Today (12.05), the Informal Competitiveness Council (Industry), chaired by Minister of Development and Competitiveness Kostis Hatzidakis, titled “Drivers for Industrial Competitiveness” will review the latest developments and set the framework for a possible action roadmap, following the conclusions of the spring European Council. Two subtopics have been identified by the Presidency as key challenges for European Industry: innovation and Key Enabling Technologies; competitiveness of Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs), focusing on the state-of-play, perspectives and possible mitigating actions for EIIs.

Tomorrow, (13.05), the Informal Competitiveness Council (Research), chaired by Professor Constantinos Arvanitopoulos, Minister of Education and Religious Affairs, will focus on three themes: the political priority of the Greek Presidency for the Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation for Research and Innovation; the European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) and the Commission Communication adopted on 8 May 2014 on "Innovation in the Blue Economy: Realising the potential of our seas and oceans."

On May 9, Development and Competitiveness Minister Costis Hatzidakis addressed the European employees organization BusinessEurope in Athens and classified energy cost as the most important problem for European and Greek industry. The minister noted that during the Greek Presidency, the foundations for an industry-oriented European policy can be laid, including improving the business environment, removing barriers for businesses, promoting innovation and the digital economy, focusing on the knowledge economy and new skills, and more.

Speaking at the event, the head of BusineessEurope, Emma Marcegaglia, pointed out that "Euroscepticism is not the answer to create more jobs. The significant progress achieved so far during the Greek presidency on industry and competitiveness issues and expressed the hope that after the elections, the new European Parliament and Commission will give more emphasis to competitiveness and the creation of jobs."