Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-11-20-Speech-2-591-000"
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"en.20121120.32.2-591-000"2
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"Mr President, in the last few months a number of restructuring processes have been announced in many industrial sectors in various Member States. 274 cases of restructuring were registered in the third quarter of 2012, according to the latest data from the European Restructuring Monitor. These cases amount to a net job loss of more than 74 000, thus showing a reversed situation compared to the pre-crisis one, which saw the net creation of 6 600 jobs in the third quarter of 2007 for the same number of restructuring cases.
Secondly, the Commission will make all possible efforts to minimise the negative social effect of restructuring, which is the core of the Commission’s message today. For that purpose, the Commission will encourage the use of the European Social Fund for retraining and re-skilling of workers in the new financial perspective of the Structural Funds. The Commission will also encourage the Member States to use the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, the EGF. It is important to note that the automotive sector is already the sector with the highest number of EGF cases – namely 16 – and that almost 21 000 automotive workers have been allocated EGF assistance worth a total of EUR 113 million.
In this context, it would be more important then ever to keep a reinforced EGF in the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) after 2014. This is far from being guaranteed and I count on your support in this regard.
In order to ensure policy consistency, the Commission will consider re-launching the inter-service restructuring Task Force, which will bring together the Member States, regional authorities, industry and the social partners to study and follow up the main cases of automotive plant closures or significant downsizing. The Task Force would streamline the use of the relevant EU Funds by providing technical assistance, reducing waiting time, advising on the most effective use of resources, monitoring and reporting.
In addition, for each region affected by a plant closure or a significant downsizing, the Commission will advise, facilitate and liaise with a partnership of regional stakeholders, led by local authorities who would pool the resources available and prepare a complete package of measures such as measures for workers made redundant, support for reconversion of suppliers, community support, measures to develop technology, and so on and so forth.
In order to benefit from existing experiences, the Commission also wants to identify good practices and promote an anticipative approach in restructuring, in consultation with representatives of the automotive-intensive regions, employment authorities and the sector’s stakeholders.
More generally, the Commission will encourage Member States to make use of labour flexibility schemes and ESF cofinancing to support suppliers who may need additional time to find new clients following the closure or downsizing of an automotive plant.
These figures reflect the current difficult macro-economic situation linked to the sovereign debt crisis but probably also a structural change in the European economy and labour market. This requires clear policy action. More than ever, good anticipation of change and responsible management of restructuring is crucial. If not managed properly, restructuring operations can have negative consequences for the economy of the surrounding area, incur high social costs across regions and negatively affect workers and their families.
The situation is particularly worrying in the automotive sector, where major restructuring operations have been announced in recent months. There is a significant risk that more such announcements will be made in the coming months. The latest announcements concern PSA and Ford. PSA has announced its intention to close its plant in Aulnay-sous-Bois and to restructure the plant in Rennes. Ford has announced its intention to close its plant in Genk in Belgium as well as the plants in Southampton and Dagenham in the United Kingdom.
The total amount, including indirect job losses in the supply chain, could be as much as 22 000 job losses. Moreover, announcements were also made by General Motors, Volvo and, in the supply chain, by Faurecia. While the difficulties of the automotive industry are linked to the situation on European markets, it has to be noted that the industry also suffers from long-standing structural overcapacities.
The Commission is ready to help Member States and all stakeholders to mobilise instruments and policies that can help the sector to restructure and build a sustainable future. Most urgently, the Commission wants to explore all possibilities to support workers affected by restructuring or likely to be affected in the future.
The Commission has already spelled out in detail its strategy for the automotive sector in the CARS 2020 Action Plan, adopted on 8 November 2012. In this strategic document, the Commission announces how it intends to conduct its policies supporting the sector in many different policy fields: research, development and innovation, trade policy, a better functioning internal market, investment in human capital and the anticipation of change and restructuring.
The objective is to boost the competitiveness of the industry. Some actions will thus produce effects in the longer term; others, however, can be implemented already. The Competitiveness Council of 10 December 2012 will focus discussions on these, with a view also to minimising the social and economic consequences of announced restructuring.
In the field of anticipation of change, the Commission will support the creation of a European Automotive Skills Council, which will bring together existing national organisations conducting research on skills and employment in the automotive sector. The Commission will also support the creation of a social dialogue committee that should bring together manufacturers and suppliers representing workers and employers at the joint request of all interested parties.
With regard to overcapacity and restructuring, it has to be stressed that this is mainly the responsibility of the industry, but the Commission also has a role to play. First of all, the Commission will monitor restructuring activities to ensure their strict compliance with EU legislation, in particular concerning state aid and internal market rules. The Commission also expects each individual company to comply with the rules established in the directives on information and consultation and on collective redundancies, as well as with any existing company agreements."@en1
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