. We urge you to take the necessary steps, specifically through the proposed Action Plan [2], to secure a vibrant and prosperous future for the home appliance industry within Europe.
Given the urgency and importance of these matters, and recognising your demanding schedule, we would highly value the opportunity to meet with you to discuss them in greater detail.
Yours sincerely,
Ariston Group
BEKO
BSH
DAIKIN Europe N.V.
De'Longhi Group
Dyson
Electrolux Group
Groupe Atlantic
LG Electronics Europe
Liebherr
Miele
Samsung Electronics
Groupe SEB
SMEG
Vestel
Vorwerk
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