The EU Ministers responsible for Industry and the Internal Market agreed by a large majority on the need not to turn their backs on one of the founding principles of the European Union, namely its openness to international trade, and to carry out a detailed analysis of strategic sectors before taking action, at an informal 'Competitiveness' meeting on Friday 15 May.
For the Internal Market Commissioner, Thierry Breton, future European action will be structured around a triptych: sovereignty, solidarity and resilience; sovereignty having been an important point in the discussions, and at the request of the Croatian Presidency of the EU Council (see EUROPE 12487/3).
According to several diplomatic sources, a large majority of national delegations were behind the Nordic positions, first and foremost Denmark and Finland, which insisted on maintaining the current international trade order.
The proposal to relocate certain key production lines was mentioned, but without taking a radical stance. "When we talk about relocation, we're actually talking about partial relocation of certain industrial segments, rather than general relocation," says one source, citing health in particular.
For some national delegations, a relocation of large-scale production could go against the European Union's climate objectives, as globalisation makes it possible to externalise the climate impact of some production outside European borders, we were told.
It would in fact be more a question of being "able to mobilise" certain production lines at any time without stocks running out, as was the case for masks or certain medical protective equipment. In any event, there are said to have been statements warning against any desire to relocate within the internal market, according to another source.
The idea would be to work instead on a buffer system, with the establishment of stocks of certain strategic products. Building up a European stockpile is not yet on the agenda, "but the idea is making progress," says one source, particularly for rare earths and precious metals needed for batteries.
No reopening of the March package
Questioned by EUROPE, Commissioner Breton made it clear that it was out of the question to reopen the March package (see EUROPE 12444/5) including most notably the industrial strategy. On the contrary, according to him, the Covid-19 crisis has shown the need to "accelerate" its implementation.
However, some delegations, in particular the Hungarian and Polish delegations, mentioned the possibility of reopening this package to make some adjustments in order to avoid putting even more pressure on their industries, which have been hit by the economic slowdown caused by Covid-19.
Presentation of ecosystems
The ministers also agreed that the Competitiveness Council should be given a monitoring and coordination role on the issue of ecosystems, a horizontal concept introduced into the industrial strategy by Commissioner Breton.
In this regard, the Commission has finalised its analysis. The Commissioner presented 14 ecosystems which comprise digital, electronics, cultural and creative industries, tourism, automotive mobility, aerospace and defence, construction, agri-food, energy intensive industries, textiles, health, renewable energies, retail, and the social and community economy. However, financial services and public sectors are excluded.
To view the ecosystem chart presented to Ministers: https://bit.ly/3cKgVAI (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)