Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

News - 25/11/2010 By antoine.simon2

©The Council of the European Union

The Ministers for Industry of the European Union held a meeting on November 25th in Brussels chaired by Jean-Claude Marcourt, the Walloon Minister for the Economy, SMEs, Foreign Trade and New Technologies. They exchanged views on industrial policy, a flagship initiative launched by the European Commission. The debate paved the way for conclusions that should be adopted at the Competitiveness Council on 10 December 2010.

The main point of discussion was the implementation of the measures proposed by the European Commission to promote the competitiveness of European companies. One of the proposals consists in requesting that Member States provide an annual report on their competitiveness. Generally speaking, the Member States approve of the principle of ex post evaluations and of the principle of a competitiveness framework for companies.

Also discussed was the issue of how to finance investments to facilitate company, and particularly, SME access to innovation. This would enable the development of infrastructure and employee competences. The issue of investment financing should reappear at the time of the Small Business Act review next December.

Many delegations expressed an opinion on the European patent, a project which has not yet been agreed to by the Ministers responsible for the Internal Market. The European patent is currently at the heart of questions from several business federations. The representatives of Business Europe, the Fédération des Entreprises de Belgique and sector federations have already given an opinion on the topic at conferences held by Jean-Claude Marcourt as part of the Presidency. The lack of a European patent results in significant costs for European companies. It is estimated that the cost of filing for a patent in Europe costs on average ten times more than in the United States.

Generally speaking, the Commission’s Communication on Industrial Policy was well received by the Member States. It meets the stakeholder request for the development of an integrated policy that works both with other European policies such as the Single Market and Innovation and with the industrial policies implemented by Member States.