EU ministers responsible for competitiveness issues will be invited by the Czech Presidency of the EU Council to discuss the regional dimension of competitiveness at an informal meeting in Prague on Wednesday 20 July.
The ministers will address, among other things, the issue of “the added value, innovation and competitiveness of regions across the EU in the context of current changes in the EU economy”. In particular, they will focus on the situation of regions that are lagging behind the European average.
The Czech Presidency recalls the many transformations taking place in the EU economy, be it in the field of decarbonisation, digitisation, building resilience and “open strategic autonomy” – the EU’s strategic autonomy being a priority of the Czech Presidency (see EUROPE 12989/8). In this context, the Czech Presidency will invite ministers to reflect on how to integrate the EU into global value chains while reducing its strategic dependencies.
“These transformations are an opportunity for industry in regions still lagging behind to attract industry with a higher added value”, insists the Presidency in its presentation document for the ministerial meeting, citing hydrogen, batteries and electronic chips in particular.
The Presidency plans to run three workshops simultaneously: - one dedicated to the internal market and its role in helping regions that are lagging; - a second one on the digitisation and decarbonisation of regions currently lagging behind; - and a third on the resilience of the internal market in the context of the war in Ukraine. The meeting will end in the middle of the afternoon, at around 3.30 pm. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)