The issue of competitiveness continues to preoccupy the EU Member States, who are taking part in a joint meeting of Industry and Trade Ministers in Warsaw on Tuesday 4 February, organised by the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The latter considers that the EU Council has worked in silos for too long and that this has shown its limitations, according to a preparatory note for the meeting. Trade and industry complement each other when it comes to boosting competitiveness. According to Poland, it is therefore time to build a bridge between the two.
The Ministers gathered here will reflect on the interweaving of these two policies, in particular to assess whether they are sufficiently aligned. “To what extent should the trade context be considered while designing EU’s industrial policy and vice versa?”, the Polish Presidency of the EU Council asks.
The presence of the two groups will also help to reflect on the industrial sectors that should receive special attention and support from the EU. Here, the Trade Ministers will be able to discuss the pressures exerted by unfair competition or overcapacity in certain sectors.
The automotive, steel and chemical industries have already been identified as vulnerable by the EU Council, the Commission and the European Parliament. Ministers should therefore look at their situation and ways of supporting them.
The Polish Presidency believes that the automotive sector, for example, should be protected from unfair competition, as the Commission has done with tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. Continued access to international markets must, however, be ensured, the Poles add in the preparatory note, referring to the trade tensions with China and the United States.
United States. Transatlantic relations will be the subject of another discussion between the Ministers on Tuesday 4 February, while the leaders of the EU27 also broached the subject in Brussels on Monday 3 February (see other news).
For the Polish Presidency, “continuous and positive advocacy” is required with the new administration in Washington. Internally, the EU must at all costs act in a united and determined manner, while remaining flexible.
Enlargement. Like the Czech Republic and nine other countries (see EUROPE 13567/2), Poland believes that integrating the candidate countries into the EU can benefit both their economies and the economy of the Union. Intra-regional economic cooperation “fosters cross-border production chains and leverages regional comparative advantages, creates new jobs, benefits consumers and attracts investment in a larger market”, says the Polish Presidency.
It therefore invited the other twenty-six Member States to reflect on solutions to facilitate the gradual integration of the candidate countries, while protecting the interests of the EU. It also raises the question of determining which sectors could be integrated as a priority. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)