On Tuesday 23 January, the Flemish Minister for the Economy, Employment, Innovation and Agriculture, Jo Brouns, appeared before members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry and Research (ITRE) to outline the key priorities of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
In his speech, the Minister stressed two key points: the absolute need for the EU to complete its ‘dual transition’ from green to digital, and the crucial importance of maintaining the competitiveness of European industries.
According to Jo Brouns, this industrial orientation must not, however, lead the Union to lapse into protectionism: “We must not be naive, but we must assert ourselves more on the international stage and better prepare ourselves for the challenges that lie ahead”.
More broadly, Belgium wants to “establish milestones for a coordinated and coherent framework for European industrial policy”, and as such wants to “commit fully to the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) to fully strengthen our productivity and competitiveness”.
A number of MEPs raised the issue of SMEs and the Commission’s recent package of measures for them (see EUROPE 13248/21). Jo Brouns endorsed their “crucial” importance for the European economy and said that the Presidency would be looking in depth at the” shortcomings” of the various support tools for industry.
Christian Ehler (EPP, German), rapporteur for the NZIA dossier, alerted the minister to the lack of coordination with the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), which is linked to it. “There is a feeling that we are seeing an argument in the NZIA [trilogue] that is contrary to the one expressed for STEP”, he regretted.
The Flemish minister announced that the Presidency was doing its utmost to “manoeuvre” between the distant positions of the Council and Parliament, while noting the various concerns of the ITRE Committee. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)