Competitiveness Council (Internal market and industry), 7 December 2023

Main results

Net Zero Industry Act

Ministers agreed on a general approach (Council position) on the regulation establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem, better known as the Net Zero Industry Act.

With the Net Zero Industry Act, the European Union aims at achieving global leadership in the green transition, using the technologies of the future to boost the competitiveness of our industry, create quality jobs and strengthen our open strategic sovereignty.

Jordi Hereu Bohm, Spanish Minister for Industry and Tourism

The general approach includes nuclear and alternative fuels in the list of strategic net-zero technologies and also enlarges the list of non-strategic technologies with biotech climate and energy solutions, other nuclear technologies and transformative industrial technologies for energy-intensive industries. Transport infrastructures for CO2 is also included in the scope of the provisions for CO2 injection capacity. The general approach clarifies public procurement procedures to ensure secure, transparent, implementable and harmonised requirements for net-zero technologies as well as diversification in the supply of strategic technologies to the EU. As regards auctions, the Council proposal allows member states to apply both pre-qualification and award criteria. The Commission will define these criteria in an implementing act. The Council general approach keeps the possibility for member states to establish regulatory sandboxes. Start-ups should also benefit from the special measures for the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in those sandboxes.

• General approach
• Net-Zero Industry Act: Council adopts position to boost technologies for the green transition (press release, 7 December 2023)
• European Commission proposal for a regulation to strengthen Europe’s net-zero technologies manufacturing sector in Europe (Net Zero Industry Act)
• EU industrial policy (background information)
• Watch the recording of the public debate

Forced labour

Ministers held a policy debate on the proposal for a regulation on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market. All member states support the overall objective of the proposed regulation to combat forced labour. They highlighted the need to streamline the EU’s efforts in this area by aligning the proposed regulation with both international standards and with the EU legislation. Ministers exchanged views on the basis of a policy debate note prepared by the Spanish presidency, that focused mainly on the level of involvement of the Commission in different phases of investigating and proving the use of forced labour, such as gathering information, submissions, pre-investigation, investigation, decision making, implementation and imposing of penalties.

• European Commission proposal for a regulation on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market
• Regulation prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market – presidency note for the debate
• Watch the recording of the public debate

Any Other Business

Under any other business, ministers were informed of eight issues:

• the Presidency informed member states about the state of play of the different legislative initiatives that are currently under discussion
• the European Commission informed member states about the Communication on Enhancing the European Administrative space (ComPAct) that the College adopted on 23 October 2023
• the Commission informed ministers on the state of implementation of the Single Digital Gateway
• they also made an information point on the preparedness for the digital services act enforcement
• the Danish, French, and German delegations informed ministers on the issue of how to reduce administrative burdens for companies in unprecedented times
• the Austrian, Belgian, Bulgarian, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Luxembourg, Maltese, Portuguese, Slovenian and Swedish delegations informed ministries about the entry into operation of the Unified Patent Court
• the European Commission informed member states about the 2023 report of the SME Envoy Network
• the Belgian delegation informed ministers of the work programme of the incoming Belgian presidency in the field of internal market and industry

The Council also adopted without discussion the items on the list of non-legislative A items.