# CE2004084EN.01090301.xml

| 3.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 84/903 |
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3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 84/903

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(2004/C 84 E/0998)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0891/04

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(22 March 2004)

Subject:   Closure of the Valeo factory in Portugal

Subject:

The French multinational Valeo has informed workers that its Santo Tirso plant in Portugal, by word of mouth, is to be closed because of restructuring, threatening to throw the 330 workers out of a job. In fact, the company has already relocated machinery from the factory to Morocco, and cut the number of workers at the plant.

Valeo has factories, research and distribution centres in various European countries, and has two plants in Portugal (Santo Tirso and Viana do Castelo), devoted to producing electronic and link-up components.

Valeo employs over 68 000 workers in various countries world wide, it has 129 factories, 65 research centres and nine distribution centres; its profits in 2003 were in excess of nine thousand million euros.

| 1. | Has Valeo received any Community subsidy for its factories in Portugal and in the other countries of Europe? |
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1.

Has Valeo received any Community subsidy for its factories in Portugal and in the other countries of Europe?

| 2. | What measures does the Commission intend to take to guarantee the rights of Valeo's workers in Portugal, specifically the right to employment? |
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2.

What measures does the Commission intend to take to guarantee the rights of Valeo's workers in Portugal, specifically the right to employment?

| 3. | What is the Commission's strategy to prevent the persistence of these relocations by multinationals, which are worsening unemployment and blocking the development of various Portuguese regions? |
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3.

What is the Commission's strategy to prevent the persistence of these relocations by multinationals, which are worsening unemployment and blocking the development of various Portuguese regions?

Answer given by Mr Dimas on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

(30 April 2004)

With regard to the first part of the question, the Commission can inform the Honourable Member that the firm Valeo has not received any Community assistance under the European Social Fund or the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

With regard to the second and third parts of the question, the Commission would like to draw the Honourable Member's attention to its answer to Written Questions P-376/04 by Mrs Luciana Sbarbati (1) (in particular paragraphs 2 and 3) and P-0528/03 by Mrs Bastos (2) (in particular paragraph 2).

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The Commission is aware of the phenomenon of business relocations in the European Union. This problem is related mainly to concerns about de-industrialisation, regarding which the Commission gave a preliminary response to the request of the 2003 European Council in its communication ‘Some Key Issues in Europe's Competitiveness — Towards an Integrated Approach’ (3). In fact, several Community policies help to create a favourable climate for businesses in Europe.

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While continuing this work, the Commission also intends to carry out further analysis of the concept of de-industrialisation and to make specific proposals for action in its forthcoming communication on industrial policy.

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(1)  See page 204.

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(2)  OJ C 161 E, 10.7.2003.

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(3)  COM(2003) 704 final.

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