Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-23-Speech-3-351"
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"en.20050223.21.3-351"2
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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, today’s Europe, which has been built on the foundations of the European Coal and Steel Community, is in danger of seeing its own origins rejected at the heart of the steel industry in one of the founding countries.
The decision by ThyssenKrupp first to close the magnetic steel production line and then to lay off and release hundreds of workers at the Terni plant is not just a breach of all the agreements signed at the time of privatisation but also a decision that makes no economic sense. The company has, in fact, been given special treatment by all the national and European institutions in a way that no other Italian company in the sector has.
We just have to recall the public investment it has received, starting with the Objective 2 Structural Funds – in that respect I foresee possible Commission intervention – not to mention the recent commitment by the Italian Government to guarantee its power supply on economically favourable terms until the required new power plant is built. In addition, all the problems associated with putting in the infrastructure needed to improve the plant have been solved by the Italian Government. We must not forget the market for magnetic steel, either: Italy is its largest market, together with Germany.
It is difficult, therefore, to understand the reasons that have led ThyssenKrupp not to conclude the talks on signing the draft agreement aimed at ending the dispute, as they are now in their final stages. The suspicion arises, then, that the negative results issued by the company may be connected to decisions designed solely to make inter-group transfers at prices favourable to its associated companies.
The joint resolution on which we shall be voting tomorrow is not just a gesture of solidarity, but it seeks to represent Parliament’s commitment to mobilise the Commission and the Member States to intervene with initiatives to avert downsizing in the steel industry. We also call on the German Government to intervene with ThyssenKrupp’s top management immediately so that they resume talks with the social partners.
Relocation, above all to China, must not happen without complying with human and union rights, beginning with the rights of the Chinese workers themselves. The Terni affair, Mr President, does not just involve Italy. It is a European affair, and one which must not be underestimated, because it is typical of the whole steel sector. That is why all the institutions and all the political groups are being asked to draw up concrete proposals to protect the steel industry, jobs and also research, because research is conducted at the Terni plant as well.
It would be a serious mistake for us not to condemn the company’s refusal to listen to constructive proposals, a mistake that should be condemned by all the political groups. That is why we appeal to the German Government again to intervene with ThyssenKrupp’s top management immediately, to make them realise the importance of the Terni plant and the mistake that they have just made."@en1
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