Informal Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Competitiveness will be held in Sofia on 1-2 February 2018

The informal meeting of the ministers responsible for competitiveness in sections "Industry" and "Research" will be held on 1 and 2 February 2018. The meeting for the "Industry" section will be presided over by the Minister of Economy, Emil Karanikolov, and the "Research" section - by the Minister of Education and Science, Krasimir Valchev.   

 „Industry" section - 1 February 2018

The informal meeting for the Industry section will begin with a plenary session on 1 February 2018. The attendees will include ministers and representatives of all member-states of the European Union, as well as Switzerland and Norway, of the European Social and Economic Committee, of the European Committee of the Regions, as well as the business. The European Commission will be represented by Ms. Elżbieta Bieńkowskа, Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.

During the plenary session the ministers will consider the future of the European industrial policy by discussing the key factors which will shape the industry until 2030, at a global and European level, and what should be the common goals and key priorities for the new industrial strategy, in order to ensure that the European industry will be competitive in the contemporary environment.  The Bulgarian presidency will work towards developing a clear long-term vision for the European industry until 2030 and after, which would result in more innovations in production, digitalization of the industry, job creation, improving the enterprises' access to financing, and introducing sustainable technologies.

After the plenary session, two parallel work sessions will exchange opinions on the topics   "Value chains and the development of competitive advantages for the European economy"...