Brussels, 28/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - Two main points on the agenda of the Competitiveness Council on 1 October are the competitiveness check-up, wanted by the Luxembourg Presidency, and the better regulation programme to improve the effectiveness of European legislation.
Following an initial presentation by the European Commission on the economy in Europe, the check-up will provide an informal framework for an exchange among the 28 competitiveness ministers on the latest economic trends and information. The Luxembourg Presidency says that discussion will also include the real economy and the micro-economy, the main activities of the Council, it says.
The new format will also allow ministers to prepare a list of initiatives which fall, first and foremost, within the ambit of other Council formations but which impact directly on business competitiveness. To this end, the Presidency had indicated that, ahead of the meeting, it will submit an indicative, non-exhaustive list of initiatives which might be of direct interest to competitiveness ministers.
The goal of this proposal, presented by Luxembourg on 20 July, is to enhance the role of the Competitiveness Council in relation to the other formations (see EUROPE 11363).
The second point on the agenda relates to improving how the single market works. Ministers will discuss possible avenues worthy of exploration to make the market more effective and reduce “non-Europe” costs. The Presidency will present a background document to frame the debate, building largely on the new better regulation document published by the Commission on 19 May 2015. The ultimate objective is to maximise the EU value added, by means of principally legislative initiatives and by incorporating the principle of competitiveness across the board in the European legislative process.
Following the Council, ministers will hold an informal discussion on reform of the emissions trading scheme, a matter of direct relevance to business competitiveness. Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, chairman of the board of Solvay and of CEFIC, and Markus J. Beyrer, president of BusinessEurope, have been invited to join the ministers for lunch to contribute to the discussions. Also over lunch, the monitoring of pollutant emissions in the automobile industry will be discussed, in the wake of the Volkswagen scandal that has rocked the entire sector.
The Luxembourg Presidency will use the opportunity provided by the meeting to invite ministers to sign the protocol on the provisional application of the agreement on a unified patent court. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)