B4-0438/98

Resolution on the competitiveness of the textile and clothing industry

The European Parliament,

A. whereas the textile and clothing sector is one of the most important industrial sectors of the European Union with 2.25 million jobs, mainly female workers, and a turnover of almost 200 billion ECU from more than 120 000 enterprises,

B. whereas production in this sector in the EU decreased by more than 4% in 1996 which resulted in the loss of 100 000 jobs the same year, with a total of 600 000 jobs lost between 1990 and 1996,

C. whereas the sector has to face difficult situations (opening up of world markets, new production areas, changes in consumer tastes and habits) which call for continuous adaptations (new products and technologies, improved quality and quick response) as well as job losses - particularly of low-skilled workers - and the deterioration of the economic and social situation in traditional textile and clothing regions,

D. whereas modernization of the textile and clothing industry in Europe must include promoting regional diversification, conversion of production capacities, training for employees and environment-friendly products and production methods,

E. whereas there is a need for the coordination of national certifications with respect to rules of origin and social and environmental conditions of production,

F. whereas the Commission's Action Plan is not concrete and lacks cohesion and specific commitments, both in terms of funding and the timetable for its implementation,

The European Parliament,

1. Calls on the Commission to present improvements to its Action Plan - considering the sector in a global perspective as a production chain - to make it more concrete, cohesive and specific as to financial instruments and timetable, having regard to the social partners' recommendations, with particular emphasis on:

a) promoting innovation and the use of new technologies in the sector including inter alia information technologies and electronic commerce,

b) strengthening the interaction between all the chains of industry from fibre producers to machine manufacturers and from textile and clothing producers to retail distributors,

c) promoting training programmes specific to the sector, both technical and managerial, with emphasis on SMEs and female workers and on regions where there is heavy concentration of textile and clothing industry;

2. Stresses that the Action Plan must defend the economic tissue of the industry and promote effective market access to third countries mainly for SMEs - in accordance with WTO rules - as well as strengthen measures to combat fraud and counterfeiting; acknowledges the need for simplified anti-dumping procedures and other trade measures where appropriate, but insists that they should comply with international agreements and provide the conditions required for further improved market access and reciprocity, which are essential for a sustainable and competitive European textiles and clothing industry, taking into account the consequences of the process of globalization;

3. Underlines the dependence of a great many EU regions on the textile and clothing industry, many of which are less developed or industrially declining regions; in its pursuit of economic and social cohesion and notwithstanding the further constraints to Structural Funds financial instruments proposed by the Commission in Agenda 2000 - particularly the end of the RETEX programme - stresses the need to maintain and improve the financial frameworks available to enhance the competitiveness of these regions and the textile and clothing sector;

4. Demands that efforts should be stepped up to encourage innovative companies in the textile and clothing sector, in the context of the forthcoming 5th framework programme for R& D, and that support be provided by the European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund; in particular, ways should be investigated to improve access to finance - especially for smaller companies in the sector, as this access is hampered by the largely negative image attached to the sector as a whole - including measures such as the promotion of best-practice regional initiatives associating the industry, local banks and public authorities, to be investigated and encouraged in this respect, as well as the development of a sector-specific loan-guaranteeing scheme by the EIB;

5. Points out that, in the framework of fighting unemployment, the labour-intensive activities in the production chain need particular attention; welcomes, in this respect, the Code of Conduct agreed by the Social Partners and believes that other social standards could be included either in the Code of Conduct or in bilateral and multilateral trade agreements in order to prevent social dumping;

6. Stresses the need to combat illegal employment in the clothing sector, which has reached worrying proportions in some European cities, and for action to improve the situation of home-workers in this sector;

7. Urges the Commission to bring forward a proposal for the continued operation of the European Observatory for textiles and clothing (OETH), as well-targeted policies in favour of the industry will not be feasible without quality statistical and economic information;

8. Calls for a thorough benchmarking exercise to be carried out on the industry for each of its sub-sectors, with particular attention to employment, SMEs and the regional dimension, in order to obtain a detailed understanding about the competitive position of the industry with its specific strengths and weaknesses, as this should form the basis for an improved action plan to be formulated;

9. Requests that the anti-dumping inquiry consultation procedure be strengthened and that there be greater involvement of the European Parliament, not least in a more rigorous application of the Community interest investigation;

10. Calls on the Commission to involve it in the whole procedure of adoption and realization of the Action Plan for the sector;

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