EU Formal Competitiveness Council (30-31 May 2011)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Edward Davey)
The EU Competitive Council took place in Brussels on 30-31 May 2011. I represented the UK on EU internal market and industry issues on 30 May and the Minister for Universities and Science represented the UK on research and space issues.
On the first day, the Council discussed several issues directly relevant to the Prime Minister’s EU growth initiative. It discussed the Commission’s Single Market Act and issued a set of conclusions. There was a robust debate, in which a number of member states, including the UK, made the case for the conclusions to better reflect spring European Council language on open trade, services and reducing regulatory burden. Agreement was reached after the presidency tabled a number of compromise texts.
The Council also agreed a position on a proposal to revise the EU’s main accounting directive. The UK welcomed the fact that this will lighten administrative burdens on small firms (those with less than 10 employees). I believe this is a significant agreement, and perhaps the first example of ex-post exemption from existing EU regulation for very small companies.
An attempt to agree a proposal for a Council regulation on a European private company was made but none was reached. The Council also discussed the unitary patent (formerly known as the Community patent). An extra Council is now scheduled for 27 June to agree a general approach on the regulations for establishing a European unitary patent.
Member states agreed the Council’s conclusions tabled on smart regulation. While the UK continues to believe there is scope for much greater ambition in this area, we welcomed developments to lighten smaller company burdens and the Council commitment to conduct impact assessments on its own amendments. At the ministerial lunchtime discussion of administrative burdens, all member states supported the idea of exemptions for micro-entities and special treatment for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in upcoming regulations.
The Commission welcomed the fact that member states have appointed so-called SME envoys to take forward national implementation of the to the EU’s Small Business Act. Points of any other business were a report held by Malta on the Euro-Med conference on 11 May and an outline by Poland on its presidency priorities.
On the second day of the Council, Ministers received updated progress on negotiations for the Euratom (European Atomic Energy Framework Community) framework programme 2012-13 legislation. The UK supported the presidency’s work to date to reach agreement on the legislation, and noted agreement would be needed shortly to ensure financial security for the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) and JET (Joint European Torus) programmes in 2012.
Some delegations, including the UK, suggested that the presidency could aim for political agreement on the Euratom decision at the extraordinary Competitiveness Council on 27 June. The Commissioner provided an update at the UK’s request on a separate proposal to find an additional €1.3 billion from the EU budget for ITER in 2012-13. Negotiations continue in the Council and European Parliament.
Over lunch Ministers discussed links between the future structural and cohesion funds and the EU’s common strategic framework for research and innovation. All agreed that research and development funding under the current structural and cohesion funds had a key role to play in building scientific capacity in Europe and it was generally acknowledged the successor to this programme should have distinct but complementary policy objectives to the successor to the excellence-focused research framework programme. Ideally, management processes between the two would be more closely aligned.
The Council adopted conclusions on the Eurostars and ambient assisted living programmes which combine EU and national funding to support R and D carried out by SMEs and R and D into technology for elderly people respectively, and on European research area governance. Under any other business the Commission supplied information on the European Research Council, Artemis and Eniac joint technology initiatives, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology plus a follow up to the Green Paper on the future of EU R and D funding. The presidency also reported on the recent informal Competitiveness Council in Godollo, Hungary.
On EU space policy the Council adopted conclusions and agreed that Galileo satellite navigation and global monitoring for environment and security programmes (GMES) should remain priorities. The UK supported the need to prioritise these programmes and welcomed Commission efforts at containing costs on Galileo, calling for cost effectiveness of new EU space situational awareness programmes and saying the Ariane programmes should remain projects developed by the European Space Agency and not be funded by the EU. The UK also noted the potential of EU involvement in a Mars sample return mission for European science and industry.
Council conclusions were adopted with minor changes to the presidency’s draft, such as amendments on GMES data policy calling for “free of charge access to certain public data and services” and removal of the Commission acknowledgement of the need for independent access to space for Europe.