Brussels, 26/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - The crisis in the steelmaking industry will take up a large part of the discussions of EU industry ministers at the Competitiveness Council in Brussels on Monday 29 February as they debate the situation of energy-intensive industries who face competition from all over the globe, and in particular from China.
Following the recent initiative by French Economy and Industry Minister Emmanuel Macron (see EUROPE 11490), the Dutch Presidency will ask ministers to discuss concrete action that might be taken to protect the steelmaking sector, which is particularly exposed at the moment to competition from China. The issue of anti-dumping measures - one of the main points in the joint letter from the French minister - will be on the discussion table, even though this is a matter that falls more within the areas of responsibility of other Council formations, such as foreign affairs and economic and financial affairs, diplomats point out.
The same diplomatic sources suggest that the form the post-Council declaration will take has yet to be decided: it is possible that it could be Presidency conclusions, which have the advantage of not engaging the member states, only the Presidency.
Updating of financial instruments - which also features in the joint letter - will not be on the agenda, however, for reasons of areas of responsibility.
Ministers will also discuss existing support measures and financial instruments with a view to supporting innovation in the sector and launching pilot projects, for example on energy efficiency and shifting to a low-carbon economy.
Linked to this latter challenge, ministers will consider possible ways of reducing regulatory costs which are harming the sector's competitiveness. The issue of pollution from energy-intensive industry is particularly pressing within the framework of the revision of the emissions trading scheme (ETS). The European Parliament has recently called for border adjustment mechanisms for imports (see EUROPE 11455). This position was backed by the French economy minister in a discussion at the European Parliament on 15 February, following the high-level conference on energy-intensive industries in Brussels (see EUROPE 11490).
While the main focus will be on steelmaking, other energy-intensive industries, such as the cement-making sector which is also struggling against international competition and certain unfair practices, will also be discussed.
Single market strategy. The single market strategy for goods and services, presented by the European Commission in October of last year (see EUROPE 11420 and 11488), will be one of the other major points on the Council agenda. Ministers will focus on support for SMEs and start-ups, implementation, compliance and enforcement of existing legislation, and the single market for services. The thorny question of geo-blocking is unlikely to make its way onto the negotiations table (see EUROPE 11498). “This file is not yet ready to go to ministers”, revealed a diplomatic source.
Circular economy. As part of the competitiveness health check and incorporating competitiveness into other areas for action, ministers will discuss the EU strategy on the circular economy that was presented by the European Commission in December (see EUROPE 11444). The objective here will be to “identity the priority issues of the action plan prior to making a contribution” to the discussions of the Environment Council, not at its next meeting but the meeting on 20 June.
Among the other matters to be dealt with on Monday, ministers will be briefed by the Commission on the draft regulation to ensure the cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market. Then, at the request of the German delegation, the Commission will set out the state of play in the EU-United States “privacy shield” which sets a new framework for transatlantic data flows (see EUROPE 11481). Thereafter, the Presidency will provide an update on recent developments on the patentability of plant material obtained through conventional selection methods and on progress on the unified patent system. On this last point, the potential consequences of a “Brexit” could find their way into the discussions, a European source suggested, given that the unified patent court has to be ratified by the 13 member states, including necessarily France, Germany and the United Kingdom. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)