“it is imperative to boost its re-industrialisation and to improve the competitiveness of European businesses”, says the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council, which took office on 1 July. This means strengthening the internal market and reducing vulnerabilities, according to its programme.
The Spanish Presidency wants to begin by identifying the industrial ecosystems that have the greatest impact on European society and the economy, so that they can be best adapted. It cites the automotive, pharmaceutical, chemical, food and aerospace sectors as examples.
In concrete terms, the Spaniards say they want to pay “special attention” to the following dossiers: the ‘Net Zero Industry Act’, the critical raw materials act and the ‘ecodesign’ regulation.
Internal market
Deepening the internal market is fundamental to strengthening European industry, say the Spanish. It is for this reason that they want to make progress on the emergency instrument for the single market. The Member States adopted their position on this text under the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council in June (see EUROPE 13196/3) and the European Parliament hopes to do the same in September.
The Spanish also want to develop the European system for protecting industrial intellectual property. They hope to see the final adoption of the regulation on the protection of industrial and artisanal products (see EUROPE 13187/32). Work on intellectual property also includes strengthening national patent systems, according to the Spanish Presidency’s programme.
Greater account should also be taken of the needs of SMEs, says the Spanish Presidency, which is committed to making progress on initiatives that relate to them.
Tackling unfair competition
Finally, strong European competitiveness depends on fair competition. This is why the Spanish wish to encourage reflection on the subject of economic security. This is based on the European Commission’s communication on the matter (see EUROPE 13205/7).
View the Spanish Presidency’s programme: https://aeur.eu/f/7v4 (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)