27. Is concerned that in certain individual cases aid to maritime transport has been mixed with aid to
shipbuilding, which forms part of manufacturing industry and the limits on which have been laid down ina separate directive;
*
**
28. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Committee of
the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee.
12.Reportonstateaidtothesteelindustry(1998)
A5-0073/1999
European Parliament resolution on the Commission Report on the implementation in 1998 of
CommissionDecisionNo2496/96/ECSCof18December1996establishingCommunityrulesforState aid to the steel industry (Steel Aid Code) (COM(1999) 94 Jdash C5-0104/1999 Jdash 1999/
2107(COS))
The European Parliament,
/dash having regard to the Commission Report (COM(1999) 94 /dash C5-0104/1999)),
/dash having regard to Article 8 of Decision No 2496/96/ECSC of 18 December 1996(
1),
/dash having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, which expires in
2002,
/dash having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A5-0073/1999),
A. whereas the Commission Report relates to the second year of the sixth Steel Aid Code,
B. whereas effortsshouldcontinue to be made in future to eliminate obstaclesto competition and serious
distortions of the market balance,
C. whereas under Article 4(c) of the ECSC Treaty, subsidies or aids granted by States to the iron and steel
industry or special charges imposed by States, in any form whatsoever, are prohibited,
D. whereas the rules allow the granting of aid to the steel industry in certain clearly defined cases as an
emergency measure,
1. Welcomes the Commission’s report on the implementation of the Steel Aid Code in 1998; notes,
however, that not all aspects of steel aid are treated;
2. Stresses that restricting state aid to research and development, environmental protection, plant clo-
sures and special aids for Greece represents a sensible framework for the prevention of distortions ofcompetition;
3. Supports the Commission’s decision of 9 December 1998 pursuant to Article 88 of the ECSC Treaty
to initiate a procedure on the basis of Decision No 2496/96/ECSC;
4. Calls on the Member States to comply with their reporting requirement more promptly in future;
5. Criticises the Commission because, in spite of the clear wording of the Steel Aid Code, which applies
to all types ofaid, it has on several occasions authorised aid for steel undertakings which do not fallwithinthe categories set out in the Code;
6. Calls for a thorough assessment of this unequal treatment, inter aliain the light of the judgments of
the European Court of Justice;
(1) OJ L 338, 28.12.1996, p. 42.C304/76 EN24.10.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities
Tuesday18January2000
7. Recalls in this context that in its order of 3 May 1996 the Court accepted that the iron and steel
industry is particularly sensitive to disturbances to its competitive operation, the purpose of the system ofaids to this industry being to ensure the survival of successful companies; points out that this rigid aidsystem is accurately defined in the current Steel Aid Code and should continue after the ECSC Treatyexpires;
8. Calls for clarification of whether the Steel Aid Code applies to all aids;
9. Calls for a number of decisions to be examined as to whether they might require authorisation pur-
suant to Article 95 of the ECSC Treaty;
10. Calls on the Commission, in its 1999 Report, to detail the active role it plays in the elaboration of
restructuring plans and authorised exceptional cases;
11. Considers that the Commission must decide justly and equitably when it authorises /dash or even itself
suggests /dash exceptions to the ban on aid in individual cases, while in others it does not even consider theapplication of Article 95 of the ECSC Treaty;
12. Calls for an expert assessmentof aid in connection with the privatisation of state steel undertakings;
13. Considers a review and amendment of the Steel Aid Code to be desirable in the interests of equal
treatment if the Commission intends to permit aids other than those hitherto referred to at the end of theSteel Aid Code;
14. Calls on the Commission to propose amendments to that effect in connection with the regulations
which are to succeed the ECSC Treaty from 2002;
15. Considers that, after the expiry of the ECSC Treaty, only a Council Regulation can guarantee the
necessary legal certainty and ensure that the strict ban on all types of aid not covered by the Code isbinding;
16. Calls, therefore, for aids to the steel industry to be governed by a Council Regulation pursuant to
Article 94 of the ECTreaty;
17. Shares the view of the ECSC Consultative Committee that admissible aids should give the EU’s steel
sector advantages comparable to those enjoyed by other sectors of industry, but that any distortion ofcompetition among companies in the EU’s steel sector should be avoided, it being understood that therules should be sufficiently strict to ensure that aid cannot be used for purposes other than those specifiedin the Code;
18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the govern-
ments of the Member States.24.10.2000 EN C304/77 Official Journal of the European Communities
Tuesday18January2000