My noble Friend the Minister of State for Business, Energy and Industrual Strategy (Baroness Neville-Rolfe) has today made the following statement.
The Informal Competitiveness Council, chaired by the Slovak Presidency, took place
in Bratislava on 18–19 July 2016. Baroness Neville-Rolfe represented
the UK on day one (internal market and industry) with David Wilson, Deputy
Director, International Knowledge and Innovation Directorate, on day two
(research)There were major contributions from Günther Oettinger, Commissioner for the Digital
Economy and Society on the digital economy, and by Peter Ziga, the Slovak
Economy Minister on the priorities of the Slovak Presidency, including the
Digital Single Market and principles of better regulation. In a break out
session on digital skills, the UK highlighted the importance of working on
digital skills in schools, in the workplace and in society, and of bridging the
gap on expert skills. The UK confirmed that it would continue to play a full
and constructive role in the Council while it remained a member of the EU.
On the second day, Member States supported the general principles of the declaration to
support young researchers. The UK underlined the value of increased
cooperation, but also the need to respect the autonomy of national education
systems. Collaboration and regulatory simplification were among the issues that
were strongly supported in creating an ecosystem to support innovative SMEs. The
UK joined a number of member states in emphasising the importance of further
simplification of support programmes and following up on existing commitment to
create a more innovation friendly environment.