The Competitiveness Council will meet in Brussels on 1 and 2 December
Hervé Novelli, Darja Radic, Mary-Veronica Tovsak
© Conseil de l'Union européenne
- from: 01.12.2008
- to: 02.12.2008
- In: Brussels
The competitiveness Council members on internal market affairs will be meeting on 1 December under the presidency of Hervé Novelli, the French Minister of State for Business, Trades, Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Tourism and Services and Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the French Minister of State for European Affairs.
At this meeting, the European Commission, represented by Vice President Verheugen and Commissioner McCreevy, will present its "European Recovery Plan for growth and jobs". The ministers will hold an exchange of views on the Commission proposals to find a Europe-wide response to the current economic crisis. This should also be a matter for discussion at the lunch between the finance and competitiveness ministers of the ECOFIN Council.
The ministers will also adopt conclusions on the "Small Business Act" for Europe and on a specific action plan in favour of European SMEs initiated by the French Presidency. In a context of the slowdown of European economies, this action plan brings immediate and targeted solutions for SMEs, particularly by facilitating access to funding, simplifying their administrative burden and enabling them to benefit fully from the opportunities offered by the internal market. An examination of the implementation of the European Private Company status and the shortening of payment deadlines is also planned.
Concerning innovation and competitiveness, the ministers will adopt conclusions on world-class European clusters. This involves fostering the emergence of competitive clusters in Europe, based on the three-fold research-companies-training approach, in order to better contend with international competition in cutting-edge technology sectors.
Lastly, ministers will exchange views on the legal framework and policies related to games of chance and betting in the Member States.
This last meeting between the competitiveness ministers will also provide an opportunity to review the progress made over this half-year on a number of strategic dossiers, such as the Community patent, the length of copyright protection and the revision of cosmetics and toys directives.
Competitiveness Council: Political agreement on the SBA, establishment of an action plan for European SMEs
Competitiveness Council (research configuration): main results
- Updated: 31.12.2008
