A4-0123/95

Resolution on the Commission communication concerning an industrial competitiveness policy for the European Union (COM(94)0319 - C4-0140/94)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions concerning an industrial competitiveness policy for the European Union (COM(94)0319 - C4-0140/94),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the opinions of the Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy and the Committee on Budgets (A4- 0123/95),

A. having regard to the significant contribution to be made by the industrial policy set out in the Communication to increasing the competitiveness of the European Union, particularly in the future growth markets for advanced technologies (electronics, communications, data processing, etc.),

B. whereas macroeconomic stability - an important factor in the competitiveness of European industry - requires the consolidation of public expenditure; whereas state expenditure has increased as a consequence of the high unemployment rate, and whereas this ties up resources which are urgently needed for investment in the markets of the future in order to increase competitiveness,

C. whereas intangible factors such as quality, innovation and human capital represent future competitive potential and require the acceptance by the people of Europe of major lines of technological development, social dialogue thereon and the development of social and worker/employer negotiating mechanisms,

D. whereas worker/employer dialogue and worker participation in the organization of training, in the modernization of work and production structures and in negotiations contribute to increasing competitiveness, but are not adequately used in certain Member States as ways of increasing competitiveness,

E. whereas, with regard to the main objective of the initiative to promote industrial cooperation between enterprises in the Member States, particularly in what the Commission has designated as key industries, there is still a lack of detailed proposals that would act as incentives for enterprises to pursue practical forms of financial and organizational cooperation,

F. whereas European industry consists mainly of a dense network of PMEs; whereas greater account must therefore be taken of the significance of PMEs to the competitiveness of the European economy,

G. whereas many European businesses currently operate in stagnating markets,

H. whereas, in view of the pressure of international competition, an increase in the competitiveness of European industry will only be achieved through consistency in internal market, industrial, competition and social policy,

I. whereas the Commission's current subsidy monitoring policy is sometimes highly inconsistent if one compares the generous approval practice followed by the Commission in the case of large subsidies for major undertakings with its practice in the case of regional, R & D and PME aid, in particular the last category,

J. whereas the sphere of activity of the public authorities must be modernized, and their future role based on the criteria of a functioning constitutional state, efficient public administration and the creation of a fully operational infrastructure; whereas achieving these objectives does not just involve deregulation (identified by the Commission as a major instrument of modernization) in the sense of reducing unnecessary administrative regulation, speeding up and simplifying administrative procedures, making increased use of market-economy incentives and carrying out judicious privatization, but also involves innovative regulation,

K. whereas reliable framework conditions to facilitate the development of information technology and the information society in favour of industry will be one of the main factors governing the future global competitiveness of the European economy,

L. whereas failure to embrace the information technology revolution, and to adapt to an industrial culture of continuous technological change, will consign Europe to a low-skill, low-wage, low-productivity based economy,

M. whereas all the above points influence the competitiveness of European industry,

1. Welcomes the fact that, in its communication, the Commission establishes the need (which Parliament has long stressed) for the state sphere of competence to be extended to include active industrial policy measures, recognizing the need for modernization of the public sector, simplification of administrative rules - for the benefit in particular of small and medium- sized enterprises - and the creation of a favourable context by safeguarding competition;

2. Stresses that global competition requires companies to be able to perform as 'global players' and that a policy to increase competitiveness must create the required scope for action by ensuring that the principles of current EU competition policy are adapted to the state of global competition. However, industrial policy aims may only be pursued with due regard to fair competition and the policy must therefore be brought into line with the GATT provisions as a frame of reference; calls on the Member States to make, as soon as possible, a coordinated and efficient contribution to achieving industrial policy aims and thereby make an important contribution to the implementation of the White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment;

3. Welcomes the fact that the principal aims of the future industrial policy have been clearly defined as priorities for action, in particular the importance attached to promoting research as a key to future competitiveness and the recognition of the growth potential of the market in environment technology and the market for environmentally sound products;

4. Considers that the Member States should push national undertakings to earmark growing proportions of profits for research, especially in the field of environmental technologies, by efficient fiscal policy acts;

5. Agrees with the analysis of the situation and with the priorities for action put forward by the Commission in its communication, namely the promotion of intangible investment, particularly vocational training, industrial cooperation, ensuring fair competition and modernizing the role of the public authorities;

