Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-04-Speech-2-055"
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"en.20070904.5.2-055"2
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"Mr President, I am dealing with this file on behalf of my colleague, Mrs Kroes, the Competition Commissioner.
The Commission has been, and will remain, in close and constructive dialogue with the Polish authorities to seek a way forward in which the conditions for compatibility of the State aid are met and the State aid can be approved. That process is ongoing.
Gdansk shipyard deserves a viable future by developing a new and sustainable position in the competitive shipbuilding industry of the EU.
The Commission is not seeking the closure of Gdansk shipyard. Gdansk shipyard has played a crucial part in European history and in the struggle for freedom and a reunited Europe. We would like to see the yard undertaking a genuine far-reaching restructuring so as to become a successful company capable of competing on its own merits in the EU and world shipbuilding markets.
In the last decades, the shipbuilding industry has restructured all around Europe. The Commission is well aware that for many yards and regions this has been a difficult process. Many shipyards were closed and the shipbuilding capacity had to be reduced. Wherever national State aid has been used for this restructuring, the Commission has had to exercise its responsibility under the Treaty to ensure that the level playing field among shipbuilders in the European Union was not distorted.
The Commission now has the same responsibility concerning its intervention in the Gdansk case. The conditions under which State aid for ailing companies is compatible with the Treaty are clearly set out in the Community Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulties.
The proper restructuring of Gdansk shipyard has been postponed for many years; public money has not been used to create viable jobs, but to keep alive a company that would under normal market conditions have ceased to exist.
The Commission's goals here are three-fold. First, to ensure that the restructuring of Gdansk shipyard leads to its own long-term viability. It could possibly mean scaling down its activities, but would eventually lead to the emergence of a smaller but more efficient shipyard capable of standing on its own feet.
Second, to limit the distortion of the level playing field and any harm to European competitors caused by State intervention, the yard's production capacity has to be reduced. Also, a significant contribution to the restructuring plan must be made from own resources, including the sale of assets that are not essential to the shipyard's survival, or from external financing at market conditions.
Third, to ensure equal treatment. Shipyards in other countries as well as other Polish shipyards, have had to reduce considerably their capacity. Gdansk shipyard cannot be an exception.
Structural funds and other EU assistance have been used by other Member States to tackle the difficult transition period and to support the affected regions. We have repeatedly reminded the Polish authorities of this possibility."@en1
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