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Brussels – Monday’s meetings of the Council of the European Union (EU) for Competitiveness in Brussels were focused mainly on the competitiveness of industry in Europe. Slovakia is on the side of initiatives that want to help industry at these meetings, said the State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic Vladimír Šimoňák after the conclusion of the talks. This was reported by the TASR correspondent.
Vladimír Šimoňák pointed out that this topic was analyzed “from several angles”, and the discussion focused mainly on those industrial sectors that are vulnerable to competition from countries outside the EU, high energy prices and other things that the member states know well have been causing long-term problems for businesses.
European Commission (EK) has presented several initiatives this year to protect industry and improve competitiveness, but as Šimoňák said, these proposals have been on the table for a relatively short time; nevertheless, it can be said that they enjoy a high level of support among the member states.
“These are proposals that should also help those industrial sectors that are important for the Slovak economy, such as metallurgy, whether ferrous or non-ferrous, as well as measures concerning the chemical industry,” he explained.
There is a high level of support for the European Commission’s proposals in favor of industry
According to him, it is not yet possible to speak of any formal decisions, but there truly is a high level of support for the European Commission’s proposals in favor of industry, especially among member states that are even putting forward additional demands towards the European Commission.
“We expect the European Commission to continue these initiatives. Behind these voices and these efforts stands Slovakia as well. We are part of all coalitions that are emerging among member states in favor of supporting energy-intensive industry,” he said. He specified that this concerns, for example, control over the export of iron scrap, or other metals such as iron, which represent raw materials that, once exported, are lacking for domestic industrial enterprises.
He recalled that Slovakia also supports initiatives aimed at offsetting the handicaps suffered by producers in Europe, who must meet demanding decarbonization requirements compared to producers in Asia or the United States, who do not have to bear such costs. (8 December)