6. Takes the view that, in pursuing the above objectives, the Commission communication makes a major contribution to increasing the competitiveness of European industry;

7. Regrets, however, that the commercial exploitation of the results of research by companies is impeded by the relatively weak innovative capacity of European industry and a continuing lack of progress in the creation of favourable conditions with particular regard to the protection of intellectual property (patents, brands and registered designs), and the establishment of common standards and mutual recognition of test certificates;

8. Considers that current research and development policies respond only partially to the technological problems of competitiveness;

9. Calls on the Member States to devise and conduct an active employment market policy in the sense of increasing its flexibility and promoting an employment-intensive growth structure;

10. Stresses the importance of promoting sustainable development by encouraging preventive environmental protection and integrated environmental technologies and calls, therefore, on the Commission to present a programme for investment in environmentally friendly systems and technology in order to take fully into account the enormous potential that lies in increased investment in these industries in the future, both in terms of competitiveness for European industry and in terms of the creation of new jobs;

11. Takes the view that the Member States should encourage both social dialogue concerning technological development and the development of worker/employer negotiating mechanisms;

12. Takes the view that the task of modern industrial policy is to create wealth for society, which can be promoted inter alia by social dialogue and worker participation and calls for the use, development and constant modernization of the Leonardo programme on improving individual competitiveness through vocational training; believes that the social dialogue must relate in particular to innovations concerning work and production methods, including:

- gearing work and production structures to the requirements of higher skill levels, further training and life-long learning and making use of the know-how of older employees,

- the interchangeability of training systems, the mutual recognition of diplomas by the Member States, the compatibility of training courses and recognition of training standards after initial vocational training when workers move from one employer to another,

- the training of executives with regard to internal company managerial decision-making structures,

- inclusion of employees in discussions and dialogues on problems concerning the future of the undertaking;

13. Calls on the Commission and the Member State governments to adopt concerted and coherent policies in support of the development of information technology and the information society in favour of industry so as to promote global competitivity;

14. Calls on the Commission to launch as a matter of the utmost urgency debates on the evaluation of the information society, on manufacturing and the services industry, and on a better interaction between research and industry, as indicated in its 1995 Work Programme document;

15. Considers that research and development programmes and the Structural Funds should be expanded to include social dialogue and worker participation;

16. Calls for detailed proposals to be drawn up for criteria relating to targeted joint ventures and long-term cooperation agreements in order to make industrial cooperation more effective;

17. Takes the view that full use must be made of the ability of SMEs to innovate, create jobs and increase competitiveness by making it easier for them to operate within the internal market, something which could be achieved by simplifying access to information on Community programmes designed to promote innovation and competitiveness, facilitating the ability of SMEs to increase their own capital resources, providing risk capital and reducing the administrative burden imposed by the national authorities, and calls for the development, as part of the review of the EIF, of a financial instrument for risk capital, or the development of a securities listing for SMEs;

18. Calls for an active adaptation strategy to be drawn up and implemented for businesses operating on stagnating markets, involving research and development programmes tailored to their needs, an increase in productivity through improved management and organization plans, and product specialization aiming for the highest standards of quality and design;

19. Regrets that, with regard to ensuring fair competition, the maintenance of social and environmental standards by third countries is only called for in international trade and that the need for these standards to be observed is not laid down in the plans for the internal market;

20. Stresses that the internal modernization of industry must go hand-in-hand with the internal modernization of the public authorities, which involves establishing the strategic spheres of operation thereof, integrated work programmes, restricted hierarchies, project-oriented tasks and consistency of service; calls for the use of Community instruments to support exemplary projects so that the public authorities can perform their tasks as

- supervisory bodies responsible for setting standards which establish social and environmental criteria for the labour, transport, energy and further training markets,

- economic promoters in the framework of regional structural and technological policy and policy relating to the middle classes,

- intermediaries and interlocutors bringing various parties together at different levels,

- customers for advanced technology in the fields of communications, health, infrastructure and waste management combined with direct responsibility for determining lines of development;

21. Regrets that the Communication does not enable any clear distinction to be made between the action and policy programmes which have already been implemented and those in respect of which implementation is pending;

22. Regrets, furthermore, that the accompanying financial statement does not give information regarding either the quality of additional human and financial capital needed to implement the measures referred to or the budget restructuring which will otherwise be necessary;

23. Urges the Member States to assess what effect implementation of the measures in the Commission communication would have on their budgets;

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