Brussels, 11/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - The High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the European Chemicals Industry, one of the seven sectoral initiatives of the new industrial policy proposed by the European Commission in October 2005 (see EUROPE 9042 and 9461), met for the first time on Monday. Under the chairmanship of Industry Commissioner Günther Verheugen, the new working group comprises representatives of the member states, the regions, the chemicals industry and its downstream industries, academia and civil society (unions, consumers' associations and environmental NGOs) and is due to be joined by members of the European Parliament. The aim of the group is to draw up, by spring 2009, a series of sector-specific policy recommendations defining the appropriate framework conditions for the chemicals industry to be able to continue to function and invest in the EU in a sustainable way. EU chemical products, with a turnover of €436 billion, held an almost 30% share of the world market in 2005. European chemical product exports were worth €110 billion, compared with imports amounting to €72 billion. The EU has almost 31,000 chemical and pharmaceutical companies (30% of which are SMEs), employing over 1.9 million people - 6% of the manufacturing industry's total work force. (eh)