Mario Jorge Machado, re-elected president of Euratex

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Mario Jorge Machado, re-elected president of Euratex. Credits: Euratex.

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The General Assembly of Euratex has ratified Mario Jorge Machado as president for a new term. Euratex is the organisation representing national textile and apparel associations in Europe.

Machado has held the presidency since June 2024. He will approach this new stage with a roadmap focused on three strategic priorities for the sector, according to a statement from Euratex.

The first priority is to strengthen the competitiveness of the European industry through investments in innovation; digitalisation; artificial intelligence; training and automation. The second focuses on ensuring a level playing field in the European market. This will be achieved by promoting the consistent application of EU regulations to all products sold in the European Union, regardless of their country of origin. The third priority is to support companies in their green and digital transition. The aim is for sustainability to become a driver of competitiveness rather than an additional burden on business activity.

Following his re-election, Machado reiterated one of the main concerns he has expressed in recent months about the state of the European manufacturing industry. “Europe must decarbonise its industry, not de-industrialise it,” he stated in the press release.

The statement aligns with warnings the executive made last month during the Textile ETP conference. He cautioned about the gradual decline of European industrial capacity. “Europe is losing industry at a rate of around -4 percent annually,” he said during his speech. “In ten years, we will have -40 percent less industry if no action is taken.”

Machado is a polymer engineer from the Universidade do Minho, where he graduated in 1985. His professional career has been closely linked to the Portuguese manufacturing industry, particularly through Adalberto Textile Solutions, where he has been executive chairman for over four decades. In parallel, he has been heavily involved in institutional activities representing the sector. He has held leadership positions at the ATP - Associação Têxtil e Vestuário de Portugal (ATP), where he was president from 2019 to 2025 and is currently vice president. He also serves on the boards of the CIP - Confederação Empresarial de Portugal, the AEP - Associação Empresarial de Portugal and the Associação Comercial do Porto.

Presidency team confirmed

Credits: Euratex.

The General Assembly also ratified the management team that will support Machado in the organisation's strategic direction. The team includes Franz Peter Falke, representing Germany; Barbara Cimmino for Italy; Ismail Kolunsag for Turkey; and Gregory Marchant for France.

Euratex represents Europe's textile and apparel industry in key industrial, trade and regulatory policy debates at the EU level. The sector currently faces pressure from direct-to-consumer platforms from Asia. It also faces demands from the European Green Deal, which imposes new obligations regarding product sustainability and circularity.

With this renewed mandate, the organisation aims to consolidate its role as a key partner for EU institutions. This comes at a time when European industrial policy is gaining greater prominence on the community's agenda.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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