Luxembourg, 12/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - At the Competitiveness Council of 11 October, the Commissioner for Industry, Günter Verheugen, reported back to the ministers on the principles laid down by the Commission for an industrial policy for the 21st century, based notably on cross-cutting and sectorial initiatives (communication on "the political framework to reinforce the manufacturing sector of the Union": EUROPE 9042). "Structural changes in European industry are inevitable. This requires us to find an instrument to manage structural changes in the European manufacturing sector, rather than waiting for the first signs that the sector is running out of steam to emerge before doing anything about it", Mr Verheugen explained at the end press conference. His initiative and the proposal to set up a high-level group on competitiveness, energy and the environment (which, he feels, would help to create an integrated approach on energy prices, energy supplies and energy costs) went down well with the ministers. It is worth noting that Germany highlighted the need to allocate a major place to the trade policy plank in the proposed new industrial policy. It also feels that the manufacturing sector of the Union should take advantage of the dynamism of the emerging markets, particularly of the Chinese market. France raised the Hewlett-Packard affair (with headquarters in some 10 Member States, this is a European problem, it argues) and stressed the importance of taking account of high-technology sectors, such as information technology, which are already showing signs of slowing down, in the Commission's sectorial approach (nor was this sector identified in the Commission's document as a sector going through structural changes).