On Wednesday 13 July, the Czech Minister of Industry and Trade, Jozef Síkela, has repeatedly stressed the importance of SMEs in the European economy and, in this context, indicated that this will be one of the main priorities of his country’s Presidency of the Council of the EU, during an exchange with MEPs from the Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE).
“Our SMEs need to be helped in these difficult times. We need to step up our efforts at the European and national level and coordinate them”, said the minister, who said he wanted to fully implement the SME strategy (see EUROPE 12713/6). In this respect, he assured that his Presidency will seek to combat red tape and facilitate access to the internal market and financing for SMEs. He added that an SME Conference will be organised by the Presidency on 29 and 30 November.
Asked by Christian Ehler (EPP, German) whether a moratorium on the REACH regulation was needed to avoid imposing too much red tape on SMEs, the minister said the European Commission had already announced a postponement to 2023.
Political agreement on the Chips Act
Another announcement by the Minister, which was already reported in our pages in June (see EUROPE 12968/7), is that the Czech Presidency intends to do its utmost to obtain a political agreement (a general approach, in the Council’s jargon) on the regulation dedicated to semiconductors at the December Competitiveness Council, “even though we are aware of the complexities of this proposal”, he admitted.
Raw materials and the construction sector
In this respect, the Czech Minister stressed the importance of raw material supply for European industries. A conference dedicated to the security of supply of raw materials will be organised on 12 September.
Mr Síkela also highlighted the role of the construction sector in the European economy. Here, the Czech Presidency is planning to organise a conference on 9 and 10 November, dedicated to the digitalisation and robotisation of the construction sector and the development of related digital skills.
MEPs generally welcomed the Czech Presidency’s ambitions, especially in the area of SMEs, as did Martina Dlabajová (Renew Europe, Czech) and Mikuláš Peksa (Greens/EFA, Czech), but also its willingness to reach a political agreement on the semi-conductor regulation, although some questioned the feasibility of the project. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)