Prague, 12/07/2022
Dear Colleagues,
on behalf of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union, I have the
pleasure to invite you to Prague for the Informal Meeting of Ministers Responsible
for Competitiveness (Internal Market and Industry) on 19th and 20th July 2022.
European industry is currently undergoing transition on multiple fronts – both the
COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion into Ukraine have motivated us to
re-evaluate our position in global value chains and strengthen our open strategic
autonomy. What is more, this shift has been happening against the backdrop of
green and digital transformations of our industries. This turn of events poses diverse
opportunities and threats to different EU regions, industries and demographic
groups. During our upcoming informal meeting, we will discuss how we can, in the
context of all these crises, help businesses across EU regions to increase their added
value, innovation performance and competitiveness.
The event will start on Tuesday 19 July at 19:00 with the Gala Dinner in the National
Museum, which boasts a stunning view of the Wenceslas Square and central Prague.
Czech design and innovative products will be showcased at the event. Our guests can
also look forward to the concert of talented Czech pianists. The informal evening should
end at approximately 22:00.
The following day, we will re-convene at 9:00 at the main conference venue, the Prague
Congress Centre. The plenary, focused on increasing the added value of EU industry
across regions, will start at 9:30. Please limit your individual interventions to 3
minutes. After the plenary, the ministers will be invited to divide into three workshops
to discuss the topic in more detail. The distribution of delegations into workshops will be
announced shortly. Contentwise, the workshops will be dedicated to the potential of the
single market for EU regions and industries, decarbonization in lagging innovation
regions and resilience of the single market in the context of the Russian invasion to
Ukraine. The workshops will last a little over an hour and will provide an opportunity for
ministers to deliberate in a more informal setting. The topic of each workshop will be
outlined by an external speaker and will be moderated by Presidency Trio
representatives. During the working lunch of the Heads of Delegations, starting 13:45,
Presidency Trio representatives will sum up the main conclusions of the discussions in
the workshops, to be followed by informal exchange of views. We will conclude our
meeting at around 15:30.
Your colleagues should already have received the detailed programme, discussion paper
and a practical information note for the event. Should this not be the case, please contact
[email protected].
I am looking forward to our meeting next week!
Yours sincerely,
Jozef Síkela
Minister of Industry and Trade
Saatja: Votavová Klára <
[email protected]>
Saadetud: 12.07.2022 11:08
Teema: Minister's invitation to the informal meeting of ministers
responsible for competitiveness
Dear Colleagues,
attached you can find Ministers Síkela invitation to the informal meeting
of ministers responsible for competitiveness (internal market and
industry), which takes place next week 19 20 July.
Faithfully yours,
CZ PRES Competitiveness Team