In light of the forthcoming presentation by the European Commission of an update to the Industrial Strategy, the Ministers of the EU Member States responsible for internal market and industry issues are invited by the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council to discuss, on Monday morning, 22 March, the issue of the European Union’s strategic dependencies.
The meeting will be attended by Vice-President Margrethe Vestager and the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton. During this meeting, the Portuguese Presidency will seek to determine whether there is a political desire to strengthen cooperation at a European level to systematise the monitoring of strategic dependencies of European ecosystems on non-Member States.
It will survey Member States to identify possible measures that are currently missing from the European arsenal and to address these strategic dependencies. In this respect, the Presidency is citing health, defence industry, space, digital, energy and raw materials. It will also address the issue of cyber security.
In another exchange, Ministers will address the issue of fair competition with certain non-Member States. On this point, the Presidency wishes to discuss the distorting effects of foreign subsidies in the European internal market and to reflect on various tools to ensure greater strategic autonomy. In this context, various competition scenarios within the single market will also be discussed.
Finally, the Presidency intends to ask Ministers whether there are any blind spots in the European approach, particularly in relation to European values in social, environmental and economic fields. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)