Main results

The Croatian presidency of the Council held today a videoconference with ministers in charge of internal market and industry with a view to providing input to the Commission for the finalisation of the upcoming EU recovery plan.

Ministers exchanged views on how to:

• restore a fully functioning single market;
• achieve the quick recovery of those European industrial sectors most hardly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and
• ensure the strategic autonomy of the EU in critical industrial sectors, such as pharmaceuticals and telecommunications.

Ministers exchanged information on the huge economic impact of the crisis on the economy of their respective member states and stressed the need for a coordinated and ambitious EU response, calling upon the Commission to adopt the announced recovery plan as a matter of urgency. In this respect, several ministers expressed the view that the Competitiveness Council should play a key role in monitoring and coordinating the implementation of that plan.

It was broadly acknowledged that restoring without delay a fully functioning single market, including the free movement of services and people, is the key to any economic recovery. In this context, there was wide support for the recommendations contained in the long term action plan for better implementation and enforcement of single market rules, published by the Commission on 10 March 2020, as well as in the Commission communication identifying and addressing barriers to the single market, published on the same date.

As regards efforts to support and revitalise the EU industry, in particular those sectors most affected by the pandemic crisis, ministers took note of the Commission’s preliminary analysis of a number of industrial ecosystems. Several ministers mentioned specific sectors as being the most affected by the pandemic crisis, such as the automotive industry, tourism and aerospace industry. There was broad support for channelling investment into the fields presenting the greatest potential for innovation, growth and job creation.

The Commission was invited by several ministers to integrate the objectives of the green and digital transitions into the recovery plan. A number of ministers voiced however the need to reassess some of the objectives in the European Green Deal in the light of the current economic crisis.

The temporary flexibility in the application of state aid rules to sectors hit by the COVID-19 crisis was appreciated. Several delegations called upon the Commission to ensure that such flexibility does not lead to greater economic discrepancies within the EU.

While reiterating their support for free trade and the economic relevance of global value chains in general, ministers pointed to the need to ensure the EU’s strategic autonomy by reducing the Union’s current dependency on third countries for critical supplies, such as pharmaceutical ingredients and raw materials.

At the end of the videoconference, the Croatian presidency issued a press release.