EN Official Journal of the European Union C 175/1

83rd PLENARY SESSION HELD ON 9-10 FEBRUARY 2010

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on coordinated and sustainable responses to meet the challenges facing the European automotive sector and to strengthen its links to the regions

(2010/C 175/01)

I. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

1. notes that the automotive sector is a strategic one for the European Union as approximately 12 million people depend on it either directly or indirectly for work in manufacturing and auto parts supply throughout the Member States;

2. points out that the industry is suffering a serious crisis that looks likely to worsen in the coming months and that will have repercussions for the entire European economy;

3. believes that the current mix of economic and political conditions demands that the EU rethink its support for key economic sectors in terms of jobs and the potential for sustainable growth;

4. calls for a ‘New Deal’ for the European automotive sector in its entirety;

5. believes it is now crucial that industrial contractors and public authorities start the necessary consultations;

Major challenges

6. believes that the end of the exceptional injection of aid from the European and national recovery plans will result in considerable over-capacity in the European automotive industry, which will therefore have to reduce its production capacity. Many assembly sites and SMEs throughout Europe are therefore under threat;

7. stresses that companies and employees in the automotive sector are facing growing needs in terms of training, internal and external restructuring and social innovation;

8. underlines the growth in consumer demand for vehicles that are greener and more reliable while also affordable;

9. would stress the new technological challenges faced by the automotive sector. New sustainable transport options are needed;

Existing European instruments should be more flexible

10. regrets that the existing European instruments are not always geared up to respond rapidly to situations encountered by industry;

11. regrets in particular the long and tortuous procedure for obtaining funds from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund;

12. deplores the difficulties encountered by certain regional authorities when attempting to adapt their ERDF operational programmes to the context of the crisis, despite such changes having initially been encouraged by the European Commission;

13. calls on the European Parliament to examine these issues;

A forum is needed for strategic consultations

14. reiterates the fact that the future of many European regions depends largely on decisions taken by vehicle manufacturers;

15. recommends that the dialogue upstream between the European Commission, the Member States, the relevant local and regional authorities, the automotive manufacturers and the unions be stepped up (1). This sort of dialogue would provide a means of anticipating the inevitable major restructuring and implementing the measures needed to manage the transition;

16. also hopes that the CARS 21 High Level Group will be retained so that it can begin work early in 2010 on a concerted long-term response to the challenges faced by the automotive sector. Local and regional authorities should be represented here and all voices must be heard;

17. recommends establishing a European observatory for the automotive sector in order to support the work of CARS 21, players in the industry and the public authorities concerned;

A ‘New Deal’ for the automotive sector

18. calls on the European Commission to frame a long-term industrial policy for the automotive sector, structured around existing initiatives, building in the regional dimension and contributing to the European objectives of competitiveness, territorial cohesion, sustainable development and the fight against climate change;

19. calls on the European Commission to pay special attention to the need to maintain the industrial capacities generated through the European Structural Funds;

20. urges the European Commission to lean on the players represented in the CARS 21 High Level Group as it considers this policy;

21. recommends that this industrial policy be comprehensive, and include the following measures in particular:

Access to financing for parts manufacturers

22. recommends that the European Commission extend the possibilities for local and regional authorities to support struggling companies within the framework of the single market;

23. underlines the serious difficulties encountered by small and medium-sized parts manufacturers, despite their long-term financial viability, when attempting to access credit;

24. recommends that the European Commission and the Member States facilitate the implementation of a financing system for such companies (2);

An ambitious research and innovation policy

25. urges the European Commission, in conjunction with the players concerned and on the basis of thorough scientific analyses, to support a select number of priority technological options, so as to promote the development of a carbon-free car;

26. recommends that additional financing be earmarked for the Green Cars Initiative and the ‘Transport’ theme of the Seventh Research and Development Framework Programme;

27. underlines the need for bold measures to promote and provide information on clean transport technology and to raise consumers’ awareness;

28. recommends the rapid implementation of the infrastructure and standards necessary for the development and market release of new technologies (e.g. the electric car) (3);

29. calls on the European Commission to begin looking into the possibilities of supporting innovation in the automotive sector by means of public tendering before the marketing stage;

Access to appropriate training

30. stresses that vehicle design, production and maintenance involves increasingly advanced technologies and thus gives rise to new training needs;

31. recommends that the European Commission and the Member States start facilitating the development of and access to basic and continuing training courses on these new technologies as of now;

32. recommends that the European Commission and the Member States encourage external restructuring measures, i.e. moving into new sectors;

Legislative stimuli

33. underlines the capacity of European legislation to accelerate the technological transition towards cleaner vehicles;

34. calls on the European Commission to continue its efforts to reduce vehicles’ carbon footprint, while bearing in mind the capacity of companies to adapt;

35. recommends that all new regulations be accompanied by financing for R&D, enabling companies, and SMEs in particular, to rise to the corresponding technological challenge.

Brussels, 10 February 2010 The President of the Committee of the Regions Mercedes BRESSO

(1) The informal meeting of 13 March 2009, during which the European Commission met with the relevant national ministers and representatives of General Motors, should be replicated with the other vehicle manufacturers present in the EU on a regular basis.

(2) This could be based, for instance, on the ‘reverse factoring’ model applied in the United States and championed by CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers.

(3) The Franco-German working group on industrial policy is an excellent example of an approach aimed at stepping up the development of the necessary rules and standards. Its brief was to explore possibilities for Franco-German cooperation and new initiatives in the area of electromobility.