Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-11-19-Speech-3-054"
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"en.20081119.4.3-054"2
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"Madam President, in my view, Europe’s car industry has shown remarkable resilience in the past few years, despite some extremely tough economic conditions and a veritable deluge of EU legislation. Our car manufacturers lead the world for environmental awareness, technical standards and innovation. It is a record that deserves to be supported and not undermined. I am particularly proud of the UK car industry and, if I may, would like to make a plug for my local Nissan company – the most productive car plant in Europe – which is located in my region in North-East England.
Nobody would dispute the importance of environmental protection, but I am extremely concerned that, in our rush to prove our green credentials, we are sometimes in danger of destroying a very important and successful industry. Already we are seeing a massive fall in sales in the UK. Sales last month were down 23%. Rather than imposing a very rigid and inflexible timetable for change in the industry, we should be seeking to support the industry and give it the incentive to make the changes that are necessary to bring about their future. If the car industry has our political support – and our political support for the supplier and component industries too – we can help them to get through this difficult period.
I hope that the Commission will be extremely vigilant with regard to Member States stretching the limits on state aid to car manufacturers. In Britain, we have a very long and a very unsuccessful history of state support for the auto industry. We managed to get out of that in the 1980s. I hope we will not go back there again because, if we pour public money into the car industry, what about the building industry, the construction industry and the food industry? All industries are suffering and we must be extremely careful with the hard-pressed taxpayer’s funds to ensure that we do not throw too much more of it into the car industry. This did not work in the past and will not work in the future. I hope the Commission will be extremely vigilant in keeping an eye on errant Member States that might be tempted down this unsuccessful road."@en1
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