Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-14-Speech-3-254"
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"en.20070314.19.3-254"2
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".
Mr President, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, honourable Members, I have followed this debate with interest. Its subject is a serious one. The question is that of how we are to maintain, in Europe, a strong aerospace industry, and here the principle must apply that businesses do business and politicians make policy, and this distinction is an important one if we are to do justice to the matter in hand.
Various speakers have pointed out that, while Airbus is currently doing well, it does nonetheless have problems to cope with. That is indeed the case, but we must also look to the future. For a long time now, the United States have underestimated Europe’s ability to build aircraft, and now, having thrown away their competitive advantage over a considerable period of time, they must regret having done so, while we, in Europe, must watch out in case the same thing happens to us as a consequence of our underestimating Asia. What that means is that, in times when the European aerospace industry still possesses some strengths – in innovation and finance – it must also develop in such a way that it remains competitive and can cope with future challenges as well as the current problems with the delays in delivering the A380, the delays in developing the A350, and the problems arising out of the weakness of the dollar.
It is for the company itself to decide what is right and what is not. I have to tell the honourable lady Member who spoke earlier that it would never enter my head to say that it was for politicians to prescribe the time required for the development of an aircraft. For them to do so would be absurd. That is a decision for the company to take; it is a technological issue and a business decision, but certainly not a political matter. Nor, indeed, would I ever tell a company what it should or should not put on the market, but it is clear that, if a company does not judge the market properly, if it does not review it constantly, it is going to end up in trouble.
Since many of you have had something to say about the workers, I would like to point out that the company told us that the slimming-down it intends to carry out will be carried out in a socially responsible manner, that there will be no immediate redundancies, and that the process will be ongoing over many years. Let me add that it is in Airbus’ interest to conduct in-depth discussions of the necessary restructuring with its workers, who are highly skilled.
The company can win only if it understands the project as a joint one shared between management and workers, if it seeks this dialogue and continues with it."@en1
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