Competitiveness Council, 28-29/05/2018, 28-29 May 2018

Main results 

Monday, 28 May: Internal market and industry  

The Council agreed on a general approach on a regulation aimed at improving the mutual recognition of goods marketed in another member state.

We have still to overcome a number of artificial barriers in various areas of the internal market. Many of them are a result of the application of different rules in non-harmonised sectors or poor implementation of mutual recognition principles. Today's agreement will help promote the freedom of movement of goods in the internal market, and therefore facilitate market access for our companies, which will in the end benefit all European consumers. Emil Karanikolov, Minister for the Economy of Bulgaria

• Mutual recognition of goods: Council agrees position to reinforce the single market (press release 28/5/2018)

Ministers discussed a recent proposal to promote fair practices for businesses operating through online platforms.

Under the traditional "competitiveness check-up", ministers assessed the concrete impact of the internal market on the EU industrial base in terms of competitiveness and productivity.

Tuesday, 29 May: Research, innovation and space

Ministers held a policy debate on research and innovation within the context of the next EU financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027.

Increasing public investment in research and innovation is important, but it is not enough. We have to make use of the results of scientific research and be able to turn them into practical applications which can address societal challenges or generate products which make people's lives better. Krasimir Valchev, Minister of Education and Science of Bulgaria

Research activities carried out under the EURATOM research programme will be extended until the end of 2020, following a Council agreement.

The Council adopted conclusions on accelerating knowledge circulation within the EU and on the European Open Science Cloud. It also took note of a progress report on the proposal to establish a joint undertaking on high performance computing.

• Council conclusions on "Accelerating knowledge circulation in the EU"
• Council conclusions on the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC)

Ministers discussed the future of the European space policy, particularly in the context of the digital single market.

Against the backdrop of the digital economy, space has an increasingly important role to play. It is an invisible infrastructure which is used to acquire and distribute data and information. This entails the emergence of new forms of business models. Emil Karanikolov, Minister for the Economy of Bulgaria