Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-03-Speech-3-337"
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"en.20011003.10.3-337"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to thank the rapporteur – who is now represented by Mr Evans – for a really sound report. I should like to express my gratitude for the cooperation I have received from Mr Longo in preparing the report. I should also like to thank Commissioner Monti for his strong commitment to competition policy in the EU.
I should also like to take the opportunity to emphasise that the fight for free competition is a fight that must be engaged in ceaselessly. There are at present quite a few good examples of free competition’s being threatened as soon as the opportunity arises for disrupting it. The first, very telling example is the proposal tabled by the Commission to introduce an interim subsidy arrangement for certain types of shipbuilding. The background to the proposal is that we in Europe believe we are exposed to unfair competition from South Korea. Obviously, many interested parties try to exploit the situation in order to introduce a much higher level of subsidy than is justified by the realities of the situation. Where this matter is concerned, I therefore wish to call upon the European Parliament and my fellow MEPs here in the House to stand by the Council’s resolution from last year to abolish all direct subsidies for shipbuilding.
The next example of an attempt to exploit the situation is provided by the aviation industry which is experiencing a lot of turbulence in these very days and weeks. This has led many to campaign for the introduction of subsidies. I should like to remind you that the problems experienced by a number of carriers are not primarily due to the tragic events of 11 September, but rather to the fact that the airline companies are now facing the harsh realities earlier than expected. The whole sector has for a long time been in need of radical restructuring and, as politicians, we must ensure that the present frenzied and tumultuous situation is not used to introduce a mass of subsidies that are to be paid for by ourselves as taxpayers and that are designed to bail out a host of unprofitable companies and routes for which, as consumers, we shall have to pay the excess price over and above what we have paid in tax.
To conclude, I should like to return to a couple of specific points in the report. I think it important that we should hold the Commission to its assurance that the new competition rules do not mean a renationalisation of competition policy. It is also important that the Commission should continue to produce its annual report on State subsidies, even though it has now introduced the scoreboard for which I myself, for example, have for a long time been pressing and which I am very pleased about. It is also my hope that the Commission will be attentive to the desire for a start to be made as soon as possible on looking into the rules for the repayment of unlawfully allocated State subsidies – an area which leaves a lot to be desired. Finally, I hope that the Commission will follow up the request to look more closely into the possibility of improving the legal position of companies hit by losses and of involving third parties more extensively whenever the Commission deals with practical matters."@en1
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