As part of their first Competitiveness Council working day on Monday 29 May, ministers and representatives from the member states adopted conclusions calling on the European Commission to put forward an “holistic” industrial strategy for spring 2018.
The paper remains unchanged compared to the version examined by EUROPE earlier in the month (see EUROPE 11790). The member states are specifically demanding that the strategy focuses on SMEs, start-ups and expanding businesses. The member states are therefore calling on the Commission to include the strategy in its 2018 work programme. They also appeal for a concrete action plan, as well as an impact study of the initiatives taken since 2015 for industrial policy at a European level.
According to Étienne Schneider, Luxembourg's Vice Prime Minister, this will occur in March. During the debate held upstream of this meeting, Germany and Luxembourg highlighted the fact that this strategy should set out long-term objectives, namely, up to 2030. Scandinavian member states expressed their concern that this strategy could become a system for subsidising obsolete industries.
The Commissioner for the Internal Market and Industry, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, took note of the conclusions. During the press conference, she declared that she supported the strategy requested by the Council and explained that this could be translated into a “horizontal document” with “a number of sectoral approaches”, before adding that the internal debate on the subject had been difficult.
One diplomatic source explained to EUROPE that the European treaties only confer a coordinating role on the European Commission in this area. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)