The EU Ministers for the Internal Market and Industry will meet on Thursday 1 December, in the framework of a particularly busy “Competitiveness” Council, to adopt three political agreements (general approaches), respectively on the “Chips Act” initiative, the directive on corporate sustainability due diligence and, finally, the regulation on geographical indications for crafts and industrial products.
These three general approaches will be the subject of public meetings. The most controversial piece of legislation is undoubtedly the one on corporate due diligence. Here, the Czech Presidency of the EU Council has scheduled a 90-minute exchange. Despite the agreement reached by the Permanent Representatives of the Member States (Coreper I) on 25 November (see EUROPE 13071/12), discussions on the text are still taking place in the EU Council.
Some points, such as the inclusion of customers of financial institutions in the scope of the directive, still need to be discussed to find the right balance, says an EU source. The adoption by the ministers could be postponed, if an agreement is not reached.
The Chips Act initiative is one of the main priorities of the Czech Presidency, which has also scheduled a 90-minute session. The text received unanimous support when it was presented to the ambassadors (see EUROPE 13070/3).
However, one question remains open: the budgetary question. The Member States have agreed on a budgetary contribution of €3.3 billion, but €400 million are missing, as they have rejected the reuse of disbursements from the Horizon Europe programme (see EUROPE 12057/8).
The issue, a diplomatic source hoped, will be decided during the interinstitutional discussions under the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council, once the European Parliament has adopted its position, probably in February 2023.
The general approach on geographical indications, on the other hand, is much more consensual. Here, the Presidency has provided a 20-minute window. The changes made by the Member States are minor compared to the European Commission’s proposal (see EUROPE 13064/13). In the European Parliament, negotiations are just beginning in the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), which is expected to adopt its position in February 2023.
Over an informal lunch, the ministers will discuss how to address the EU’s dependencies through diversification of supply chains. The discussion will focus on possible new bilateral or multilateral partnerships in the field of critical raw materials and hydrogen. Here, the plan for a raw materials initiative, scheduled for the end of the first quarter of 2023, could be addressed.
Circular economy, consumers and green transition
The EU Council will take note of a progress report on the proposal for the regulation of 30 March which will establish a framework for setting ecodesign and information requirements for all products except food and medicinal products (and repeal directive 2009/125/EC) (see EUROPE 14540/22).
The EU Council will take note of a progress report from the Czech Presidency on the proposal for the directive of last April aimed at empowering consumers to act in favour of the ecological transition through better protection against unfair practices and better information (see EUROPE 13033/4).
SMET and EU SME Envoy
Among the other items, there are three salient points on the agenda. The European Commission will present to ministers the 2022 report of the Single Market Enforcement Taskforce (SMET). Above all, the institution will take stock of the appointment of the EU SME Envoy, which has been at a deadlock for many months (see EUROPE 13025/11). Finally, as is customary at the end of an EU Council Presidency, the incoming Presidency, in this case the Swedish Presidency, will present its programme to the ministers for the first half of 2023.
The European Tourism Agenda
The ministers will also be asked to adopt conclusions on the European Tourism Agenda, containing a multi-annual work plan at European level with voluntary actions. The aim is to make the tourism sector more sustainable, resilient, green and digital. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens, Léa Marchal and Aminata Niang)