The European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, took part on Wednesday 1 March in an exchange of views in the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) on a number of subjects, including the Commission’s future proposals to strengthen the competitiveness of European industry (see EUROPE 13112/1) .
Mr Breton was asked in particular about the relaxation of EU State aid rules that the Commission is considering, although this is the responsibility of his competition counterpart, Margrethe Vestager.
Adam Bielan (ECR, Polish) expressed concern about measures that could become permanent and “fragment” the Single Market. “The interests of the EU’s largest economies should not be prioritised at the expense of other Member States”, he insisted.
The Commissioner replied that the relaxation framework was intended to be “very specific” and “temporary”. “I have always been consistent that we must maintain fair competition and equal access for all Member States”, he said.
However, he cautioned that the figures on State aid and the countries that were most fond of it should be treated with caution. “In terms of State aid as a percentage of GDP, it is not the biggest countries that have benefited the most”, he pointed out.
The draft regulation for a ‘net zero’ industry, which the Commission is expected to present on 14 March, will provide harmonised rules for everyone, Mr Breton assured. It will simplify authorisation procedures in certain sectors and promote clean energy production in the EU. “It’s about avoiding replacing dependence on hydrocarbons with dependence on green technologies”, the Commissioner said.
Several members of the IMCO Committee expressed concern about the plight of SMEs, which complain of an excessive administrative burden. We have to be absolutely careful, admitted Mr Breton. “I have asked my colleagues to have an SME impact assessment for any new legislative initiative”, he said, referring also to a future SME Relief Package (see EUROPE 13027/8).
The ‘trade’ component of the Green Deal Industrial Plan is eagerly awaited
On the same day, the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) examined the trade aspect of the industrial plan presented by the Commission (see EUROPE 13112/4). While they agree with the EU institution on the need for more partners to secure the supply of critical raw materials, they complain about the lack of action in this regard.
“Chile is an obvious partner for critical raw materials. But I wonder why we always forget Argentina, which has the fourth biggest lithium production in the world. We have a pending trade agreement with Mercosur, why aren’t we talking more boldly about Mercosur? And get it done?”, asked Christophe Hansen (EPP, Luxembourger). His EPP colleagues joined him in calling on the Commission to move faster on the agreement, which has yet to be finalised (see EUROPE 13111/22).
The Commission briefed experts in the EU Council’s Trade Policy Committee in mid-February on its work on the Additional Protocol to the EU/Mercosur agreement, according to two sources.
MEPs are still waiting for the information they have been requesting for months. However, according to Bernd Lange (S&D, German), news should arrive “next week”.
Members of the S&D and Renew Europe groups advocated for guarantees on sustainable development in future trade agreements, despite the urgency to find partners. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)