COMMON POLICY FOR THE SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY

by Altiero Spinelli

SUMMARY: The European Parliament examines the situation of the Community shipbuilding industry on the basis of oral questions to the Conunission. Spinelli had initiated the first Community intervention in this crisis sector as the Membcr of the Commission responsible for industrial policy. "Speeches in European Parliament, 1976-1986", Pier Virgilio Dastoli Editor. (EP, 16 January 1979)

Mr President, I am not going to dwell on the problems of the shipbuilding industry because enough has been said already and, if I am not mistaken, we shall be returning to the subject fairly soon. I must say that, listening to Commissioner Davignon, I was rather surprised that, when he told us about the various steps taken by the Commission, he forgot to mention a course of action which, if it had been followed, would in my view have been very helpful. I refer to a draft regulation submitted by the Commission on the use of funds to help industries in a state of crisis by promoting their reorganization and redevelopment. The explanatory statement expressly mentioned shipbuilding as one of the industries concerned.

We shall be able to return to the subject when we consider the draft regulation but I should be glad if, in his reply, Commissioner Davignon would tell us whether he contemplates action on a substantial scale, with adequate means, and has arranged for an estimate to be made of the Community resources required for this redevelopment and reorganization work or whether he merely wants some token figures on a balance-sheet. The importance of this question is increased by the fact that Commissioner Davignon himself has, quite correctly, told us that the shipyard crisis will not be over this year but will be with us for the next two years. It is over that period of time, therefore, that we should be preparing to act.

But the Community will succeed in promoting the work of reconstruction, redevelopment and reorganization to the extent that it is also able to exercise some control over what is to be done; otherwise, all it can do is to make recommendations and say to the Member States 'Allocate aids on this or that basis', even though we know very well from experience that it is impossible to prescribe the real use to be made of those national aids which, under various guises, prop up the existing structures.

This is a matter of some importance because the situation in the shipbuilding industry is so serious that reorganization measures cannot improve matters very much. The problem could be largely resolved through redevelopment, the creation of other jobs, perhaps a pool of reserves, because we must not forget that the technical processes used in the shipyards are pretty flexible as the ship is the real factory and, when there is no ship on the stocks, it does not cost much to maintain the working areas, even when they are not in use.

The essential thing, therefore, is to have some form of artificial respiration, apart from the unemployment subsidy, which makes it possible for other kinds of work to be done while the shipyards are short of orders and until a fresh start can be made on building ships at a later date. For when (and if) shipbuilding starts again, it will obviously not be due to a protective measure of one kind or another but to the fact an upturn in the economy has brought with it an increase in the demand for ships.

I should like to make one further and final comment and it is that the situation ought not to be over-dramatized or an impression created that it is a question of ruin or bankruptcy when in fact the situation can be saved.

If one compares the European shipbuilding industry's share of production in the Sixties compared with that in 1974 to 1975, not to mention the last two years of more acute crisis, it is undeniable that there was a sharp drop. However, we must not forget that we are talking about a drop in percentage which was caused by the heavy increase in the number of tankers built in Japan. As a matter of fact, in absolute terms, the output of European shipyards in this period went up, not down.

Although the crisis we are passing through is one of organization it undoubtedly has all the characteristics of an economic cycle for which the remedy is not resignation to a more or less prolonged period of unemployment but a policy of active redevelopment.