European Briefing - 20 May 2005

EEF members to lobby EU

Next week, EEF will be a leading a delegation of senior representatives of our member companies to Brussels where they will hold discussions with officials from the European Commission, the United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the EU (UKRep) and MEPs.

This annual event benefits our members by:

• enabling participants to gain a better understanding of the EU legislative process and how it affects their businesses
• reinforcing the extensive lobbying now carried out by the EEF on a range of EU matters of concern to member companies

The theme of this year’s delegation is ‘The EU and the competitiveness of UK manufacturing’. To this end we have organised meetings in which we will discuss, amongst other things, the role of the European Parliament in amending EU legislation, the EU’s economic reform agenda, the impact of the EU Constitutional Treaty and the efforts that the EU is making to improve its regulatory regime. The outcomes and main themes of our discussions will be written up and used to take forward our future discussions with the Brussels institutions.

The programme for the event is as follows, we shall report on the meetings next week:

Wednesday 25 May 2005

· All Party Manufacturing Forum Lunch in the Parliament hosted by
Philip Whitehead MEP, Chairman of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Parliamentary Committee

· The Commission’s Progress on Pursuing the Better Regulation Agenda
Robert Scharrenborg, Economist, DG Enterprise and Industry

· The Commission’s Social Agenda and Restructuring
Fernando Vasquez, Adviser to the Director General in charge of Corporate Restructuring

· The Case for the EU Constitutional Treaty
Roger Liddle, Member of Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson’s Cabinet

· The Priorities of the new European Commission
Dinner with David O’Sullivan Secretary General of the European Commission

Thursday 26 May 2005

· Breakfast meeting with Ann Mettler, Executive Director of the Lisbon Council, Geneva Salon, Renaissance Hotel

· The Priorities of the United Kingdom EU Presidency
Anne Lambert, United Kingdom Deputy Permanent Representative

· Update on EU economic policy
Peter Curwen, Head of Economic Affairs, Finance and Tax, UKRep

· Update on EU industry policy
Antony Vinall, Head of Industry and Internal Market, UKRep

· Developments in EU Social and Environmental Policy
Shan Morgan, Head of Social, Environmental and Regional Affairs

· Lunch with Peter Tempel, Chef de Cabinet to Vice President Verheugen
Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry

New Europe Minister briefs business

EEF was represented at the inaugural speech of the new Minister for Europe, Douglas Alexander, in the Guildhall in London. He set out what he saw as the practical benefits to Britain of EU membership as well as the role Britain could and should play in a reforming Europe. Britain, he said, would advance the economic reform agenda.

During the UK Presidency, beginning on 1 July 2005, the Government would advance the better regulation agenda. It would do this by improving the policy-making process by better consultation and impact assessments. These should include measuring the burden on business and testing the impact on the EU’s international competitiveness. It would also reduce the volume and complexity of legislation as well as reviewing the impact and outcomes of existing legislation. These are all points, for which EEF and other organisations, have pressed the Government to pursue.

He concluded by arguing that the new Constitutional Treaty would give more power to Member States through the European Council, where national governments set the priorities and ensure that they are carried through. The proposed voting system would cope with enlargement and extended qualified majority voting would ensure effective decision making which was in the interests of the UK. Finally, for the first time, the British Parliament would have a direct say in most EU laws and greater powers of scrutiny of EU business.

EU Calendar – week beginnng 23 MAY 2005

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Commission weekly meeting, 24th May 2005:

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

Education, Youth and Culture Council, 23rd-24th May 2005

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, 23 - 24May 2005

Including:

REACH system and European Chemicals Agency

Draftsperson: Satu Hassi (Greens/EFA, Finland)

Consideration of a draft opinion

Full Agenda
http://wwwdb.europarl.eu.int/ep/owa/p_calag.oj?ipid=0&imn=5004251&ilg=EN&iorig=home

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, 24 May 2005

Including:

Health and Safety at work: the exposure of workers to optical radiation

Draftsperson: Csaba Ory (EPP-ED, Hungary)

Full Agenda

http://wwwdb.europarl.eu.int/ep/owa/p_calag.oj?ipid=0&imn=5004255&ilg=EN&iorig=home

Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, 24 May 2005

Including:

Amendment of the directive relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparation

Rapporteur: Karl-Heinz Florenz (EPP-ED, Germany)

Adoption of a draft Report