The European Parliament,

- having regard to Article 66(7) of the European Coal and Steel Comunity Treaty,

- having regard to the Commission written procedure 91/0745 rejecting the complaint made by the Scottish Steel Campaign Trust concerning the closure of British Steel plc's hot wide strip mill at Ravenscraig, agreed by the Commission on 5 June 1991,

- having regard to the motion for a resolution tabled by Mr Collins on Community aid to steel-producing regions (B3-0706/91),

A. whereas British Steel's decision to close down a number of productive steel plants in Scotland is likely to result in the complete destruction of the steel industry in Scotland before the end of the century,

B. whereas British Steel recently decided to close the Dalzell Steel Works, with the loss of an additional 700 jobs;

C. having regard to the devastating social and economic implications of these closures and to their attendant ramifications on other industries and service industries in Scotland,

D. whereas, in its report of 14 March 1991, the House of Commons' Committee on Trade and Industry recommended, inter alia, that "the competition case on the closure of Ravenscraig should be further examined by the relevant authorities in the European Community",

E. whereas this "scorched earth" policy which has been adopted by British Steel to remove Scottish capacity from the market runs contrary to Community regional policy and to the spirit of Community competition policy,

F. whereas it is clear that British Steel plc is taking advantage of the dominant position which it obtained under the UK Government's hapless privatization agreement of 1988;

G. whereas Ravenscraig is located in a region of extremely high unemployment,

H. whereas it is acknowledged that the Ravenscraig workforce have consistently broken production records,

I. whereas the Commission acknowledges in this decision that situations may exist in which it would "require an undertaking to maintain a facility in operation or to offer it for sale";

1. Calls upon the Commission and the UK Government to re-examine the social, economic and political implications of British Steel's decisions to close down productive steel plants in Scotland;

2. Congratulates the Scottish Steel Campaign Trust led by Strathclyde Regional Council and representing all sections of the community, including all the major political parties, churches, employers' organizations and trade unions on bringing this complaint before the Commission;

3. Condemns the behaviour of British Steel for the unacceptable treatment of its workforce at Ravenscraig, its chairman's refusal to discuss the closure of the hot wide strip mill with the Ravenscraig workforce, and for its possible involvement in steel cartel and price fixing arrangements;

4. Demands that the Commission reconsider as a collegiate body the decision that it has reached via written procedure 91/0745 and compel British Steel to offer the Ravenscraig plant for sale;

5. Calls on the Commission to produce a detailed report for the European Parliament on the regional implications of British Steel's plans to close down productive steel plants in Scotland;

6. Calls on the Commission to concentrate additional regional and social spending in the area around Ravenscraig because of the job losses already sustained and the high level of unemployment in the region;

7. Disagrees with the definition of the "relevant market" for British Steel products that the Commission has reached in its decision rejecting the complaint brought by the Scottish Steel Campaign Trust;

8. Deplores the Commission's refusal to take into account the investigation still in progress relating to British Steel's alleged participation in price fixing cartels in heavy beams and sections and its recent fine in connection with cartel arrangements in the stainless steel sector;

9. Instructs its Committees responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Regional Policy and Social Affairs to investigate the state of the European steel industry in all its sectors and to consider the extent to which price fixing and cartel arrangements are being practised; requests that this investigation take into account the aforementioned motion for a resolution tabled by Mr Collins requesting that a specific Community programme to provide aid to steel regions be instituted;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission.