Brussels, 22/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - The next Competitiveness Council to be held on Thursday 24 September in Brussels will be chaired by Maud Olofsson, Sweden's Minister for Enterprise and Energy, and Sweden's Trade Minister Ewa Björling. The next day, it will be the turn of Tobias Krantz, Minister for Higher Education and Research of Sweden, who will call the meeting.
Innovation. Industry ministers will discuss European innovation policy with a view to a future Community plan that should become an essential element of the post-2010 growth and employment strategy. The policy debate will be based on the European Commission communication concerning review of Community innovation policy (communication 12905/09) and five underlying documents (innovation in services, public support to innovation, assessment of Community policies, mid-term assessment of the initiative for key markets and access to SME funding) presented on 2 September. It will also cover a questionnaire developed by the Swedish Presidency aimed at highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of current Community innovation policy compared to competitors as well as ways to strengthen SME innovation capacity. In its inventory, the Commission's assessment is mixed with good progress in many areas (allocation of funds in support of research and innovation in cohesion policy, the establishment of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, and the European policy in support of industrial clusters), but underlines shortcomings and deficiencies (legal framework for the protection of intellectual property rights, venture capital markets remain fragmented across the EU, and the standardisation process needs to be brought more into line with research and industry needs). The Presidency, for its part, calls for an ambitious European innovation plan, with special emphasis on SMEs and public sector potential. The debate is aimed at reaching policy guidelines with a view to adoption of the Competitive Council's conclusions in December.
Micro-entities. Ministers will discuss the proposal for a directive authorising member states to exempt very small enterprises from Directive 78/660/EC on the annual accounts of certain types of companies (see EUROPE 9849). Over five million micro-enterprises, or micro-entities, which present at least two of the three following characteristics, are potentially concerned: - turnover below €1 million; - balance sheet total below €500,000; - and fewer than 10 employees. The Swedish Presidency is convinced that amendments are needed and hopes to have delegations' views on how to proceed. National experts hold different positions on this. Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom are in favour of the proposal in order to provide immediate aid to companies suffering from the economic crisis. Austria, Belgium, France and Italy are opposed to the proposal as they fear the measure, albeit voluntary, could result in the dismantling of harmonised rules and hence to more legal insecurity. They also wonder whether such a measure ought to be discussed again within the framework of the general review of the 4th and 7th company law directives announced by the European Commission. SME associations highlight the fact that micro-entities no longer producing accounting documents are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain a bank loan.
“Services” Directive. Over lunch, ministers will take stock of the state of progress of national preparations for implementation of the “services” directive as of December 2009. “Now is the moment to stress the importance of implementing this directive in good time”, the Swedish Presidency states, saying the directive will help Europe to come out of the crisis more speedily. The Commission, which is closely following transposition at national level, mainly through the organisation of workshops, will draw up a picture of work underway. It also recently wrote to member states to keep the pressure up. The “services” directive is also an important element of the conclusions that the Competitiveness Council will adopt on improving the way the internal market works. In a provisional version of these conclusions (EUROPE 9951), the Swedish Presidency identifies three priority areas: - information to companies and citizens on their rights and obligations within the single market, administrative cooperation and dispute settlement, especially out-of-court.
Research. A ministerial seminar organised at the initiative of Tobias Krantz will take place on Thursday evening at the European Parliament in the presence of ITRE committee members and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik. The meeting will serve to fuel the political debate to be held the next day at a Council meeting on the prospects of the future European plan for innovation and the development of the European Research Area (ERA). Friday's debate aims to prepare the Competitiveness Council in December 2009, when the Presidency plans to submit a series of conclusions as a contribution to the European innovation plan. In this context, the next European Commission should, moreover, present proposals by early 2010. (B.C./E.H./M.B./transl.jl)