31-05-2013 - Konkurrenceevne (det indre marked, industri, forskning og rummet)
Competitiveness Council - main results
The Council meeting on 29 and 30 May 2013 focused on a range of measures aimed at supporting and accelerating economic recovery and at translating results into more growth and new jobs.
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Firstly, the Council reached a political agreement on two regulations pushing forward the reform of the state aid rules.
Pursuing efforts to relieve the regulatory burden for the benefit of the competitiveness of EU companies, the Council approved conclusions on smart regulation.
Ministers exchanged views on several aspects of copyright laws in the EU, including a set of recommendations on private copying and reprography levies.
Ministers also provided political guidance with a view to facilitating progress in the reform of the audit market, which is intended to improve the quality and independence of audits, to increase transparency and reinforce investors' confidence, as well as to reduce the current market concentration.
Furthermore, the Council took stock of the state of play regarding Single Market Act actions, which are contained in two packages of priority measures aimed at increasing confidence and stimulating growth and job creation.
Ministers also addressed the current difficulties facing several industrial sectors in Europe as a consequence of the economic crisis. They were briefed by the Commission on the follow-up to initiatives carried out to support those sectors.
The Council adopted conclusions on space industrial policy.
The Council took note of the progress made in the ongoing negotiations on the multi-annual research programme “Horizon 2020”, following a Presidency report on key political issues, with a view to paving the way for an early agreement on the programme with the European Parliament.
In addition, it endorsed a new EU strategy for enhancing international cooperation in the field of research and approved conclusions on high-performance computing. It also updated the mandate of the European Research Area Committee.
Finally, ministers discussed joint programming activities carried out in the field of research.
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