Brussels, 16/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - The crisis in the shipbuilding sector will once again be the main item on the agenda of the Industry Council meeting on Thursday 18 May in Brussels, with Portugal's State Secretary for Industry and Energy, Vítor Santos, in the chair. To ensure follow-up to the conclusions of the Lisbon Summit, Ministers are expected to adopt additional conclusions after a public debate on "The Europe of Innovation and Knowledge". The Commission will be presenting several documents to the Council: on reform of European competition rules, the sustainable development of industry and the steel industry. Ministers will also have a lunchtime meeting with their counterparts from the EU membership applicant countries. Industry Commissioner Erkki Liikanen and Hungary's Industry Minister have been invited to intervene in this context. The agenda follows:
"Employment, economic reform and social cohesion - For a Europe of Innovation and Knowledge". In the wake of the Lisbon Summit, the Council will hold a detailed debate on new or ongoing initiatives to improve the competitiveness of European enterprises. Ministers will examine the Commission's recent communication and work programme for 2001-2005 on supporting entrepreneurship, and a working paper on benchmarking (see EUROPE of 28 April, p. 9). The Council Presidency has suggested that this debate -open to the public and beginning at 10.30 a.m.- focus on three questions:
1) Will ministers confirm the five challenges enumerated in Lisbon? a) entrepreneurship as the key to the new economy; b) creation of an environment favourable to innovation; c) stimulation of a new model of entrepreneurship in a new economy; d) development of the internal market; d) reduction of bureaucracy.
2) How do ministers plan to participate in the benchmarking operation related to the enterprise policies being pursued by Member States, which the Commission intends to launch in June? (the Commission proposes 13 evaluation criteria in a working paper on benchmarking).
3) Do ministers support the main orientations of the communication on the spirit of entrepreneurship?
Shipbuilding: The Council is expected to adopt conclusions on the basis of the Commission's second report on the state of shipbuilding in the world, presented at the start of this month (see EUROPE of 4 May, p. 13). This will be the third time the Industry Council will have addressed the crisis in this sector, which is due in large measure to dumping prices practised by South Korean shipyards. According to the Commission's report, South Korean shipyards are willing to sell vessels at losses of 11 to 32% of construction costs. The ministers are expected to encourage the Commission to continue putting pressure on Korea within the framework of the protocol agreement signed on 10 April last by the Commission and the South Korean government. Korea undertook in this protocol to ensure greater transparency in subsidies for shipbuilding and to encourage enterprises to integrate production costs into their sale prices. The Council is expected once again to discuss possible strategies in the event Korean dumping should continue, notably the use of the World Trade Organisation's dispute settlement procedures.
The ministers are expected more generally to express their concern given the deterioration of the situation, without, however, stating a view on the question of state aid for European shipyards. At its sitting in November last, the Council failed to build a majority to encourage the Commission to propose support measures for the sector, following the elimination of current aid schemes at the end of the year. The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Finland and Denmark were opposed.
Integration of sustainable development into the EU's industrial policy: The Commission will be presenting its communication on sustainable development in the mining industry (see EUROPE of 4 May, p. 13).
Competition: Commissioner Mario Monti will present orally the White Paper on the modernisation of competition rules, the 8th report on state aid and the 1999 report on competition policy.