Belgium, under a caretaker government, took over the six-month rotating EU Presidency on 1 July. Belgium’s priorities include:
Employment
Against the backdrop of the economic crisis and the emphasis on restoring growth and creating sustainable jobs in the Europe 2020 Strategy, this is the central theme of the Belgian Presidency. The main focus will be on “green jobs” and “white jobs” (niches in the employment market created by an ageing demographic), along with the consequences of economic restructuring, combating discrimination in work and equal pay for men and women.
The single market
Belgium will pick up on the work initiated by Professor Mario Monti’s report on relaunching the single market. The Presidency will concentrate on eliminating barriers to protecting innovative ideas, on administrative simplification, protecting intellectual property and creating a European patent.
Creating a sustainable industrial policy
To deliver a green European economy that can compete globally, the Presidency will work on establishing a sustainable industrial policy through an integrated approach.
Research and innovation
The priority is to define guidelines to enable the Member States to better plan together in research and innovation. The focus will be on defining indicators to measure progress in achieving the 3% target, the creation of a European research area and simplification of Community programmes.
Social cohesion
There will be a special emphasis on encouraging social convergence towards higher standards. This will be done by establishing objectives and performance indicators covering issues such as social protection, social inclusion, pensions and healthcare.
The environment, climate change and energy
The Presidency will emphasise the importance of energy and resource efficiency and preserving biodiversity. It will work with the European Commission to ensure that the EU has a voice in international climate change negotiations. Energy security will also remain a priority with the need to address the shortcomings in the EU’s infrastructure.
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