Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-01-28-Speech-3-175"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2004-01-28"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:The future of the textiles and clothing sector in the enlarged European Union2
dcterms:Language	"pt"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20040128.14.3-175"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2004-01-28-Speech-3-1762
lpv:speaker	lp:Ilda Figueiredo2
lpv:spokenAs	member_of_the_bureau; EUL/NGL (2002-03-06--2004-07-19)3 unknown; Partido Comunista Português (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 member; EMPL (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 substitute; AGRI (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 substitute; Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 member; Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries and the Gulf (2002-02-07--2004-07-19)3 substitute; Temporary committee on improving safety at sea (2003-11-20--2004-04-21)3 substitute; PECH (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, it is well known that the textiles and clothing industry still has a considerable presence in the enlarged EU, employing around 2.7 million people, mainly women, even after shedding some 850 000 jobs and losing many thousands of businesses between 1990 and 2001. Consequently, the threatened total abolition of import quotas next 1 January may seriously hamper development and exacerbate unemployment, especially in areas with the highest concentration of textiles and clothing companies, such as the North and Beiras regions of Portugal. There is currently a serious problem of multinationals relocating; in my home town of Vila Nova de Gaia, for example, there is a German company, Brax Portugal, threatening to close down within days and to lay off 450 workers, mainly women. This is a serious problem that is repeated more or less throughout Portugal. It must be borne in mind that the textiles and clothing industry is of major strategic importance to the EU with great prospects for the future, and that it can make a major contribution towards promoting economic, social and territorial cohesion. It may also, however, cause serious unemployment and hamper development unless we adopt appropriate measures to ensure that such problems do not arise in the future. Hence the proposals that we have tabled, promoting the interests of the production sector, given that a cohesive whole depends on all parts of the chain. The aim is to ensure the survival both of mid-range products and of those with a high added value, and to guarantee job prospects. It is therefore essential that the Commission present a concrete, cohesive and clearly defined action plan, in terms of instruments, financial resources and timetable. Particular attention should be paid in such an action plan to encouraging innovation and using new technology in the sector, to strengthening interaction between the various sectors of the industry, to carrying out an extensive programme of vocational training, to modernising and strengthening support for small and medium-sized enterprises and to protecting the environment. A Community programme must also be established, with suitable support mechanisms, especially for those less-favoured regions that depend on the sector. A sectoral approach must also be adopted for the textiles and clothing sector, specifically within the framework of negotiations of the World Trade Organisation."@en1

Named graphs describing this resource:

The resource appears as object in 2 triples

Context graph