Biotech and SMEs feature on Industry Council agenda
Biotechnology, the impact of the e-economy and the European Charter for Small businesses are on the at the agenda at the EU Industry Council which kicks off in Luxembourg on 6 June. The Council is expected to adopt conclusions relating to the development of life sciences and biotechnology in Europe. These focus on the approach set out in the Commission's strategy paper on life sciences and biotechnology, launched in January this year. It is also likely that the Council will adopt the conclusions on the impact of the e-economy set out in the Commission's communication on the e-economy. The conclusions demonstrate a strong consensus on the need to establish a dynamic e-business environment in Europe in line with the Commission's communication on eEurope 2005, which sets out the Commission's aim to raise productivity and growth through investment in ICT (information communication technology), human resources and new business models whilst ensuring network security and privacy. Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner, Erkki Liikanen, is expected to welcome the commitment of the Spanish Presidency of the EU to implement the European Charter for Small businesses and to urge Ministers to keep small businesses on the agenda. He will support the Presidency's proposal to hold an annual conference of European SME (small and medium sized enterprise) ministers. The Commission will present the 2002 Competitiveness Report to the Council. In addition, the Council is expected to adopt the Commission's communication on 'Productivity: the key to competitiveness of European economies and enterprises.' The Commission says that although there have been many positive developments in the field of competitiveness, such as the upgrading of skills in the EU and a growth in knowledge-based services, the EU risks missing out on the Lisbon goals unless action is taken to push forward reforms to enhance the skills of the labour force, boost entrepreneurship and innovation and exploit ICT.