Brussels 03/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - The last Competitiveness Council of the Luxembourg presidency will be held in Luxembourg on 6 and 7 June and will be chaired jointly by Economy Minister Jeannot Krecké and Research Minister François Biltgen. An informal lunch will be held at which the Luxembourg Presidency will report on progress on the proposed directive on services. In view of the first EU-OPEC meeting, to be held in Brussels on 9 June as part of the two parties' dialogue, ministers will discuss developments in the price of oil at the lunch and their impact on competitiveness.
Chemical Products - The Council will hold a preliminary debate on the proposed REACH regulation (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals), which will concentrate on the role and duties of the European Chemicals Agency that the REACH system will set up in order to ensure “effective management of technical, scientific and administrative aspects of community-level regulation”. Guided by the presidency, ministers will tackle the following issues: - the respective roles of the European Agency and national competent authorities in evaluating submissions and testing substances; - the role of national authorities in examining proposals submitted by industry for the evaluation of substances, and verification of the information supplied in order to ensure a harmonised approach and the avoidance of unnecessary testing; - a proposal to establish a “community rolling plan” for prioritising the substances to be evaluated by the authorities; - the creation of a network of national organisations coordinated by the European Chemicals Agency. This ministerial debate follows the publication of results of supplementary impact evaluation studies for REACH (the KPMG study on the impact on supply chains in specific sectors and the IPS study giving a general view of the potential impact of REACH on new member states) that have been analysed by all the actors concerned in the high level group set up by the Commission (EUROPE 8938) and at an inter-institutional seminar held by the Presidency on 10 and 11 May (EUROPE 8946 and 8943). The Presidency will present the conclusions that were drawn and will ask ministers whether they feel the impact evaluation exercise may now cease or whether it should be continued in order to continue looking for solutions to guarantee an efficient and practicable REACH system.
Internal Market - Ministers will see a Presidency note on progress in the Council on the proposed directive on services in the internal market. At the lunch they will hold an informal discussion on progress on the issue since the March European Council. European sources say that the “clarification and spadework” done does not affect the fundamentals of the proposal, i.e. its scope and the country of origin principle, and aims to prepare the ground for the forthcoming UK Presidency. The March European Council stated that the directive must fulfil two imperatives: those of opening the market and of respect for the European social model (EUROPE 8915). Ministers will also note adoption of the directive on the recognition of professional qualifications (EUROPE 8945 and 8940).
Better Regulation - The Council should adopt conclusions on better regulation and the simplification of legislation based on the Commission's Communication of 18 March (EUROPE 8911), a key element to the relaunch of the Lisbon Strategy. The Communication proposes, inter alia, three lines of action to guarantee that the EU regulatory framework can respond to the demands of the 21st century: 1) allowing better regulatory tools to be used at EU level, especially for impact analysis and the simplification of legislation; 2) working in closer cooperation with member states to guarantee that the principles of better regulation are systematically applied across the EU; 3) fostering constructive dialogue between EU regulatory bodies, member states and stakeholders. The conclusions the Council should adopt on Monday will serve as a starting point for work under the UK Presidency. The Council is expected to return to the “Better Regulation” item in its October session.
Research - Research ministers will on Tuesday return to their debate on the Draft Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Development (FPRD) where they left off in mid-April (EUROPE 8930 and 8931). Finance ministers should in the interim have made progress on setting the financial perspectives for 2007-2013. The negative signals emanating periodically from finance ministers suggest that there will be significant cuts to the very modest budget proposed by the Commission. So much so that scientists are beginning to worry.
“Europe must ensure financing for the future instead of hiding its head in the past”, a press release from the president of Euroscience, Professor Jean-Patrick Connerade, states. The main research organisation in Europe appeals to governments to comply with their commitments taken in Lisbon and Barcelona in favour of research financing. Euroscience believes doubling the Community research budget is a “minimum”. “Without that, we shall not be able to remain competitive against our main rivals, including the United States and the new Asian economies. Any reduction in the budget of the 7th FPRD will be a disaster for Europe in global competition”, researchers write. Ministers, as we know, agreed, albeit half-heartedly, that the research budget should be doubled pending the verdict of their colleagues in finance. Unless something unforeseen occurs, they should keep to this. The Presidency has chosen to organise the debate around questions on the scientific content of the next framework programme. Ministers will be invited to take a stance on the justification of the security and space association in the same thematic priority. They may also return to their ideas concerning the management of research funding for nascent needs, fundamental research activity and the future European Research Council, the role of joint technological initiatives, the role of SMEs, FPRD management rules and simplification of procedures.
Space - On Tuesday afternoon, the 2nd Space Council will bring together EU ministers and those of the European Space Agency (ESA) Council. Co-chaired by the Luxembourg minister for research, Mr Biltgen, and by the German minister for research and president of the ESA Council, Edelgard Bulmahn, it will gear its work to the preparation of the future European space programme. The work of the Council will focus on the Commission's communication of 24 May on “European Space Policy - preliminary elements” (EUROPE 8954). Above all, it will discuss: (1) the priorities of the European Space programme and an estimate of the costs; (2) the roles and responsibilities of the EU, the ESA and other parties to the European Space Programme, and the arrangements for its financing; and (3) principles of industrial policy and financing concerning the implementation of the European Space Programme.