Our continent is facing serious historical testing. Many people are facing job loss, welfare falls. The ability of States to coordinate their efforts in the areas of health, but also increasingly in economic matters during the early stages subjected to the test. The crisis gives no time to lose: we must act quickly. This opens a great opportunity to quickly catch up on what was missed in the past, in the pre-crisis times.During any crisis, entrepreneurs are always looking for new opportunities. The same applies to politics. Now it’s time to think about the construction of a sovereign and solidarity of the European continent, which will not be only a Junior partner of China or the United States.If Russia and the EU will be able to find a common coordinated industrial strategy, our continent will gain new potential in international competition.The measures taken by EU member States in recent months, while aimed only at overcoming the “coronaries” that require urgent solutions. They are obvious and are called upon to implement emergency management economic and social impacts of the crisis. But now it’s time to think about how to go beyond the obvious and bring the continent into a new era.Individual countries outside the EU have adopted a national industrial strategy shortly before the start of the pandemic and consistently implement them. So, Russia seeks to fulfill a clearly articulated industrial strategy aimed at reducing dependence on commodity markets, particularly oil and gas markets. The government is taking measures to diversify the industry and increase local value added, as well as strengthening export activity. But attempts to create an industrial strategy only within the EU, will lead to bitter disappointment.Obviously, it is necessary to stabilize the production chain on our continent, the efforts of individual States were not in vain, whether we are talking about customers or suppliers.In the context of the digital transformation of the industry, the EU should focus not only on creating “intelligent” products, systems and solutions, digital production enterprises, whose purpose — the rapid progress of digital sales and marketing, including budget planning, future-oriented. At this stage we have much to learn from Russia, where we look at digital transformation from the perspective of “Front-End”, that is, from the point of view of the client.In Europe in the use of the term “Industrie 4.0” or “Industrie du Futur” with “Back-End” focuses on procurement and production processes. “Coronaries” revealed that people around the world depend on our industrial products. Germany is a world leader in arease medical equipment. It is industrial production ensures the maintenance of critical infrastructures in health, energy and water, transport and traffic.Goods digital online trading, where we certainly lag behind the US and China, must first be produced industrially. Nevertheless, the backwardness of our continent in the it sector painful and dangerous. This is one of the points where Europe could learn from Russia, as there are several Russian global players who can establish themselves in the it sector.The EU and Russia still possess unique research base. Intensive scientific cooperation between Germany and Russia in space exploration in recent decades has demonstrated the impressive results of such productive cooperation.The climate remains one of the main issues on the global agenda.The climate is subject to long strong negative external influence and therefore the question of environmental protection remains one of the main at all levels of society. It is here that the EU made the right accent to the deal “Green Deal”. Many European industrial companies are climate issues seriously. In this regard, the cooperation between the EU and Russia will open up great opportunities for both sides.The German-Russian energy cooperation has been developing for half a century. Pipelines, built in the first years of cooperation, work and today, while natural gas from Russia will help to improve the climate balance of the EU. Now the possibility of using transport infrastructure to provide clean hydrogen, which opens up a whole new area for cooperation within the framework of the so-called “Green Deal”.Climate protection is a common European problem. Even with projected reductions in international supply chains of companies of the EU and Russia can cooperate closely with each other and start on our continent a new production capacity.The interests of our industry meets institutional exchange between the two commissions, the EU and the EAEC. Individually, neither the EU nor Russia will not be able to develop an effective solution against the division of the world between the Chinese and Americans.Common problems and crises require shared solutions. The first reaction to the crisis caused by the coronavirus, in many countries of the world were often nationalist reflex and at the political level. Russia showed solidarity in terms of “coronaries” beyond its borders, and responded to a request from Italy for assistance, providing qualified staff and medical equipmentnie.Meanwhile, the pandemic coronavirus provides the ability to create not only economic but also humanitarian partnership between the EU and Russia. The starting point here can be medical experts through the platform of different associations, the creation of initiatives in the private sector, and the launch of sponsored projects.Oliver Hermes — Chairman of the Board and President of the group Wilo, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Wilo-Foundation, Chairman of the Eastern Committee of German economy, member of the Board of the German society of the Middle East and the German Asia-Pacific Business Association.
