The European Commission intends to present the revision of the Late Payments Directive in the third quarter of 2023, according to a draft version of its work programme obtained by EUROPE, which is expected to be presented on Tuesday 18 October.
“We must remove the barriers that still hold back our small businesses, because they are the backbone of Europe’s long history of industrial prowess. That is why we will propose a relief package for SMEs. The Commission will revise the Late Payments Directive in order to reduce the burden on SMEs”, says the institution in its Communication obtained by EUROPE last Friday (see EUROPE 13043/23).
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had called for a new package of measures in favour of SMEs in the context of the energy crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine during her State of the Union speech in September (see EUROPE 13021/6).
The date envisaged by the institution is causing some gnashing of teeth in the Brussels bubble. “The third quarter is very late when you think about the end of the mandate in 2024”, Sophia Zakari, political advisor at SMEunited, told EUROPE, recalling that there are already many solutions to fight against this phenomenon. “We will have to make sure that the work is done before the end of the mandate”, she added.
Raw materials and patents
Furthermore, as announced by the Commissioner for the Internal Market at the end of September (see EUROPE 13032/2), the European Commission confirms the presentation of a European initiative for critical raw materials in the first quarter of 2023.
Here, the institution indicates that there will be a European legislative act, adding that it will be accompanied by “additional measures” to strengthen Europe’s self-sufficiency and ensure adequate and diversified supply, while prioritising reuse and recycling.
The EU institution also plans to present a patent licensing package on the granting of “essential” patents in the second quarter to provide a “stable regulatory environment for our businesses”, it says.
Finally, the European Commission intends to present a Communication on the Single Market in the first quarter of 2023 on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. The Communication will showcase “the significant benefits (of the Internal Market for European self-sufficiency) while identifying implementation gaps and future priorities”, it says.
“The European Commission is very unclear about what it intends to do on the Single Market: will it present a Communication linking it to the Single Market Emergency Instrument and taking full stock of the latest crises? In any case, we want an honest assessment that is useful for everyone and that constitutes a basis for future work”, commented Ms Zakari.
Link to the draft work programme: https://aeur.eu/f/3md
Link to the annex on the proposals: https://aeur.eu/f/3me (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)