# CE2004084EN.01020402.xml

| 3.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 84/204 |
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3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 84/204

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(2004/C 84 E/0249)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0376/04

by Luciana Sbarbati (ELDR) to the Commission

(6 February 2004)

Subject:   Crisis in the steel sector in Terni

Subject:

Given that:

| — | the strategic objectives set by the European Council in Lisbon in March 2000 expressed the hope that by 2010 the Union would become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth, with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion; |
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the strategic objectives set by the European Council in Lisbon in March 2000 expressed the hope that by 2010 the Union would become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth, with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion;

| — | the Commission Green Paper (2001) on Corporate Social Responsibility confirmed Europe's interest in this field; |
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the Commission Green Paper (2001) on Corporate Social Responsibility confirmed Europe's interest in this field;

| — | in its Communication of 2002 the Commission adopted a strategy aimed at creating a partnership for the development of a European framework to promote corporate social responsibility in order to safeguard jobs by strengthening competitiveness, social cohesion and environmental protection; |
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in its Communication of 2002 the Commission adopted a strategy aimed at creating a partnership for the development of a European framework to promote corporate social responsibility in order to safeguard jobs by strengthening competitiveness, social cohesion and environmental protection;

| — | the Commission has also stressed that CSR is an instrument that may assist the achievement of the objectives of the European Union's policies, promote development and improve global governance by incorporating existing policy instruments such as legislation and social dialogue; |
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the Commission has also stressed that CSR is an instrument that may assist the achievement of the objectives of the European Union's policies, promote development and improve global governance by incorporating existing policy instruments such as legislation and social dialogue;

| — | the company Thyssen Krupp, which owns AST in Terni, had undertaken to turn Terni into the European centre of excellence for grain-oriented electrical steel; |
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the company Thyssen Krupp, which owns AST in Terni, had undertaken to turn Terni into the European centre of excellence for grain-oriented electrical steel;

| — | the Terni plant is among the cheapest in Europe as regards product unit cost; |
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the Terni plant is among the cheapest in Europe as regards product unit cost;

| — | there has been heavy public investment in the site, including Community Objective 2 and ESF funding (development of the local system, infrastructure and vocational training), from which AST has benefited directly or indirectly. |
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there has been heavy public investment in the site, including Community Objective 2 and ESF funding (development of the local system, infrastructure and vocational training), from which AST has benefited directly or indirectly.

Can the Commission say, in view of the above, whether and how it intends to intervene to prevent the closure of AST's electrical steel department in Terni, Italy, which would entail the loss of 900 jobs in the area, as well as having adverse repercussions on the region, and whether it has a precise strategy for tackling the negative impact of industrial restructuring measures?

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