Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-02-10-Speech-2-323"
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"en.20040210.12.2-323"2
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".
Mr President, as Members said, the relocation of companies to countries with cheaper labour is a permanent phenomenon of economic history. I should like to make a few specific comments based on the statements made by the honourable Members on the role and facility for intervention of the European Union.
First, as far as the international dimension is concerned, it is clear that global negotiations are under way on the question of steel and the European Union wants to achieve an agreement on subsidies because, as we know, there are countries which grant subsidies, especially outside the frameworks of the World Trade Organisation.
The second point is European social law. And I think that here it is very important to know that, of course, the final decision on a company is taken by the company's management, but it is obliged to follow the specific directives on consultation with workers and on information, and prompt information, for them, and Community law on mass redundancies. The implementation of these directives in the first stage, because they are national law, concerns every country and, of course, it also concerns the European Union, because they are European law.
The third point is the Structural Funds, in other words European money for companies. Here we can see two categories of intervention by the European Union. First, as regards direct subsidies to companies. I would remind you that, for several years now, subsidies in the steel sector have not been allowed. They are banned on the basis of the ECSC Treaty and continue to be banned but, where state corporations are subsidised, then there are commitments, there are agreements. A company cannot take European money and not keep to the terms on which it was granted and, of course, in such cases, the agreements are signed at national level and the national courts have jurisdiction to impose any sanctions. The question of subsidies is one aspect of the Structural Funds.
The second, however, which is also important, is intervention in the matter of addressing the social repercussions. And here it is important for us to see that there is experience in many countries of restructuring of the Structural Funds, especially the Social Fund, in order to support workers and, even more importantly, to retrain them. The most important weapon in restructuring of companies is continuing training of workers so that they can deal with the problems of their sector and can re-enter the job market at any time.
So I think that it is important in the negotiations taking place at the moment at trilateral level, between companies, workers and the Italian Government, for account to be taken of this possibility of supporting and assisting the workers via the Social Fund."@en1
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