Hannover, Germany. The guest list for the upcoming HANNOVER MESSE includes many big names in EU politics – powerful testimony to the great importance attached to the fair by policy and law makers from the EU Commission and EU Parliament. The objective of the European Union’s industrial policies is to make Europe’s industrial base more competitive internationally so that it remains a stable and key driver of sustainable growth and employment in Europe.

From 25 to 29 April this year, numerous top-level political figures from the EU will be visiting Hannover. Among them will be Maros Sefcovic, Vice President of the European Commission and the person in charge of the EU’s Energy Union strategy. Mr. Sefcovic will be at HANNOVER MESSE to discuss options for a forward-looking European energy and climate policy. Elzbieta Bienkowska, EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship & SMEs, will also be there. Her primary focus at the fair will be on Industry 4.0 and startups.

Another leading European political figure who will be exploring Industry 4.0 themes at HANNOVER MESSE is Günther Oettinger, the EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society. Commissioner Oettinger is a keynote speaker at a high-level European Commission conference on “Digitizing European Industry” that will be held on the Monday of the fair. Various political and industry representatives will be joining him at the conference to discuss strategies for a digital single market and the details of a possible EU Industry 4.0 policy.

Also among the EU leaders at HANNOVER MESSE will be EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas, who will give a status report on the EU’s 70 billion-plus euro HORIZON 2020 research and innovation program. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström will join her U.S. counterparts for discussions on the current state of the TTIP negotiations at various HANNOVER MESSE events. One of these is the 6th EU Policy Reception, which is organized jointly by Deutsche Messe and the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). Commissioner Malmström and her American TTIP counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, will both be giving keynote addresses at the reception.

The EU Commissioners will be joined at HANNOVER MESSE by several well-known Members of the European Parliament. They include Bernd Lange, Chair of the Committee on International Trade, Martina Werner, Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, and Reinhard Bütikofer, Co-Chair of the European Green Party.

The European Commission will also be represented at several displays in the exhibition halls. For instance, in Hall 7 it will co-exhibit with various European consortia on Industry 4.0, and in Hall 2 it will take part in displays on technology transfer and cluster initiatives and be part of the Technology Cooperation Days. In addition, on the Monday and Tuesday of HANNOVER MESSE, the EU Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce will jointly run a major matchmaking event entitled “Clusters in the EU and the USA.” This event, too, will be held in Hall 2.