The intervention of the Director General of the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry in the work of the EU Competitiveness Council
Cyprus is revising its current national industrial policy to align with the European approach, said the Director General of the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry Marios Panagidis, who participated in the work of the EU Competitiveness Council (Internal Market and Industry), held on Friday in Brussels.< /p>
According to an official announcement, the Council approved the Conclusions “on a competitive European industry as a driving force for our green, digital and resilient future”.
In his intervention, Mr. Panagidis welcomed and supported the Conclusions, stressing that it is imperative to establish a strong framework for strengthening the competitiveness of European industry.He informed that Cyprus is revising its current national industrial policy to align with the European approach. He also stressed that Cyprus, as an isolated island country with a small market, faces additional obstacles and challenges and therefore needs tailored policies and strategies to overcome the obstacles and effectively achieve the goals for all member states.
During the work of the Council, the Conclusions on “a Single Market for the benefit of all” were also adopted. Mr. Panagidis supported the text, stating that a fully functional Single Market must be based on common EU rules that create a clear, coherent and harmonized legal framework. In addition, he said that reducing the administrative burden, implementing the 25% reduction target in corporate reporting obligations and applying the 'once only' principle and the 'think small first' approach should be a priority.
Furthermore, Mr. Panagidis agreed with the reference in Enrico Letta's recent report that the Single Market needs to be redesigned in order to respond to today's geopolitical landscape. He also emphasized Cyprus' commitment to the goal of removing the existing obstacles and implementing the necessary reform, so that the Single Market continues to serve the needs of the EU and is a factor of security, unity and prosperity.
According to during the informal working lunch, in the presence of the EU Competition Commissioner Ms. Margrethe Vestager, there was an exchange of views on the topic “Towards a successful, competitive and accelerated green transition for energy-intensive industries”.
Finally, it is noted that Mr. Panagidis yesterday represented the Republic of Cyprus at the high-level meeting regarding the legislation for the Net-Zero industry and the “Net-Zero Europe” platform, which aim to enhance the attraction of clean industries in the EU.
