Schröder Seeks More Consideration for Industry by EU

The European Union is well on its way toward the goal it set two years ago to significantly increase its global economic competitiveness by the year 2010, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said in summing up the results of the recent European Council in Barcelona, held March 15 and 16. But efforts need to be further increased, he said in a policy statement to the German Bundestag on March 21. In particular, Schröder stressed the need for the European Commission to take into account the special needs of German industry in its decision-making.

To that end, Schröder and European Commission President Romano Prodi have agreed to meet in Berlin, along with the EU Commissioners responsible for industrial-related policy areas. Schröder has stressed that traditional industry is an important sector of the German economy and should be taken into consideration by the commission.

Economic issues, namely assessing progress in becoming the most competitive and dynamic economic region in the world by 2010, were the main agenda items in Barcelona, along with social affairs and sustainability. The European Council brings together the heads of state or government of each of the EU member nations and the European Commission President, with the spring meeting devoted to economic issues.

One of the primary objectives of the current Spanish Presidency of the EU is the liberalization of energy markets. The council concluded that by 2004 industrial customers in Europe, representing 60% of the overall electricity and gas market, will be able to freely choose their power and gas suppliers. However, the decision on providing freedom of choice for private customers was postponed. The limited scope of the decision was dictated by the strict regulation of energy markets in some EU countries, for instance France, where government-owned energy suppliers are still very powerful. In Germany the energy market has already been liberalized. By way of compromise, therefore, the liberalization of the energy market will be gradual.

Call for Reform
In his policy statement, Schröder also reiterated his call for structural and procedural reforms to allow the European Union to be more efficient as it moves toward enlargement. Most notably, he proposed creating a new council of ministers for EU issues from each of the member nations. This new council would allow a clearer focus on the domestic and economic issues that are increasingly part of inter-European consultations, Schröder said. The foreign ministers, who make up the General Affairs Council, would not, however, lose their function, which includes handling the significant issue of a common security and defense policy. Earlier, Schröder and British Prime Minister Tony Blair had laid out their proposals for procedural reforms within the European Council in a joint letter. The chancellor said decisions in the European Council need to be made on the basis of qualified majority voting, not on the basis of unanimity, a point that will become more critical as the number of members expands.

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