Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-06-Speech-4-006"
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"en.20031106.1.4-006"2
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"Commissioner, the tragedy caused by the drastic streamlining measures at Ford Genk has exposed a number of painful areas in the European car industry. There is the slump in sales, 5% since 1999 to be precise, the environmental burden against which Europe may have taken various, but insufficient, measures, as well as the powerlessness of the Member States to have any impact whatsoever on international company strategies. This is why I urgently call for a European initiative to support the further development of the industry within the context of a policy, instead of waiting passively for yet another reorganisation.
This European initiative should consist of a number of elements; first of all, the further development of a concept for a sustainable car. Whoever is the first to introduce this onto the market and is most advanced in this respect will achieve the highest sales figures. If China and India switch over to generalised car traffic, the environmental burden will become untenable.
Secondly, new technological developments need support and staff. Europe must take on the competition with quality and added value as its main assets, rather than cost control. For the latter is beyond our powers! For this to happen, it will have to anticipate the ever-growing component of electronics in the added value of a car.
Thirdly, large-scale reorganisations have a social dimension. By 2006, the next programme of structural funds must be approved. I hope that the Commission, during the revision of the European structural funds, particularly in the light of Limburg, will inject more resources into providing support during far-reaching industrial transformations.
Following that, there is something to which you have already alluded, namely the issue of the Renault Directive. It must be evaluated as an absolute measure. People on the ground tell me that the procedure established would lead to the mechanical application of the directive. Employers are so frightened of making a procedural mistake that consultation is actually prevented from the word go. We should therefore evaluate this directive as an absolute priority. These are only a few initiatives; there are still many more around which Europe could work.
Finally, it is not all doom and gloom in Belgium's car industry: Volvo, Opel and Volkswagen are continuing to invest and Ford has decided to further develop the new Mondeo in Genk. In principle, we should not fear the relocation of the European, and hence the Belgian, car industry. After all, the products involved are highly technological with an ever increasing knowledge component, the end production of which will take place ever more closely to the market.
Commissioner, I truly hope that it will be possible to develop a policy for industries for the future."@en1
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