RESOLUTION B3-0389, 0406 and 0415/93

Resolution on the European steel industry

The European Parliament,

-having regard to its resolution of 29 October 1992 on the situation in the European steel industry,

-having regard to the conclusions of the Council of Ministers meeting of 25 February 1993,

A.whereas a Community industrial strategy involving firms, the Community authorities and the Member States is needed for the European steel industry, not least in order to reduce over-capacity, the structural cause of the crisis, and to create a sound industrial base,

B.whereas it has emerged from the report by Mr Braun, the independent expert on reduction of capacity in the European steel industry, that:

-many firms find Article 53(a) of the ECSC Treaty difficult to apply, because it presupposes common objectives and interests which do not exist as things stand,

-with regard to the possible closures, the financial arrangements, particularly the closure premiums, have not been agreed,

-some firms, which see better prospects for prices in coming months, are making their commitment to the plant closure programme contingent on a significant increase in prices,

-some other firms, and certain national trade unions, regard the application of Article 58 of the ECSC Treaty as essential,

C.whereas responsibility for restructuring rests with the industry, which has no option but to make it work,

D.whereas, however, the Commission should not hesitate to use the powers allocated to it by the ECSC Treaty if necessary to guarantee the success of the restructuring programme,

E.whereas:

-the market must not be allowed to act as a regulator, because the risk of consolidating dominant positions and encouraging an escalation in direct and indirect state aid is too great;

-even if prices rise, which is far from certain, this will not remove the cause of the crisis, but may instead create the illusion that it has been overcome, even though the requisite capacity reductions have not been carried out;

F.having regard to the importance for the Community of trade relations with the rest of the world,

1.Approves the Commission's change of approach vis-à-vis its communication of November 1992, as revealed at the Council meeting of 25 February 1993: this involves the application not only of Articles 53(a) and 56(b) of the ECSC Treaty, but also of Articles 46, 65 and 66; stipulates, however, that should the plan fail, or the situation in the industry worsen considerably, the Commission must be in a position to apply the measures provided for in Articles 58 and 61 of the ECSC Treaty; regrets the fact that a deadline of 30 September 1993 has been set for the submission by the industry of a recovery plan, because the disastrous situation of the steel industry calls for action at the earliest possible juncture, and calls on the Commission to bring the deadline forward;

2.Regards it as essential that every possible effort should be made to mobilize the EC and ECSC budget resources available and the budget resources of the Member States to offset social costs and calls, therefore, on the Commission also to consider using the ECSC reserves - steel - and for the standard agreement between the Commission and the Member States laying down the procedures and conditions for the payment of the aid provided for in Article 56(1) and (2)(b) of the ECSC Treaty to be amended;

3.Stresses that the implementation of accompanying measures in the form of social assistance, structural improvements and possible derogations from the Aids Code must be made strictly contingent on a firm commitment to a programme of capacity reduction, to be carried out by the industry on a voluntary basis;

4.Stresses the importance, following the completion of the RESIDER programme, of using the Structural Funds to finance conversion and retraining programmes; stresses, in addition, the need to redefine Objective 4 in line with this aim;

5.Calls on the Commission to keep it constantly informed of developments in trade relations with the countries of Eastern Europe (CCEE - countries of Central and Eastern Europe - and CIS) and with the United States, and urges its interparliamentary delegations to monitor these developments;

6.Takes the view that price adjustments for imports from Eastern Europe and the CIS must be negotiated but, should no agreement be reached, negotiations should also be held on tariff quotas;

7.Calls on the Community to adopt a firm, consistent position in response to the unacceptable decisions taken by the United States and urges the Commission to pursue negotiations for a new multilateral agreement;

8.Calls on the Commission formally to consult the trade unions when laying down general objectives and, more particularly, when framing social accompanying measures;

9.Calls on the Commission, following the Council meeting of 25 February 1993 and on the basis of the guidelines put forward by the European Parliament, to specify:

-the budget measures needed to cover all the social costs,

-the exact timetable for the measures which the Commission plans to implement in line with the conclusions reached at that Council meeting;

10.Calls on the Commission to report to the European Parliament on the current situation prior to the Council meeting in May 1993;

11.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments of the Member States.