Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-04-13-Speech-3-373"
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"en.20050413.23.3-373"2
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".
Mr President, let me begin by dealing with the specific case at issue. The Commission is aware of the plans for the closure and possible relocation of the Innovia Films plant in Bridgwater and we have asked the services to examine whether the measures taken by the State of Kansas constitute a breach of WTO rules. We will also explore, in cooperation with the Member States concerned, whether any other remedy is available under international law in this situation.
I wish to add that my own political judgement with regard to this case is absolutely the same as that expressed by honourable Members in the debate. If US State aid rules apply in Kansas, that is certainly a practice that is not allowed here. However, fortunately or unfortunately, the State of Kansas is not part of the European Union.
In particular this involves looking at the possibilities offered by the complaint procedure in the context of the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises, which state that OECD enterprises should refrain from seeking or accepting exemptions not contemplated in the statutory or regulatory framework related to environmental, health, safety, labour, taxation, financial incentives or other issues. It should be noted, however, that these guidelines and the recommendations that may result from the complaint procedure are not legally binding.
As regards the WTO, the Commission is evaluating the compatibility of the measures taken in Kansas with the WTO agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures. These rules, while in principle allowing WTO members to decide on their own fiscal regime, prohibit tax exemptions when they directly promote exports. That is the case that we have to examine: whether the measures in Kansas directly promote exports. If so, they run against WTO rules.
I wish to add a few general remarks on the role of the WTO in the area of environmental policy. Let me first stress that WTO members have explicitly recognised the importance of working towards sustainable development and making international trade and environmental policies mutually supportive. The European Union plays a particularly active role in this respect, but the work is not complete. WTO members are free to choose their own environmental policy at national, regional and, in the case of multilateral environmental agreements, global level. This also implies that any action against illegal breaches of existing regional, national or international environmental legislation should be taken at those levels.
The appropriate answer to ‘environmental dumping’ at global level is, therefore, to enhance environmental governance by means of legally binding instruments such as multilateral environmental agreements, and the Commission is
active in that field.
As regards the other question raised, about harmful tax competition in the European Union, all EU Member States are committed to the code of conduct on business taxation. The code aims at combating specific tax measures that affect, or may affect, the location of business
. Almost all the harmful tax measures identified following a peer review process have been or are in the process of being removed. More generally, the Commission’s tax policy aims at promoting the principles of the code towards third countries in order to tackle harmful tax competition on as wide a geographical basis as possible. In this respect, the Commission has already included a reference to the principles of the code in several international agreements with third countries and aims at including this reference in future agreements. Furthermore, the Commission supports the OECD efforts to remove harmful tax practices."@en1
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"within the Community"1
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