OPINION OF THE ECSC CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE ON THE CONTINUATION BEYOND 2002 OF THE STRUCTURED DIALOGUE IN THE COAL AND STEEL SECTORS

(1999/C 130/03)

(adopted with one vote against and two abstentions during the 344th Session of 25 March 1999)

Preamble

Motivation

The proposal to set up beyond 2002 an instrument for dialogue and mutual understanding similar to the ECSC Consultative Committee is the outcome of projecting the positive experience of the ECSC model into the future. As part of the current debate within the Community bodies on the need for improved dialogue with the players in all sectors of the economy, this opinion wishes to draw attention to this positive experience and, above all, to dtress the need to create the proper conditions for continuning it beyond the expiry of the ECSC Treaty.

As all industries evolve in time and as the complementarity of coal and steel are no longer the same as at the beginning of the ECSC Treaty, the future organisation of the structured dialogue will have to be adapted to the current situation. However the tripartite structure representing the producers, the workers and the consumers and dealers should be maintained, together with the main elements of the Consultative Committee's operating patterns.

Definition

Structured sectoral dialogue means the dialogue in the coal and steel sectors between, on the one hand, producers, workers, consumers and dealers and, on the other, the bodies of the European Union. The Memorandum of 28 June 1995 on matters connected with the expiry of the ECSC Treaty in 2002(1) recommended that this "joint, simultaneous, transparent and structured consultation" should continue beyond 2002. Furthermore, this necessity was also clearly stated by the European Commission in its communication of 8 October 1997 with reference to the ad hoc consultative committee in the context of the continuation beyond 2002 of collaborative research in the coal and steel industries (see below).

Arguments

The consultation of the coal and steel industries through the Consultative Committee has for over 45 years been a unique example of fruitful sectoral dialougue between the European Commission and industry. In the event of conflicts of interest, all the economic players (producers, workers, consumers and dealers) found in it a common platform for dialogue both among themselves and with the European Union bodies.

The sectoral dialogue as practised in the ECSC Consultative Committee has demonstrated its effectiveness for each of the aspects affecting the industries and the workers, namely:

- industrial policy,

- market trends,

- instruments of social action,

- technical and social research.

The most interesting and innovative aspect of the ECSC has been and still is the capacity to implement a sectoral Community industrial policy based on simultaneous dialogue with the parties concerned. European Commission policy has thus always been in phase with industrial reality. Especially during periods of economic difficulty in which many challenges had to be faced in the field of social policy, the contacts between all the parties concerned were particularly intensive.

As a result of the dialogue within the ECSC Consultative Committee, it has been possible to guide the decisions of Community bodies on the basis of the consensus between the parties directly concerned. The dialogue with industry has also made a considerable contribution to industrial peace in Europe and has made European policy more transparent for the general public.

Using this instrument for dialogue over a long period has produced what may be termed an ECSC model, a valuable asset in the public interest which should be safeguarded by extending it to the industrial sectors immediately upstream and downstream of the sectors covered by the ECSC and to use, where appropriate, to greater advantage by offering it to other industrial sectors.

The ECSC model could also be an important pointer in the integration process of the CEECs, whose coal and steel industries are vital sectors.

With the globalisation of the economy, the European Union will have to manage further sectoral restructuring, which will require specific instruments for managing their social consequences. This is why bodies should be set up at European levelwhich have structures with sufficient and permanent budgetary resources and which, as regards the coal and steel sectors, should take over from the ECSC Consultative Committee.

The Council of Ministers itself has asked the Commission to put forward proposals on the non-financial aspects affected by the expiry of the ECSC Treaty(2). The ECSC Consultative Committee is keen to contribute to these considerations, in particular by pointing out that all the aspects connected with the expiry of the ECSC Treaty in 2002 have been covered by the Memorandum of 28 June 1995, referred to above.

