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Association of Nordic Engineers

ANE

The Association of Nordic Engineers, ANE is a cooperation organisation between trade unions representing more than 500.000 engineers in the Nordic region.

Lobbying Activity

Response to Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2030

7 Aug 2025

The Association of Nordic Engineers (ANE) welcomes the European Commissions proposal for the 20262030 Gender Equality Strategy. We strongly support the EUs continued commitment to building a fair and inclusive Union. With this statement, we highlight the persistent underrepresentation of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and offer targeted recommendations to address it. Women currently make up only 20% of the STEM workforce in the EU. This gender gap is particularly concerning given the projected shortage of at least 2 million science and engineering professionals by 2030. The Commissions goals to increase STEM education participation to 45% in secondary schools and 32% in universities are ambitious and necessarybut they require coordinated action. To close the gender employment gap and meet future skills needs, ANE urges the EU to: - Support and encourage member states to invest in early education initiatives that encourage girls to explore STEM subjects through inclusive curricula, mentorship, and school partnerships. - Promote local role models by supporting mentorship programs and speaker series that connect female students with professionals in their communities. Improve access to technical education by addressing geographic barriers, such as long travel distances to STEM programs. - Strengthen industryeducation partnerships to provide hands-on learning and career exploration, inspired by successful Nordic models like Teknikcollege (Sweden) and Engineer the Future (Denmark). We also call on the EU to adopt clear objectives, concrete actions, and robust accountability mechanisms to ensure measurable progress across member states. Importantly, the strategy must also address harmful gender stereotypes that discourage girls from pursuing STEM. Research by Susanna Bairoh, Doctor of Science and Research Manager at TEK, shows that such misconceptions begin in early childhood and shape educational and career choices.
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Response to Towards a Circular, Regenerative and Competitive Bioeconomy

27 May 2025

The European Commissions vision for a circular, regenerative, and competitive bioeconomy requires a workforce with advanced STEM competencies tailored to the challenges of the green and digital transitions. This answer highlights the urgent need for coordinated skills development, curriculum reform, and cross-sectoral collaboration. By embedding circular economy principles into STEM education and professional training, the EU can accelerate innovation, close persistent skills gaps, and strengthen its global leadership in sustainable bioeconomic transformation. The transition to a circular economy requires a diverse set of competencies, including technical skills such as circular product design strategies, analytical skills for optimising supply chains, and interdisciplinary skills for integrating circular principles across various sectors. At the core of such transitions are technological innovations, where system change occurs through the interplay between technology and society. STEM professionals play a crucial role in developing the necessary innovations and driving the transition to a circular economy. To achieve the EUs bioeconomy ambitions, we recommend: 1. Adopt the Circular Economy Competence Framework as the standard for STEM education and professional development across all Member States. 2. Expand EU-funded upskilling and reskilling initiatives for both academia and industry, with a focus on bioeconomy sectors and SMEs. 3. Establish a harmonised certification and governance system for circular economy skills, ensuring ongoing relevance as technologies and markets evolve. By investing in human capital and fostering cross-border collaboration, the EU will be well-positioned to lead the global transition to a circular, regenerative, and competitive bioeconomy. Please see the uploaded documents for details and further explanations.
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Response to Apply AI Strategy

27 May 2025

The Association of Nordic Engineers (ANE) welcomes the EUs ambition to make Europe a global leader in AI innovation and recognises the importance of a comprehensive strategy for AI adoption across strategic sectors. We wish to highlight a few areas of concern and some key recommendations: 1. Invest in STEM Education and Skills Development: To address talent shortages, ANE advises prioritising STEM skills through concrete investments, expanding R&D funding, and developing a robust ecosystem to sustain Europe's innovative and competitive edge. 2. Embed Ethical Principles and Strengthen Social Dialogue: ANE stresses integrating ethical standards, promoting transparency, and involving social partners and workers in AI governance to uphold trust, protect worker rights, and align AI deployment with societal values. 3. Ensure Easy Access to Resources for SMEs: ANE urges simplifying and streamlining access to AI funding, resources, and compliance support for SMEs, alongside continuous feedback collection to address emerging barriers and promote responsible AI adoption. 4. Foster Responsible AI Adoption in the Public Sector: ANE recommends establishing EU-wide platforms for sharing best practices, providing practical support and training, and creating a repository of use cases to facilitate responsible AI deployment in public services. 5. Clarify AI Definitions and Sector-Specific Guidelines: To prevent regulation mismatches, ANE recommends developing clear, harmonised AI definitions and tailored sectoral guidelines that are widely communicated and regularly updated to remain relevant. Please see the uploaded documents for details and further explanations.
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Meeting with Alina Nedea (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera Rodríguez), Sean Mernagh (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera Rodríguez)

15 Apr 2025 · Contribution of STEM competences to EU competitiveness and goals.

Meeting with Ann-Sofie Ronnlund (Cabinet of Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva)

15 Apr 2025 · Talent in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

Meeting with Ann-Sofie Ronnlund (Cabinet of Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva)

