My honourable friend the Minister for Business and Regulatory Reform (Ian Lucas) has today made the following Statement.

The EU Competitiveness Council will take place in Brussels on 1 and 2 March and this Statement covers the business to be taken at the council. I shall represent the UK on internal market and industry issues on 1 March and Andy Lebrecht, the UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU, will represent the UK on research issues on 2 March.

The main industry and internal market items on the agenda are council conclusions on future EU industrial policy; discussion of the Commission’s Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs; a council resolution on EU intellectual property rights policy; and a ministerial lunchtime discussion with Mario Monti to discuss his preliminary report on the re-launch of the EU single market.

The main research items on the agenda are a joint Baltic Sea research and development programme; a regulation on the European earth observation programme (GMES) and its initial operations (2011-13); a council resolution on the governance of the European research area, including a new mandate for the Scientific and Technical Research Committee (CREST); council conclusions on the European Research Council and on researcher mobility and careers issues; and discussion of the Commission’s Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs.

The any other business (AOB) items are set out below:

AOB items

Information from the Commission on the results of the Copenhagen conference. Implications for European industry.

Information from the presidency on the results of the informal Competitiveness Council on 8 and 9 February (San Sebastián).

Information from the presidency and the Commission on standardisation activities, within and outside the EU, relating to electric vehicles.

Possible information from the Commission on internal market scoreboard No 20.

Presentation by the Commission on functioning of the internal market: implementation of the “internal market information system”.

Information from the Commission—Services Directive—state of play of transposition information from the Commission –ITER.

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: “Mobilising private and public investment for recovery and long term structural change: developing public private partnerships”—information from the Commission 16586/09 COMPET 496 ECOFIN 836 IND 173 MI 447 RECH 434 TRANS 469 ENER 411 ENV 836.

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: “A public-private partnership on the Future Internet”—Information from the Commission 15279/09 TELECOM 227 RECH 372 IND 144 ENER 359 ENV 747 SAN 291 TRANS 432.

Communication from the Commission—European Institute of Innovation and Technology: update on progress.

Information from the presidency—high level event on information and communication technologies for energy efficiency (ICT4EE) towards a sustainable society (Brussels 23 and 24 February 2010).

The Government’s main aims will be:

to outline UK priorities for a new EU industrial policy, particularly the importance of open and competitive markets;

to support the council resolution on enhancing the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the EU internal market;

in discussions on the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs, to emphasise the UK priorities set out in the Prime Minister’s EU compact for jobs and growth;

to agree a decision on the participation by the Community in a joint Baltic Sea research and development programme being undertaken by several member states and a regulation on the European earth observation programme (GMES) and its initial operations (2011-13);

to adopt a council resolution on the governance of the European research area, including a new mandate for the Scientific and Technical Research Committee (CREST) which will strengthen that body's strategic role in the definition of European research policy; and

to adopt council conclusions in response to the recent evaluation of the mechanisms and structures of the European Research Council and council conclusions on researcher mobility and careers issues.