The Member States’ Competitiveness Ministers will be meeting in Brussels on Monday 25 September, where they are expected to make legislative progress on a number of issues: the EURO 7 standard for vehicles, the legal protection of designs, and long-term competitiveness are all on the agenda. The subject of the pharmaceutical industry is also likely to feature in the debates. It will not be the Minister for Industry and Trade, Héctor Gómez Hernández, who will chair the meeting, but the Spanish Secretary of State for the European Union, Pascual Navarro Ríos.
EURO 7
While an agreement is hoped for on Monday 25 September, the Member States’ permanent representatives (‘Coreper’) had still not reached agreement on the EURO 7 Regulation on Friday 22 September.
For several months now, eight countries have been expressing reservations about the European Commission’s proposal (see EUROPE 13186/7) to impose stricter rules on emissions of atmospheric pollutants from combustion engine vehicles.
The Commission’s text, presented in November 2022 (see EUROPE 13061/14), gave rise to concern, particularly with regard to the 2025 deadline, which was considered too imminent for the new standards to be applied. The role of synthetic fuels in the text also divides the EU27.
According to several diplomatic sources, the latest version of the text submitted by the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU is a considerable step away from the original aspirations. So much so that some sources close to the dossier describe the text as “Euro 6 and a bit”, the standards that came into force in 2015.
It will therefore be up to the Ministers to decide on this final compromise proposed by the Spanish Presidency. “Some delegations will consider that the text does not go far enough, but a qualified majority should be achievable”, says a source close to the dossier.
Protection of designs
Following the green light from Coreper members on 6 September, Ministers are expected to adopt their position on the Directive and Regulation modernising design protection systems in the EU. These protect the appearance of an industrial or artisanal product or part of a product.
In 2022, the European Commission has proposed to revise the rules to ensure better protection of designs and thus encourage innovation (see EUROPE 13076/38). In particular, the aim is to adapt the rules to the digital and ecological transitions and to make the system more efficient.
Long-term competitiveness
The Ministers will once again discuss the work to be undertaken to improve European competitiveness, following on from previous EU Councils and the 30 years of the single market. In particular, they will be looking at the issue of competitiveness checks, and whether these should apply to strategies and action plans in addition to legislation.
Improving the competitiveness of the single market is one of the priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council (see EUROPE 13252/8, 13251/12).
An informal debate will be held over lunch between the Ministers, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, and the former Italian Prime Minister and current President of the Institut Jacques Delors, Enrico Letta. The European Council has asked Mr Letta to draw up a report on the future of the single market by March 2024.
Pharmaceutical industry
The German and Austrian delegations will be calling for a discussion on the EU pharmaceutical package “from the industrial policy and competitiveness point of view”. A document has been prepared by these two countries “with a view to obtaining the support of other Member States”. The initiative calls for a balanced approach to health/social policy and economic/industrial policy in the interests of promoting the competitiveness of related industrial sectors in the EU and strengthening the EU as a reliable location for business, investment and innovation. Both countries also stress the need to guarantee an attractive legal environment for investment and innovation.
See the document from the two countries: https://aeur.eu/f/8pd (Original version in French by Léa Marchal, Isalia Stieffatre, Lionel Changeur and Nithya Paquiry)