EPP Group to debate innovation and future of automotive in Heidelberg, Germany

From today until Friday, the EPP Group Bureau will meet in Heidelberg, Germany, a renowned university and research city in the South-German economic powerhouse of Baden-Württemberg. 

The focus of the three-day meeting will be innovation. Discussions will centre on how Europe can become the most innovative continent to stimulate more economic growth and prosperity. Fittingly for the strong automotive hub of Baden-Württemberg, a special emphasis will be placed on the future of the European car industry. As a result of the meeting, EPP Group Members will adopt a Heidelberg Declaration on Innovation.  

The EPP Group will host a number of high-level guests from European politics, business and academia, including the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Friedrich Merz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Antonio Tajani, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen, the former Minister of the Interior of the French Republic and President of Les Républicains, Bruno Retailleau and the Chairman of the CDU in the Baden-Württemberg state parliament, Manuel Hagel.

Manfred Weber MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group, says: "Innovation decides about Europe’s future. We want to develop ideas to make Europe fit for an increasingly uncertain future. Heidelberg is the perfect place for our EPP Group Bureau Meeting to discuss this. It stands for a world-class university, the oldest in Germany, where new ideas have been sparked for centuries. I am looking forward to welcoming EPP Group members from all over Europe and many guests in Heidelberg."