Following an informal meeting by videoconference on Friday 12 June, the Ministers for the Internal Market and Industry supported a joint declaration on the European Commission's Recovery Plan, in which they approved all the main principles put forward by the European Commission, in particular to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy while maintaining the principle of an open economy.
In essence, the declaration welcomes the objectives of the Recovery Plan and in particular the emphasis on both public and private investment, the strengthening of the Single Market and the importance of the green and digital transition in relation to climate neutrality and the circular economy.
It emphasises the importance of digital technology for reviving the European economy after the health crisis and also stresses the cardinal role that the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) must play in consolidating the European economy. In this context, the ministers “take note” of the 14 ecosystems isolated by the European Commission.
One interesting point is that the ministers still consider the “March 2020 package”, on industry and SMEs presented by the European Commission shortly before the Union entered a phase of lockdown, to be relevant. The same applies to the “February 2020 package” on artificial intelligence.
Another interesting point is that the ministers are giving a political “boost” to the ‘Competitiveness’ configuration of the EU Council by giving it a role of coordination and monitoring of the industry and Single Market dimensions of the European Commission's Recovery Plan.
However, the balance between open economy and strategic autonomy, which had been discussed at length at the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) on Wednesday 10 June (see EUROPE 12504/12), still caused some diplomatic tensions. Denmark and Spain thus adopted, in addition to the ministerial declaration supported by the 27 ministers, a joint declaration reiterating the importance of keeping international trade intact. We are told that the approach was somewhat surprising in the diplomatic hallways, especially from Spain.
During the speeches, Austria is said to have advocated that the European Union should launch an important project of common European interest in the field of health, both for medical equipment and for medicines, in particular for antibiotics. Its proposal was supposedly supported by several other delegations.
To view the statement: https://bit.ly/2UDJAAs (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)