During the Competitiveness Council on Monday 12 March, for the third time in under a year, ministers responsible for industry and the internal market will adopt conclusions devoted to industrial strategy in the medium and long term. It will only be a matter of conclusions. The remainder of the programme is composed of debates on the future of the internal market or on the situation of services. There will also be a lunch for discussion of the Commission’s initiative to modify consumer protection. “It is a small Council but with key topics of discussion”, one diplomatic source said.
Ministers will tackle industrial questions in connection with the renewed industrial strategy presented in September by the Commission (see EUROPE 11861) – a strategy that member states had not found very convincing.
Here, discussion will be structured around two questions raised by the Bulgarian presidency: a first on the next stages of preparation for the future industrial strategy, and a second focusing on the new elements to be introduced in this future strategy.
The debate will result in the adoption, by ministers, of conclusions that had already been set out in detail by EUROPE (see EUROPE 11950, 11952). These will not be very different from those of the previous Councils: - ministers call on the Commission to develop an industrial strategy up to 2030 and beyond (citing sectoral initiatives up to 2050) with an action plan developed in close link with the member states.
“The conclusions (on industrial strategy) are in fact a general repetition of what was adopted previously but this time the context could step up pressure on the Commission”, one source explains, with reference to the decision by the US president, Donald Trump, to increase customs tariffs on steel and aluminium, including from the EU (see EUROPE 11977).
25th anniversary of single market. A debate will follow – the only public debate of the meeting – on the 25th anniversary of the internal market. This will be an occasion for ministers to draw up an inventory of the situation and give their vision of the future and of the next steps to be taken. Three questions will be put by the Bulgarian presidency of the EU Council: - a first on the road to follow for consolidation of the single market at a time when everything goes digital; - a second, which will be more specific, on the solutions for strengthening cooperation between member states; - and finally, a third, which is trickier, on the territorial redistribution of the economic knock-on effect between the different socio-professional categories.
Another point of discussion on the menu is the question of restrictions on the services markets in the context of the competitiveness “check-up”. Here, the question of the electronic “services” card (e-card “services”) should be tackled. The project seems to be leaking somewhere, not only in the Council (see EUROPE 11963) but also at the European Parliament (see EUROPE 11970), despite repeated calls from the person who initiated the project, Commissioner for Industry and the Internal Market Elzbieta Bienkowska, for rapid adoption (see EUROPE 119552).
Lunch devoted to consumer protection. During lunch, the ministers will hold an exchange of views on preparations underway at the European Commission for revising EU legislation on consumer protection. The ambition is to strengthen consumers’ rights in the digital era and their means of appeal against large companies that short-change them on this. The legislative proposals on this “new deal for consumers” are expected for mid-April (see EUROPE 11948, 11917).
Among the points tackled informally, ministers will hear a presentation by the Commission of the very first EU strategy on plastics which is part of the EU action plan for speeding up transition towards the circular economy (see EUROPE 11974, 11941).
The ministers will also be briefly informed of the five-year review report and suggestions for improving the REACH regulation on registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemical substances, with a view to increasing its effectiveness (see EUROPE 11974).
Intellectual property. In the morning, ministers will, moreover, adopt without debate political conclusions on the Commission’s communication of last November relating to implementation of intellectual property rights (see EUROPE 11915). Member states support the Commission’s proposals, to which they add the request – among other things – that exchange of best practice be supported and industrial development followed by drawing up guidelines to combat counterfeiting.
“Innovation deal” on vehicle batteries. The same day, France and the Netherlands and stakeholders of the national automobile sectors will sign an “innovation deal” with the European Commission on propulsion batteries and their re-use in a second life cycle. The agreement will comprise a chapter devoted to the management of waste and another on energy. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)