MEMO/07/384 Brussels, 27th September 2007 Preparation of the Competitiveness Council of Ministers, Brussels, 28 September 2007 The EU Competitiveness Council will meet in Brussels on Friday 28 June under the chairmanship of Manuel Pinho, Portuguese Minister for Economy and Innovation and José Mariano Gago, Minister for Science and Technology. The European Commission will be represented by Vice- President Günter Verheugen (Enterprise and Industry Policy), Commissioner Viviane Reding (Information Society and Media), Commissioner Meglena Kuneva (Consumer Protection) and Commissioner Janez Potočnik (Science and Research). The following subjects are on the agenda: 1. Industrial policy – Economic and policy context of the mid-term review (TvL) Background The Communication in July was a follow-up to the industrial policy Communication of 2005 in which a number of horizontal and sectoral initiatives were announced (see IP/07/1007). The Council and Parliament endorsed the Commission’s programmatic approach and invited the Commission to report on progress in 2007 and put forward new initiatives where appropriate. Overall, industry is currently performing well and there is no need for a fundamental change of this policy. However, globalisation, technological advances and environmental challenges will intensify over the coming years. Policy actions fostering industrial competitiveness are partly carried out at Community and partly at Member State level, but the link between EU industrial policy and national policy actions should be strengthened. Nevertheless, some important challenges such as the creation of an open and competitive Single Market need action on a European level. Also synergies between European and national level need to be explored when it comes to the industrial policy response to the energy and climate change agenda. At this Council The Council will review the state of play of the ongoing initiatives and discuss the possible launch of new initiatives. The Council is expected to adopt conclusions at its meeting in November. 2 E-Skills Communication: Actions to foster 21st Century e-Skills (TvL) Background The Commission has adopted a Communication on “e-Skills for the 21st Century: Fostering Competitiveness, Growth and Jobs” on 07.09.2007. It proposes a long- term e-skills agenda and five action lines at the EU level. Recent reports and surveys indicate that Europe may face severe e-skills shortages and mismatches in the coming years. At the same time, e-skills are becoming central to boost innovation, productivity and employability and to respond to global challenges. To this end, the European Commission has proposed a long-term e- skills agenda and a set of action lines at EU level following extensive expert group and stakeholder consultations. These actions will complement and enrich significant efforts already under way in Europe (IP/07/1286). At this Council This Council meeting will continue the discussions on this issue which took place at Council Working Group level so far. It is planned that the November Competitiveness Council will adopt conclusions on e-skills. 3. Two years of Modern SME policy: what have we achieved? (TvL) Background The European Commission will present soon a mid-term review on its policy for small and medium sized enterprises (SME's), launched two years ago. The mid term review will report on progress achieved in the five main areas of the Modern SME policy (cutting red tape, improving SMEs’ access to markets, promoting entrepreneurship and skills, improving SMEs’ growth potential and strengthening dialogue and consultation with SME stakeholders). At this Council The Council will discuss achievement and possible avenues for this area . 4. Product safety (HK) Background European Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva will set out the latest developments in the relation to the Commission's 2 month review of consumer product safety control systems and ask Ministers for their strong political support. In particular, she will discuss with Ministers the critical role of national surveillance authorities in the enforcement of consumer safety standards. The Commissioner will brief Ministers on her recent discussions with the toy industry. 2 5. Timeshare (HK) Background On 7 June 2007 the Commission presented new legislation on timeshare and other holiday products. The 1994 EU Timeshare Directive gives consumers basic rights to clear information, a ban on deposits and right to change their mind and withdraw. The new proposals published in June aim to tackle loopholes in the current rules, to cover new products which have emerged on the market – like discount holiday clubs, and "timeshare-like" holidays on cruise boats, canal boats and caravans - and extend protection to areas like timeshare resale and exchange clubs. The point is listed on the agenda as "Information from the Presidency". This information will be given orally. The Commissioner is expected to respond to the Presidency and give her appreciation of the progress of this file. http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_int/safe_shop/timeshare/index_en.htm 6. Green Paper on the review of the consumer acquis (HK) Background On 8 February 2007 the Commission adopted a Green Paper on the Review of the body of EU consumer protection legislation or "acquis". The initiative aims at revamping core EU consumer rules – including guarantees, delivery-related issues, unfair contract terms, cooling off periods - to improve consumer confidence and boost cross-border shopping. The Green Paper launched a public consultation on 28 suggestions (cutting across eight Directives) for possible new action. At this Council Under this point the Commissioner will inform about the outcome that featured in the responses to the consultation and the likely way forward. This information will be given orally. A report on the results of the public consultation launched with the Green Paper will be published by mid October. http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_int/safe_shop/acquis/index_en.htm 7. Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs) on Embedded Computing Systems and nanoelectronics research (MS) Background ARTEMIS and ENIAC are proposals for Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs) which are designed to help European industry consolidate its world leadership in embedded computing technologies (invisible computers - embedded - in all machines that help run them) and nanoelectronics respectively. Such JTIs will pool industry, Member State and Commission resources into targeted research programmes. These should create a critical mass for European research and innovation, consolidating the European research community in key strategic areas and streamlining project funding to bring research results on-stream quicker (see IP/07/668, IP/07/864). Member States and Associated Countries can simply request to participate in the JTIs, which will guarantee their presence in the decision making process. 3 At this Council The Member states will express their views on JTIs. The Commission would welcome swift discussions so that these first JTIs may be decided by Council before the end of 2007. This would allow them to start with their first calls for research proposals in 2008. A delay of a few months would risk losing financing from Member State budgets in 2008 as national authorities may not have the time to earmark and commit funds to ARTEMIS and ENIAC. 8. Ambient Assisted Living joint research and development programme (MS) Background Responding to the needs of Europe's growing ageing population in June this year, the Commission adopted its Action Plan for "Ageing well in the Information Society" (see IP/07/831). This Action Plan was accompanied by a proposal for support to a new joint Europe-wide applied research programme on technologies that will help people live more comfortably in later life, called Ambient Assisted Living. The proposed programme will pool Member State and EU funding. This new initiative should improve quality of life and social participation for older people in Europe, create new business opportunities for Europe's industries and lead to more efficient health and social services. The proposal will raise the European research investment on information and communications technologies (ICTs) for ageing well to over €1bn. It has the following specific aims: • Foster the emergence of innovative ICT-based products and services for ageing well, thus increasing the quality of life of elderly people, and reducing the costs of health and social care; • Create critical mass of research, development and innovation at EU level in technologies and services for ageing well in the information society; • Improve conditions for industrial exploitation by providing a coherent European framework for developing common approaches which can be easily adapted to meet with varying social preferences and regulatory aspects at national or regional level across Europe. Since the launch of the co-decision process 19 countries (16 EU Member States and 3 countries associated with the EU's 7th research Framework Programme - see IP/06/1590) have agreed to participate in this Joint Programme. For more information see: http://www.aal-europe.eu/ At this Council The Commission will inform the Council on the Ageing Well action plan and the Ambient Assisted Living applied research programme. Subject to the timetable for co-decision by Council and the European Parliament, the Commission would like to begin supporting the Joint Programme on Ambient Assisted Living in late spring 2008. Ministers will