Dear industry colleagues and fellow Association members,

the Covid-19 emergency we are experiencing is a dramatic time for our community and I strongly feel being my duty to open this ELA newsletter by expressing my solidarity to all of you and your families. An epical situation not even in our radar just a few months ago.

At this juncture we must be synergistic with each other and in solidarity with those who, on the front line, are fighting this pandemic for many of our loved ones too. Feelings of sadness and deep compassion that I wish to share with you, especially for the ones who recently suffered a loss.

We need to be supportive and helpful with professionalism and concreteness, and we want to be cohesive in this struggle, working together with sense of responsibility.

But we are confronted with a drama that has also conditioned ELA and the way our Association works.

Since the beginning of February all of the moments requiring a physical presence in the Bruxelles Association office have been turned down until further notice. However, meetings of our Committees and Working Groups have not been slowed down at all but, dare I say, they have been forced to become more efficient.

New ways of interaction have required greater effort, to all of us, in line with greater discipline and with the willingness to optimize work time as much as possible.

A particular appreciation goes to the ELA Staff that, despite the difficulties of the moment, has confirmed all the appointments scheduled so far, including the ELA Board and our General Assembly that will be held, in a virtual way, on Tuesday, May 19th.

Our existing IT tools have also been reviewed and improved in this critical moment and the efforts profuse will become very useful also after the pandemic phase, acting as a parachute for potential future difficult situations.

We have adjusted and modified the way, but we have never lost the compass and the usual lucidness in following the path that will allow us to reach further goals.

We are structuring a specific section of the institutional website to facilitate not only the exchange of information to/from the Associations but also to provide the possibility to interact with each other in a much faster way. You will soon receive more specific information on this.

Also, our view always very much focussed on Europe and to the interaction with the European Institutions but, in this difficult moment, we have not lost our focus on the whole world, through our frequent international contacts, especially with China and the United States.

We are keeping a special eye on our company associated members, to ensure that the drive belt is secured along the entire supply chain and compliance f.e. with payment terms, by each link in the chain, will certainly help to maintain our sector in good health.

I also believe being reasonable in these moments to call on the "sense of responsibility" that everyone is obliged to assume in respect of others. A signal and a reminder that have been addressed also to those in charge of governing and directing our life, for the one we are called to protect with our service activities.

Last but not least I would like to congratulate my colleagues acting in the field (and they are very numerous) who, despite all difficulties, continue to work in a context which is becoming everyday more complex, making all of us proud to belong to a sector that at these very moments fully expresses its strength and generosity towards those who more than before need our attention and care: our fellow citizens of the world.

Soon we will be meeting again in person and we will certainly make treasure of this lesson, both on human and professional perspective.