Brussels, 18/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - Industrial competitiveness will be the key theme of the first Competitiveness Council under the Greek Presidency on 20 and 21 February, ahead of the European Council of March. Relations between the EU and the European Space Agency will also be a focus of the ministerial discussions.
European semester. Ahead of the European Council of 20 and 21 March, the ministers for industry and the internal market and the ministers with responsibility for research will discuss the annual growth review 2014, which the Commission published in November 2013. The annual growth review is the starting point of the European Semester, which consists of a simultaneous analysis every year of the budget, economic and employment policies of the member states over a period of six months, to flag up any inconsistencies or signs of imbalance. In its 2014 examination, the Commission recommends that the member states focus on five priorities: growth-promoting budgetary consolidation, re-establishing normal conditions for credit lines to be granted to the economy, promoting growth and competitiveness, tackling unemployment and modernising public administration. The 2014 review will be accompanied by the second report on the integration of the single market, which flags up strong growth potential in services, financial services, energy, transport and the digital markets.
Industry. The ministers will hold a policy debate on industrial competitiveness, on the basis of the Commission's communication calling for industrial renaissance, which was adopted in January (see EUROPE 11002). This document recommends integrating industrial competitiveness concerns in all relevant policies - environment, climate, energy, trade, competition, state aid and regional policy. In order to achieve the objective of reindustrialisation, more specifically to increase the share of the manufacturing sector to 20% of GDP, the European Commission is also stressing the following priorities: making full use of the potential of the single market for products, capital and services; implementing regional development instruments by means of national and European instruments designed to support innovation, skills and entrepreneurship; investment and access for businesses to essential starting materials - energy and raw materials - at affordable prices; getting EU businesses onto the global markets. The question of industrial competitiveness will also be dealt with in light of the new action framework on climate and energy between now and 2030, and a study on the price and costs of energy in Europe, both of which were also unveiled by the Commission in January (see EUROPE 11002). These discussions will feed into the debate on industrial competitiveness which has been included on the agenda of the March European Council.
It is worth noting that the industry ministers will take stock of the results of the ninth ministerial meeting on Euro-Mediterranean industrial cooperation to be held in Brussels on 19 February.
Single market. A number of issues related to the single market will be dealt with under any other business, as they are mainly points of information. The Greek Presidency will report back to the delegations on the agreement reached in late January at an institutional trialogue meeting on electronic invoicing, which should in future be used in public procurement (see EUROPE 11016). The Presidency will also take stock on the state of play with work on the European foundation status. The Commission will also return to the single European patent and report back on the latest developments on establishing a European court to deal with these matters. The European Executive will also present the quality tourism label to ministers. Lastly, the question of food labelling will be dealt with at the request of the Italian delegation (which is reported to have a few problems with the British provisions). The Commission's legislative proposal on business secrecy, on the other hand, will not be raised at this Council, but will be the subject of an interim report for the May Competitiveness Council.
Research. On 21 February, the research ministers will be invited to adopt conclusions on the European Research Era (ERA), which is nothing other than an attempt to create a “common market” in the field of research. Based on the review carried out in September 2013 by the Commission (see EUROPE 10928), which highlighted the massive gap which exists between the concept of a functional and unified ERA and how it will actually be set in place, the Council is expected to undertake to develop a roadmap by mid-2015. This would basically consist of trying to improve the coordination of national initiatives. The Commission identified several obstacles to the development of the ERA, but most of the member states are not in favour of the idea of legislating to overcome these. The Council will also take stock of the aspects of the annual growth review 2014 with a bearing on research and innovation.
Space. On Friday, the ministers will hold an exchange of views on ideas to be implemented to improve cooperation between the EU and the European Space Agency (ESA). They will take as their basis the progress report of the Commission, which was published on this subject in early February, and will be invited to comment on the most viable scenarios put forward in this document (see EUROPE 11013). (EH/MD/JK/transl.fl)