May 23-26: Please vote for the European Parliament

As a company headquartered in Europe, RHI Magnesita calls upon to vote in the European Elections on May 23-26. With the letter below, CEO Stefan Borgas strongly encourages employees in Europe to cast the ballot:

Dear RHI Magnesita Family,

As a truly global Company, RHI Magnesita is connected to the outside world: every one of our production sites relies on connectivity, competitiveness, free flow of goods, fair regulation.

As European citizens, we have the chance to cast our vote for our own future by electing a new European Parliament. If we take a close look, the EU has changed the lives of the people in Europe of the last generations for the positive, here some examples:

• With only 500 million Europeans, the rest of the 7,000 million people in the world would not very much engage with us. Individually we are just too small: our business would not be able to export our products, because we would not have trade agreements with these other nations: new agreements with India, Singapore, New Zealand and Mercosur (South America) are currently being negotiated by EU experts for us only in 2019.
• For centuries, the peoples of Europe were fighting wars with each other: the EU has brought the generations and particularly the youth of the continent together, wars can no longer be started easily. We have more than 70 years of peace in Europe, ALSO thanks to the EU.
• As citizens we can freely travel, don’t need to pay for exchanging money, experience each other’s countries culture, nature and food: because we have stable rules as members of the EU. Public transport cost reduction, including cheap flying has happened: up to 70 years ago, only the rich could travel.
• Regulations have been reduced, simplified and even eliminated: for example, the expensive roaming fees of national telephone companies have been banned by the EU parliament.
• New technologies that only a group of countries can afford are improving our daily lives: the Galileo GPS system lets us find our ways every day, independent from US military technology. Europe has its own “Ariane” space program to provide us services from space.
• The university exchange program “Erasmus” allows our children to learn and have their qualifications recognized on the entire continent: just like US, Chinese and Indian children who benefit from their much larger countries.
• The EU parliament agrees on social standards, environmental rules, etc. to make our countries better and have a fair system in the EU.
• Only by working together can European countries’ interests be robustly represented on the world stage.

By far not every problem is solved. Not all decisions turn out to be the right ones and much needs to be changed and improved: but the last three generations of European citizens have built a platform which can continue to improve our lives. It is our duty to continue on this path for the benefit of the future of our children.

As a Company, we take responsibility for all our actions. We are an active member of the communities across the globe, a responsible employer, paying taxes, working to reduce our environmental impact and creating value for our employees, our suppliers and business partners. We support community programs everywhere we operate. This is our contribution as a Company, but accountability does not stop within the Company.

Now it is your chance to get involved and shape our future! Whatever your opinion on the various issues that are currently important, whoever you want to support; whether you support more European integration or want to reduce the influence of the EU: it starts with your engagement.

The next European Parliament elections, taking place on May 23-26, 2019, will determine how the EU will act in the coming years. By voting, you will help decide how the EU will evolve and will have the opportunity to shape our operating environment.

Please be part of shaping decisions – the over 4,000 employees of RHI Magnesita in Germany, Austria, France, Netherlands, Scotland, …. and our family members actually have a voice. Let it be heard!

Best wishes,

Stefan Borgas

CEO