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ell us about the
T history of EMECA and its development since founding 30 years ago . What have been some of the key landmarks along the way ? EMECA was formed in 1992 , the first year of the European Union internal market , by 13 founding members from eight countries . Its mission was to bring together European exhibition centres with an area of over 100,000sqm , which have a strong investment policy and international orientation in their activities . The idea was to create an association that reflected the role of trade in the history of the people of Europe ; to work together to master challenging changes and turn them into great opportunities .
Members concentrated on exchanging information about technology and markets as well as establishing common standards and , in general , contributing to knowledge and information about technical and commercial aspects of trade fairs in Europe .
That founding date also marked the beginning of a path of growth , enhancement and success for the exhibition industry in Europe .
In the first 10 years , EMECA tackled many legal topics , such as taxes and a variety of technical aspects of the venues . In the
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beginning of the years 2000 , ‘ EMECA Statistics ’ were launched and the first working group of EU Affairs was founded . More studies and working groups followed , such as on economic impact , venue accessibility or energy efficiency .
In 2008 , the registered office moved from Paris to Brussels , and EMECA started participating in EU-funded projects involving trade fairs , supported SMEs , new markets and start-ups , including the Overseas Trade Fairs 2.0 project .
In 2012 , EMECA and UFI agreed to work together for the advocacy in Europe and founded the European Exhibition Industry Alliance . Since then , Barbara Weizsäcker holds the role of secretary-general for both EMECA and EEIA .
How has EMECA been lobbying for the sector , especially during the Covid-19 times , and now with new challenges facing our industry ? We worked hard on giving visibility to our sector and have kept the EU institutions informed on the latest situation and needs via established contacts by EEIA .
Items we supported were state aid , the distinction of exhibitions vs . mass events , Covid-19 safety measures , opening up travel again – the basis for our business . We called for travel rules harmonisation ,
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Top : EMECA General Assembly group picture Above : Association president Ricard Zapatero |
avoiding fragmented documentation obligations and electronic vaccination documentation ( pushing for the development of the European QR code system , which became the standard in many countries ).
During the pandemic , many online meetings were organised both on EMECA and on EEIA level , with the idea of sharing experiences and supporting each other . News was also reported to the political level , and EEIA also contributed actively to a co-creation process for the digital and green transition of the larger travel and tourism ecosystem in Europe .
Since April 2022 all EMECA member venues have been operational again . How quickly do you think this recovery will move ? Nearly everywhere the recovery came quicker and better than expected . Obviously it depends on many factors like point of the reopening , trade fairs ’ industry sectors , calendar of events
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