In conclusion, all the parties concerned agree that it is necesary to continue, after the expiry of the ECSC Treaty in 2002, the structured sectoral dialogue between the European Union bodies and the economic players concerned and among these players themselves. This dialogue might be organised, as part of a consultative structure to be determined, along the lines set out below.

Legal basis

The legal basis for the continuation of the structured dialogue might be an instrument of secondary Community law, guaranteeing an independent structure, the right to official consultation in matters concerning the coal and steel industries, and the right of initiative.

In support of this proposal, we quote the communication from the European Commission to the Council entitled "Expiry of the ECSC Treaty - Financial Activities"(3), presented by the European Commission to the Consultative Committee at its 337th session in Dresden on 10 October 1997. This communication introduces an "ad-hoc Committee, which could be made up of members appointed by the Council along the lines of the ECSC Consultative Committee".

The legal act instituting the structured dialogue should provide for compulsory consultation by the Commission on a number of points and topics, and at least on the following:

- technical and social research (ECSC reserve funds and other special-purpose funds),

- industrial policy in the two sectors,

- long-term and short-term market trends,

- action to deal with crises (European structural funds, after being reformed in a more sectoral direction),

- social aspects (European Social Fund, after being reformed in a more sectoral direction),

- aspects concerning the environment and resources in the raw materials and energy sectors, not forgetting human resources.

Relations with European Union bodies and the outside world

The post- 2002 structured dialogue should continue to provide the European Union bodies with basic knowledge of the milieu affected by the legislative provisions adopted by the EU concerning the coal and steel industries. The purpose is to inform these bodies of "the reactions of the manager in his office, of the miner in his mine, of the steelworker in his steelworks and of the mass of consumers", as Jean Monnet put it(4).

The positions and opinions of the representatives of the industries concerned will be forwarded to the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee. The opinions could also be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

As in the past, the right of initiative will have to include the possibility, within the limits imposed by procedures and the budget allocated, of organising meetings on specific aspects, either with the other Institutions or even with the outside world.

Composition and size of the proposed structure for dialogue

The composition of this structure should follow the example of the ECSC Consultative Committe (three categories of equal number representing producers, workers, and consumers and dealers), while adapting the representation to the broader field of activity of these sectors, in particular lignite for coal and the upstream and downstream sectors for steel.

The method of appointing the members and designating the organisations authorised to appoint the members must be modelled on the present method of appointment. The aim is to ensure optimum representation by taking account not only of the best skills but also of the actual availability of the members, each of whom should be able to have an official deputy and to call on the assistance of an expert during preparatory meetings.

With a view to continuity, the renewal period should be increased from the present two years to three or more years. In addition, the composition and distribution of the members by country and by sector and sub-sector should be subject to revision at regular predetermined intervals so that they can be regularly adapted to take account of developments in the situation, while maintaining the numerical equality between the three categories and ensuring that each of the players is at least represented.

The number of members of the new structure for dialogue must be sufficient to guarantee adequate representation of the interests of the coal and steel sectors and their sub-sectors and of representative organisations or Member States in the European Union, in view of the extension of the field of activity to include the sectors upstream and downstream of the sectors currently defined by the ECSC Treaty. Any excessive reduction in relation to the present composition of the ECSC Consultative Committee would undermine the very aims of the structured sectoral dialogue.

Operating budget and secretariat

In order to remain active, the structured sectoral dialogued needs:

- relatively permanent interlocutors in the various European Union bodies,

- a permanent secretariat of European officials ensuring the required neutrality,

- an operating budget similar to that of the present Consultative Committee so that all the members can perform their duties to the full,

- the timely creation of the new structure for dialogue so that it can take over from the ECSC Consultative Committee without a break in continuity.

(1) OJ C 206, 11.8.1995.

(2) OJ C 247, 7.8.1998.

(3) Doc. COM(97) 506 final.

(4) Jean Monnet's address to the first Session of the ECSC Consultative Committee on 26 January 1953.