With one week to go before the extraordinary EU summit on Thursday 9 and Friday 10 February, a consensus among the EU27 leaders to launch financial instruments involving common debt as part of the European response to the US IRA appears to be out of reach due to the frontal opposition of the ‘fiscally frugal’ countries.
According to a draft of the European Council’s conclusions dated Thursday 2 February, a copy of which was given to EUROPE, the reference to a request by the EU27 to set up a European financial instrument based on the SURE initiative to support unemployment insurance schemes has been deleted.
Such a reference had been included in a first draft prepared by the services of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel (see EUROPE 13106/7), but it offended the sensibilities of many capitals which felt that they had been presented with a fait accompli, although the Commission has not taken up this idea since (see EUROPE 13112/1).
On the other hand, according to the draft conclusions, which could evolve over the weekend, the Member States “note” the Commission’s intention to present, “before the summer of 2023”, a European sovereignty fund to support investment in strategic sectors for the EU.
In addition to supporting the four parts of the ‘Green Deal Industrial Plan’ unveiled by the Commission, the EU27 are expected to reiterate their call for a European strategy to boost the competitiveness and productivity of European companies by the time of the EU Spring Summit, which will celebrate 30 years of the internal market.
See the draft conclusions of the European Council: https://aeur.eu/f/57w
The EU ministers responsible for competitiveness will hold an informal meeting in Stockholm on Tuesday 7 February. None of the issues on the EU summit agenda are officially on the agenda for this meeting, although some ministers are expected to raise issues such as the planned reform of State aid to support the growth of Europe’s ‘net zero’ industry.
Known for its reluctance to rush to public subsidies to boost competitiveness, the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council wants ministers to bear in mind the long-term impact of regulatory and financial decisions that might be taken in the short term.
In specific workshops, the ministers will discuss how the single market, capital markets and international trade can help promote ‘green’ technologies in the EU. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Solenn Paulic)