Thierry Breton EUdebates Internal Market and Consumer Protection EU Exit Strategy

We had a timely and important exchange with ministers in charge of industry and the single market this morning. https://www.eudebates.tv/debates/eu-p... EU ministers responsible for industry and internal market meet via video conference to discuss plans for the EU's economic recovery. #eudebates #coronavirusitalla #Covid_19 #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak #Corona #COVD19 #Health #EUCO #COVID The Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection discussed the EU coronavirus exit strategy with Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, on 18 May. The debate covered the gradual lifting of lockdown measures taken by Member States. The implementation of the recovery fund dedicated to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on the Multiannual Financial Framework, including the impact on the Single Market Programme, was also looked into. My main takeaway is that we are on the same wavelength.And that Ministers expect the Commission to lead the way for a coordinated recovery effort. We are ready for this We have been working on a forthcoming recovery package that will reflect this. Most Ministers also underlined that, faced with a symmetric shock – a virus that knows no border – our response must be European. We must pool our efforts and our ideas to make sure that no-one on the continent is left behind. To do this, we will need to base our recovery on the foundation of our common European house: the Single Market. It has been tested by the pandemic. It has suffered many challenges: restrictions on goods, on people, border closures. But it has resisted. Together, through dialogue, goodwill and solidarity, we have rolled back many of these challenges. We will continue to fight them. They are not the answer. Now comes the time to look forward, to rebuild. We must use this opportunity to rebuild a greener, more digital and more resilient economy. To rebuild evenly and consistently all across Europe. Our ecosystem approach aims to do exactly this. Ecosystems cover value chains from the smallest start-ups, SMEs to the largest companies, from academia to research, service providers to suppliers. They operate across borders, inside the EU, and outside. The European Council tasked the Commission with carrying out a thorough assessment of the needs of the different ecosystems and most affected sectors to allow for a targeted response, and to propose a recovery plan, a recovery fund commensurate with the magnitude of the situation. To feed this work, we have just finished this assessment, looking at key economic indicators, establishing a “health bulletin” per ecosystem, and identifying their repair and investment needs. Finally, we must draw some difficult lessons from the crisis. This pandemic shows the importance of our resilience and autonomy. We will not turn our back on open and fair trade. But we need to ensure that we do not depend on it in certain critical areas, for example pharmaceutical ingredients or raw materials, endangering our collective capacity to take care of ourselves. As we rebuild, we need to be ambitious and united.