Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-07-04-Speech-2-195"
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"en.20060704.28.2-195"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, I have listened to you carefully. I have also read in the press agencies that the Commission declared that the restructuring and relocation process carried out by Opel was considered to be above-board and was in keeping with the rules of the various European funds.
I actually believe, and your intention was clear, that there is not really much point in Parliament and some of our fellow Members repeatedly criticising, month after month, global capitalism or total capitalism: we live in a world in which competition is becoming tougher and tougher and in which the future of the car industry is undoubtedly determined more by Renault-Nissan-GM alliances such as those announced, than by processes about which we are speaking today.
That being said, if we do want to have a role, I, for my part, should like it if you were able to respond, as Commissioner and as the person responsible for these issues at the Commission, to four precise questions:
Question one: we have always championed the idea of the European Works Council and industrial relations observatories when it comes to anticipating this kind of change. We, in this House, wanted arrangements of the European Works Council kind to be strengthened. Do you not believe, from this perspective, that initiatives are steps for the Commission to take with a view to strengthening this legislation?
Question two: the Barroso Commission has proposed an adjustment fund for cases of globalisation-related restructuring – I am not sure whether the Opel case is included in this – but what exactly is this fund about? Can you assure us that, during a transition period, this fund will really help workers that are penalised by this type of process to rebuild their careers thanks to training schemes?
Question three: you rightly referred to the CARS 21 programme and to the Commission’s focus on research and development programmes and on the cars of the future. Supposing that people believe - which I do not – that private cars are a means of sustainable development for the 21st century, particularly for our European cities, it is all the same astounding to note, when we know that environmentally-friendly cars will have to have a hybrid engine, like the Toyota Prius model, for the next 25 years, that European manufacturers are still lagging behind in this area. What is your assessment of the research and development programmes in this area and of the marketing of this type of product?
My fourth and final point: it is quite clear – and the Opel example is obviously shocking from this point of view – that we are witnessing competition between neighbouring territories: Portugal and Spain. Do you not believe that, while respecting the competition rules, it is the duty of the Commission and of the European Union to impose common minimum rules on businesses operating on EU soil, and, while I am not saying that it would be a perfect solution, I am specifically thinking of company tax harmonisation?
There you have four forms of action that the Commission, as guardian of the Treaties and promoter of the European general interest, ought to encourage. In that regard, I regret to tell you, Commissioner, that we still do not find your Commission either proactive enough or ambitious enough on the various points that I have just mentioned."@en1
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