The EU industry ministers met in Genk, on the former Thor Park mining site, on Friday 9 February for an informal meeting on the theme of ‘The future of European industry and the internal market’. According to the Flemish government’s Minister for the Economy and Innovation, Jo Brouns, who chaired the meeting, the participants’ reflections should feed into future EU Council conclusions. The Belgian Presidency of the EU Council wants “to have a real impact on future policies”, he said.
According to Jo Brouns and the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, interest in industrial policy is growing significantly. The Member States are ready to move towards an even more harmonised internal market and an advanced industrial policy. The ministers recalled the challenges facing the EU economy, in including unfair competition. They therefore stressed the need to: - boost production capacity; - secure supply chains; - diversify and rebalance partnerships.
The role of public procurement in supporting industry was also discussed at one of the working sessions. A consensus emerged on the need to use taxpayers’ money to achieve the EU’s objectives. According to Mr Breton, a large majority of Member States wish to explore whether the current framework is still relevant. The next Commission could possibly be mandated to work on this issue, according to the Commissioner.
Finally, the meeting welcomed former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who is due to submit a report on the internal market in April. He briefed them on the progress of his work, which focuses on three areas: industrial policy, the EU’s financial tools and social acceptance.
According to Mr Letta, four issues in particular are crucial to the future of the EU’s industrial policy: - the telecommunications market; - the capital market; - the defence industry market; - the energy market. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)