Brussels, 10/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - Industrial competitiveness will be the focus of the formal and informal work of the Competitiveness Council under Greek Presidency.
As announced in its work programme, the Greek Presidency is making improvement of industrial competitiveness one of its priorities for its six month presidency stint - along with strengthening the EU's industrial base. Industrial policy is high on the agenda of the two formal sessions of the Competitiveness Council - on 20-21 February and 26-27 May - and of the informal session - in Athens on 12-13 May.
Based on the conclusions of the report on EU competitiveness and the work undertaken in 2013 by the Lithuanian Presidency, the Council in February is called to “provide policy directions in order to support economic recovery and make Europe a place of production”, says the Greek Presidency.
This meeting will also have to prepare the work of the European Council in March, which will inherit subjects initially put on the agenda of a European summit on industrial competitiveness, innovation, company access to finance, improving market conditions and energy prices, which was originally planned for 13-14 February but cancelled due to a lack of preparation (see other article).
The Greek Presidency will ensure the follow up of the spring European Council conclusions and will monitor their good implementation by focusing strongly on horizontal issues - such as the creation of a business friendly environment, improvement of access to finance, and bridging innovation and the market - as well as the sectoral dimension of industry. The informal work in Athens in May will focus on industrial policy with a view to maintaining the momentum of the ongoing dialogue in Europe.
The Greek Presidency also wants to ensure the effective implementation of programmes for SMEs planned under the new multiannual financial framework, which starts this year - programmes such as COSME and Horizon 2020 which will allocate funding to innovative SMEs. In addition, the Presidency intends to contribute to the debate on SME policy, five years after the adoption of the Small Business Act (SBA), by focusing on access to finance, cutting red tape and fostering innovative entrepreneurship.
Lastly, the Greek Presidency will ensure that the implementation of smart regulation initiatives creates a business friendly environment as part of the new round of reducing red tape stemming from Community legislation. (EH/transl.fl)