Brussels, 09/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - Examination of possibilities to create the EU patents system (see article above) is the main point on the agenda at the final Competitiveness Council under the Belgian presidency on Friday, 10 December in Brussels. Under the guidance of the Belgian minister for enterprise, Vincent Van Quickenborne, and the Walloon minister for the economy, Jean-Claude Marcourt, EU ministers for industry and the internal market are also expected to reach an agreement on state aid for coal.
State aid for coal. The Council is expected to validate the political agreement put together at COREPER on the draft decision to facilitate the transition between the specific state aid regime currently applied to the coal industry and general state aid rules, which apply to all the different sectors. The decision is expected to extend until 2018 (subject to conditions), the possibility of member states granting aid to their coal industry for facilitating the closing down of non-competitive mines.
Single market act. Ministers are expected to debate and adopt the conclusions on the Single Market Act, a biennial plan (2010-2012) presented by the European Commission on 27 October, which includes 50 initiatives to optimise the internal market and help appropriate implementation of the objectives contained in the EUROPE 2020 strategy on employment and growth.
Gaming. This is the first of its kind and ministers are expected to adopt conclusions on the role of the national public supervisory authorities in the gaming and gambling domain in the EU. The text will focus on three aspects: the role of the national public authorities in supervising gambling, co-operation between the authorities in charge of regulation in member states and the state lotteries. This consensus will mark an important stage for future EU level discussions, which will be guided by the Commission Green Paper, which the latter is expected to present in February 2011.
Industrial policy. Ministers will continue the debate began in November and will adopt conclusions on the strategy proposed at the end of October by the Commission for, “an integrated industrial policy for the era of globalisation”, which illustrates the conditions likely to promote (as part of the EU 2020 strategy) growth and job creation, in addition to maintaining a strong, diversified and competitive industrial base in Europe.
Consumer rights. Ministers will evaluate progress achieved in the work on the draft directive for strengthening consumer rights throughout the EU. This directive seeks to simplify and complement current legislation, as well as ensure a high level of consumer protection and enhance the way in which the internal market operates, by increasing business and consumer confidence in the area of cross-border transactions. (E.H./transl.fl)