Brussels, 22/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - The single digital market and access to finance will be the two pillars of the Latvian presidency of the Council in the industrial policy field. On Thursday 22 January, the Latvian Minister for the Economy provided details for this to the members of the EP's industry committee.
Dana Reizniece-Ozola explained that the Latvian presidency intended to focus on the digital market and obtain “concrete results” on the digital agenda. She also said that “the EU should improve digital competitiveness and encourage greater use of digital instruments, particularly legislative instruments. It is important to catch up with the rest of the world.”
The presidency will be organising a debate on the future of the digital market during the Competitiveness Council on 2 March. An informal meeting in Riga on 26-27 March will also provide an opportunity for a ministerial debate on digital challenges to industry. Conclusions could possibly be adopted by the Council later.
With regard to access to finance, the Minister highlighted the fact that only 60% of SMEs in Europe approached the banks in this regard but that the use of new financial instruments should be encouraged, such as participatory finance. This is an urgent matter and the Minister explained that a week would be spent focusing on the issue of innovative companies in Riga on 15-17 June. (MD)