Brussels, 30/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - Ministers for Industry gave a warm welcome, overall, to the European Commission single market strategy, during the first day of the Competitiveness Council, in Brussels on Monday 30 November.
According to one diplomatic source, the majority of member states welcomed the work by the Commissioner on the strategy, which she presented on 28 October last (see EUROPE 11417 and 11419). Many ministers highlighted the need to both strengthen and facilitate funding for SMEs and very small enterprises, speeding up the digitalisation of companies and industry (a point Germany was particularly keen to emphasise), modernisation of intellectual property, the imperative of mutual recognition, particularly with regard to consumer goods and, finally, improving the mobility of workers through the mutual recognition of qualifications.
The Italian delegation emphasised that it was necessary to provide a clear definition of what constituted a start up, given that the strategy put the emphasis on this kind of very high added value SME in its strategy. The Italian, French and Slovenian delegations all called for geographic indicators to be introduced for non-agricultural goods, which is in line with the position advocated by the European Commission (see EUROPE 11404). France also highlighted the crucial need to improve the targeting of companies' needs in their development phases. Germany has begun a wide scale energy transition policy at a national level, in an effort to abandon nuclear power and highlighted the need to complete the Energy Union, as soon as possible. The United Kingdom's very favourable position was brought to public knowledge by the European Commission the same day as the presentation of the strategy on 28 October.
The second “competitiveness checkup” focused on the competitiveness of the European economy in relation to its international competitors. The Commissioner for Industry, Elzbieta Bienkowska, attended and provided a description of the European situation. She explained that the EU should concentrate on products of high quality and high added value, which were buffers against economic and financial crises. This checkup, similarly to the first one, met the expectations of member states, which called for the initiative to be pursued, according to one dramatic source. The Dutch delegation therefore indicated that this mechanism would be maintained. The Austrian delegation proposed the introduction of multidimensional indicators that would include macro-economic and microeconomic aspects, as well as those for external and internal matters, in an effort to achieve a ranking based on stable results that could be compared in real time. Italy and Poland said that they should not exclusively focus on start-ups but also on the more traditional SMEs.
During dinner, ministers were able to have an exchange of views with the First Vice-President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, on the better regulation programme. Ministers highlighted the fact that this programme should be developed with greater transparency and minimum costs. Some delegations called for setting up an independent impact assessment board regarding the activities of the three institutions. The proposal made by 19 member states to introduce quantifiable indicators to measure the effects of this programme reliably did not obtain unanimous approval and some delegations had reservations about its usefulness, explained one European source.
In a backdrop to the summit, the three Benelux countries signed an agreement to analyse the supply problems their companies were experiencing in the retail and craft trades, due to regional restrictions involving distribution circuits. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)