Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-09-14-Speech-1-137"
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"en.20090914.24.1-137"2
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"− Madam President, I am grateful for nearly all the remarks that have been made, for many reasons. This is an excellent opportunity to find out where the role of the Commission is limited and where it is challenged, and what the clear purposes of the Commission’s policy are. I also want to touch upon the time schedule. Mr Langen was quite clear in his approach on that as well as on the role of the Commission.
We are all aware that we are living on a continent – and not just on the continent – that is not only populated with angels. The temptation to use State aid in different situations is there, and we are all aware of that. That is exactly why judgments on State aid lie in the hands of the Commission – a decision backed by all the Member States. By the way, I am still impressed that the founders of Europe in the 1950s were already aware of the pitfalls of using State aid in the wrong way. They were quite clear and that statement is still in the Treaty of Rome.
Having said that, the Commission’s role is to verify that no protectionist conditions are attached to State funding and that is exactly where our challenge lies. Some of you ask why we cannot speed up, but we are doing our utmost. By the way, nationality was never an issue in cooperation with banks. We do have examples in the German banking world where the delivery was quite quick with Sachsen LB, but it depends – and in this case too – on the players. We need the facts and figures. The need to speed up goes without saying: there is no need even to mention it as we are aware of that. We will go as fast as the provision of information allows us. Having said that, we were also getting your clear line to be very careful and precise and to enter into an investigation to find proof and come back to Parliament. I am always willing – and hopefully able – to come back to explain our results, but we have to verify what we find. We need to be sure and be in a position to deliver this.
If Mr Verhofstadt wants us to go even further – not only State aid but taking in merger rules too – then, if Magna/Sberbank is notifiable to the Commission under the EU Merger Regulation, we will assess it carefully. I am aware that is also what the honourable Member wants.
We need to be very careful about replacing an unhealthy but highly competitive industry with a cartel based on market-sharing and price-fixing, as what we try to rescue will end up in a worse situation. We take the points about speed and being very careful but precise and going into great depth. It is very important to ensure that State aid leads to a proper restructuring. That is fundamental and what the Commission is absolutely engaged in. The size of the Member State does not make any difference, nor does nationality or the size of the company’s dossier. We are objective.
I assure you that I am looking forward to coming up with a proposal where we can say that we did our job, we did it in a proper way and we can assure you that it is viable and that there are stable jobs for the future. That is one of the main things we owe to the people who are currently living in uncertainty."@en1
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