Hungary was represented by State Secretary Krisztián Kecsmár at the meeting of the Competitiveness Council of 20 February 2017. From a Hungarian perspective at the last Competitiveness Council of an outstanding importance has been, that a joint declaration has been signed by nine Member States – Hungary included – to express serious concerns about the recent developments going against Single Market principles and causing negative effects especially in the road transport sector.
From a Hungarian perspective at the last Competitiveness Council of an outstanding importance has been, that a joint declaration has been signed by nine Member States – Hungary included – to express serious concerns about the recent developments going against Single Market principles and causing negative effects especially in the road transport sector. State Secretary Krisztián Kecsmár pointed out that a number of Member States had introduced or were planning to introduce measures with clearly protectionist nature (such as minimum wage and other rules concerning road transport). These measures are aimed at curbing competition from Central and Eastern European Member countries, however, they also weaken the sector’s competitiveness in the EU as a whole – he added.
With relation to the European Defence Action Plan, presented by the Commission, State Secretary Kecsmár agreed on the necessity to strengthen the EU’s defence capacity, but he added, that the balance between the Commission’s and Member States’ competences should be maintained. He underlined as well that the enhancement of defence capacities were to be based on existing institutions and tools, to be geographically balanced and its financing should not be at the expense of existing common policies, such as cohesion and agriculture.
The State Secretary emphasized the importance of traditional industrial sector during a debate on the future of the European Industry. He informed the other participants about the priorities of the Hungarian Digital Startup Strategy, about the regional cooperation of V4 Plus startup organisations and recalled that the next Regional Digital Summit would be organised this autumn in Budapest.
The Council reached a general approach on a proposal for a regulation on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws. The proposal will facilitate the coordination of common actions against the cross-border infringement of Union consumer protection rules and will enhance the cooperation of national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws.
The Presidency presented a progress report on the state of play and the outstanding political issues of the ongoing examination of the draft regulation to improve the current type-approval system of motor vehicles. The aim of the Presidency is to ask for the Council's endorsement of a general approach at its upcoming meeting in May. Commissioner Bieńkowska highlighted the importance of political decisions to be made in order to have a more robust system and claimed that the Commission should be given powers to ensure independent oversight.