15 Apr 2025 · Talent in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Ares(2025)3445359

Meeting with Annalisa Corrado (Member of the European Parliament) and European Chemical Employers Group

4 Mar 2025 · STEM and competitiveness

Meeting with Luis Planas Herrera (Cabinet of Commissioner Jessika Roswall)

5 Feb 2025 · The role of STEM talent in enhancing Europe’s competitiveness and the Competitiveness Compass

Meeting with Antoaneta Angelova-Krasteva (Director Education, Youth, Sport and Culture)

4 Feb 2025 · Presentation of the report of the Association of Nordic Engineers (ANE): “Reclaiming Europe’s edge: Competitiveness through STEM talent”

Response to Waste Framework review to reduce waste and the environmental impact of waste management

17 Feb 2022

Association of Nordic Engineers (ANE) ser frem til en revurdering af affaldsdirektivet – vi håber blandt andet, at der kommer et nyt affaldshierakiet. Vi støtter at affaldsforebyggelse og genbrug går forud for genanvendelse, energiudnyttelse og bortskaffelse. Herunder finder vi især, at design til cirkularitet er et utroligt vigtigt indsats omåde. En af ANEs medlemsorganisationer (Danske IDA www.IDA.dk ) har udviklet et konkret forslag til hvordan et affaldshierakiet kunne se ud i fremtiden. Og det er IDAs forslag vi hermed støtter. Læs mere om IDAs forslag i rapporten ”Cirkulær genanvendelse” (den kan læses her: https://ida.dk/media/9661/idas-strategi-for-cirkulaer-oekonomi-2021-14-enkelt-sidet-til-net.pdf ) Vedhæftede er et kort engelsk resume af IDA rapporten. I det nuværende affaldshierarki er genanvendelse et samlet element og dermed ikke differentieret. I IDA’s forslag foldes genanvendelse ud, så der skelnes mellem fire former for genanvendelse. Det er altafgørende, at vi fremmer højkvalitetsgenanvendelse, hvor der er fokus på at bevare materialet så tæt på sin oprindelige tilstand som muligt. Genanvendelse til en helt anden produkttype kan være den bedste løsning her og nu, med gode klima- og miljømæssige fordele, ligesom det kan være en vigtig læringsproces for markedet i forhold til at arbejde med genanvendte materialer. Men et genanvendelseshierarki er nødvendigt for at sikre den løbende udvikling. Det er i vores optik problematisk , at der i den nuværende forståelse af genanvendelse ikke skelnes mellem de forskellige kvaliteter af genanvendelse, og det betyder, at al genanvendelse sidestilles som værende lige godt. Denne problematik vil et genanvendelseshierarki være med til at løse. Hierarkiet synliggør, at ikke alle former for genanvendelse reelt bidrager til den cirkulære økonomi men i mange tilfælde udgør en kortsigtet løsning her og nu. Det er også derfor, at genanvendelse af nogle mere ses som ”genanvendelsesøkonomi” og ikke cirkulær økonomi.
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Response to EU Whistleblower protection

1 Jun 2018

Response of the Association of Nordic Engineers to the EU Commission consultation on the Whistleblowerprotection. The Association of Nordic Engineers, ANE congratulates the EU Commission for the proposal of a legislative act, which aims at protecting people who expose the wrongdoing. Whistleblowing is a fundamental right of freedom of expression, and therefore, people, who are detecting the lawbreaking, should rely on solid legislation safeguarding their rights. ANE congratulates the EU Commission for including a broader formula of the employment relationship. This recognizes the rights of different categories, including among others self-employed, subcontractors and volunteers being protected. ANE positively acknowledges a wider understanding of retaliation. The measures for the protection against retaliation should be also broaden to those surrounding the reporting person, such as closest colleagues and family members in order to make clear, that “to the detriment of the reporting person” is not only, when the retaliation measure is targeted directly at the reporting person. ANE draws attention to the fact, that mandatory implementation of reporting procedures lacks an explicit reference to trade unions’ role. It is not enough to mention that trade unions should be fully consulted on whistleblowing arrangements. It should also be stated that the whistleblowing protection as part of employer-based procedures can be negotiated in the framework of collective bargaining agreements, and that trade unions play an important role in terms of protection, support, legal advice to their members. ANE regrets the lack of a possibility for anonymous reporting at the private legal entities. It is imperative that effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties are applicable without exception and applied through all Member States to comply with the obligation of secrecy concerning the identity of reporters. While recognizing that the Directive will leave some margins for Members States for the implementation, ANE calls for a common understanding and clarity on the material scope of the Directive. Imprecise terminology can lead to misunderstanding and more substantial problems. For instance, if the abuse or breach relate to a more favourable provision in national law than is required by an EU-directive is it then “within the scope of the Union acts”? ANE wishes to include labour and employment law, as well as breaches of workers’ rights in the exaustive list of EU regulations refrered in the Directive. ANE also would like to see a well described procedure concerning the situation when “no appropriate action was taken”, as referred in article 17.2.a. Done in Copenhagen on 1 June 2018
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