Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-02-13-Speech-4-111"
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"en.20030213.5.4-111"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would also like to highlight an initial point that I think is fundamental: the Commission declaration is a poor one. The responsibility of the Commission today is effectively to take on the role of the public authority within the powers that it has inherited from the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community. It should also be pointed out that the Commission should not be a spectator, but play an active public role in managing steel at European Union level.
The resolution put forward contains some themes that we see as essential. I hope that the Commission is able to answer four quite specific questions on these four themes. First of all, being aware that European firmness is necessary in order for steel production to be fairly distributed at global level, is the Commission going to ensure that the Polish Government cannot intervene financially in the industrial processes to support any of the Arcelor’s group’s plans in Poland? Secondly, does the Commission consider that it is still entirely capable of ensuring that the European Union can choose and maintain a steel industry, or is it simply waiting for the industry to disappear? In other words, is the Commission aware that it still has a responsibility under Article 3 of the ECSC Treaty, or has it forgotten that article? Thirdly, regarding regional restructuring and social support, is the Commission prepared, from now on, to use the resources of all of the European instruments as part of a programme negotiated with the responsible authority, that is, the Walloon regional authorities in Belgium, to ensure that any aid is focused on social support and restructuring, while ensuring that state aid is not paid to other regions? The fourth question is: what measures does the Commission intend to take in order to ensure that existing European social law is respected before any decision is made by any group? In particular this involves respecting a number of collective agreements. Along the same lines, is the Commission prepared, as far as company law is concerned, to invoke Article 5 of the ECSC Treaty, according to which the Commission has the task of ensuring that social activity continues as long as general production at European level is not threatened?
Mr President, today Europe must, through the Commission, show the rest of the world that it is firm on commercial matters and make the industrial choice to be socially pro-active and restructure industry in a useful way. Finally, the Commission needs to play its role as a public power, to make European employment law and company law a reality. I am looking forward to hearing the Commission’s response, and I hope that the speech that will follow those of MEPs will not be of a general nature like the Commissioner’s first speech."@en1
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