Punten aankomende Raad Concurrentievermogen 24-25 September 2009 (en)
MEMO/09/406
Brussels, 23rd of September 2009
Preparation for the Competitiveness Council of Ministers, 24-25 September 2009
The EU Competitiveness Council will meet in Brussels on Thursday 24 and Friday 25 September under the Swedish chairmanship of Ms Maud Olofsson, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Energy and Dr Tobias Krantz, Minister for Research and Higher Education. The European Commission will be represented by Vice President Günter Verheugen, responsible for Enterprise and Industry, Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, responsible for the Internal Market and Services and Janez Potocnik Commissioner, responsible for Science and Research.
-
3.Reviewing Community innovation policy in a changing world (TvL)
European innovation policy – successes but also new challenges
The re-launched Lisbon Partnership for growth and jobs has put innovation and entrepreneurship at the centre and called for decisive and more coherent action by the Community and the Member States in view of mastering the shift towards knowledge based low carbon economy. On this basis, an ambitious broad-based European innovation policy has been launched in 2006 and the Small Business Act (SBA) has been agreed in 2008. Thanks to the partnership approach between the EU and its Member States, progress can today be reported. Almost all Member States have improved their innovation performance. The innovation gap between the EU and its key competitors, the US and Japan, has narrowed. However, the Commission also recognises policy gaps and indicates areas where further improvements both at European and at Member States level are necessary in view of the challenges ahead. This analysis will feed into the preparation of the Innovation Act as part of the new European reform agenda beyond 2010. Ministers will discuss the following key issues of the Commission communication of 2 September 2009:
-
-the main strengths and weaknesses of present Community innovation policy, compared with the efforts of our global competitors
-
-the key elements of a successful future EU innovation policy,
-
-What should be done to increase the innovation capacity of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).
-
4.Making the Internal Market work better (OD)
Ministers will discuss Council conclusions based on the Commission Recommendation of 29 June on measures to improve the functioning of the Internal Market and on the work being carried out on Internal Market Information (IMI) system, the Internal Market Scoreboard, and contact points in the context of the Services Directive and the Regulation on the Mutual Recognition of Goods.
The Recommendation is one of the follow-up measures, and a direct response, to the Single Market Review (see IP/07/1728 ), which called for closer partnerships amongst Member States, and with the Commission. The objective is to make the Internal Market work better on the ground. Ministers are to adopt conclusions on:
-
-Improving the provision of information to citizens and businesses about their Single Market rights and cross-border opportunities;
-
-Encouraging close cooperation between civil servants from different Member States, and with the Commission, to facilitate communication and build mutual trust (e.g. through various networks for administrative cooperation such as the Internal Market Information System);
-
-Strengthening the enforcement of Single Market rules, including quick and efficiently finding solutions to problems encountered by businesses and citizens in exercising their Single Market rights.
-
5.State of Play on the Services Directive (OD)
The Competitiveness Council will have an exchange of views on the state of implementation of the Services Directive. With only three months to go until the transposition deadline of the Services Directive (28 December 2009), the discussion will allow to take stock of where Member States stand and to identify areas in which efforts need to be increased in the coming months. In preparation of the Council meeting, Commissioner McCreevy has sent Ministers a background note summarising the Commission's assessment of the current state of play.
The Services Directive was adopted end 2006 with the aim to knock down barriers to trade in the biggest and most dynamic economic sector in the EU- the services sector. It obliges all EU countries to remove excessive or unjustified requirements, to simplify administrative procedures and to set up so-called "Points of Single Contact", through which businesses can complete all formalities online. Proper implementation of the Directive should considerably facilitate life for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises and consumers and help realising the untapped potential of the internal market in services, which still suffers from numerous legal and administrative barriers today. In the current economic crisis, this issue becomes even more pressing.
More information
-
6.Proposal for amendment of Directive 78/660/EEC on the annual accounts of certain types of companies as regards micro-entities (OD)
In February, the Commission adopted a proposal to abolish financial reporting obligations for Europe's smallest companies (commonly referred to as "micro-entities"). The burden reduction is envisaged by amending the 4 th Company Law Directive (see IP/09/328 ). While playing a key role in creating new jobs and economic activities, micro entities also have limited resources to comply with demanding regulatory requirements. Flagged in the European Economic Recovery Plan in November 2008, the new rules would entail an aggregate administrative burden reduction for them of potentially €6.3 billion. Ministers will deliberate the proposal for the first time following technical discussions under the Czech Presidency. The debate will be public and directly accessible via the Council's webpage.
8 (b) Better Regulation: Cutting administrative burden (TvL)
During the Competitiveness Council, the Presidency will make an oral presentation concerning its intentions on Better Regulation and will invite the Member States to provide examples of concrete benefits of Better Regulation for business and citizens, best practices and input on the future better regulation agenda with a view to prepare the December Council conclusions. The Commission is also invited to report orally the ongoing work on better regulation.
-
8.(c) Work of the High Level Group on the competitiveness of the Agro-food industry (TvL)
Roadmap to boost the European agro-food industry
The High Level Group on the Competitiveness of the Agro-Food Industry Group meeting o n 6 th of July 2009 with European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen and Commissioners Mariann Fischer Boel and Meglena Kuneva agreed on a Roadmap of Key Initiatives that engages the European Commission, the participating Member States and the stakeholders to implement in the near future coordinated actions, such as:
-
-improvement of the transparency of the fixing of prices and contractual arrangements along the food supply chain;
-
-establishing a market surveillance mechanism of counterfeiting;
-
-a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) to assess the position of the European agro-food industry in the global market.
-
-simplification of the administrative procedures, particularly for SMEs, for participation in research funding programmes;
-
-setting up a social dialogue in the agro-food industry;
-
-developing educational programmes which raise awareness of the importance of the agro-food industry;
-
-setting up a European Forum to discuss the improvement of commercial relations among the players of the food chain, with the aim to adopt an EU wide code of conduct;
-
-launching a study on the effects of retailers' own brands on the competitiveness of the agro-food industry, in particular on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs);
-
-promotion of the instruments available for SMEs, e.g. Enterprise Europe Network.
Ministers will be briefed on the above recommendations and other issues affecting the competiveness of the agro-food industry in Europe.