UNIC in Brussels for the Cotance Assembly and the Social Dialogue

Two busy days in Brussels for UNIC – Concerie Italiane, which participated in a series of events on June 16 and 17 focused on the sector’s key European issues.

On June 17, Cotance held its annual meeting at the association’s new headquarters. The meeting focused on the difficult economic situation that continues to affect the major European tanning countries, on the developments regarding the EUDR Regulation and on the anticipation surrounding the delegated act that could exclude bovine leather from its scope. During the meeting were also discussed the possible new limits on PFAS and bisphenols, the evolution of methodologies for calculating environmental impacts (PEF and LCA), and European projects dedicated to training.

On June 16, UNIC also participated in the Joint Committee for Social Dialogue in the Textile, Apparel, Leather, and Footwear Sectors (TCLF), alongside European industry organizations and the European Commission.

On the same day, SER2026 was launched:it’s the project promoted by Cotance and IndustriAll and coordinated by UNIC which will lead to the publication of the third European socio-environmental report on the tanning industry, updating the 2012 and 2020 editions

Finally, UNIC took part in the presentation of the initial results of the BioShoes4All project, developed by the Portuguese footwear manufacturers’ association APICCAPS, highlighting the contribution of leather to European strategies for developing the bioeconomy.