WRITTEN QUESTION E-2106/97 by Gérard Caudron (PSE) to the Commission (23 June 1997)

Subject: Action plan for textiles

After a great deal of hesitation, the new French plan for the textile industry appears to have secured the backing of the Commission.

However, industrialists and workers in the sector remain concerned about its implementation.

There are many who believe that, if it can adjust to current market conditions, the textile industry could be a key sector of European industry.

It is widely appreciated, however, that special measures are needed to deal with the current conditions of competition, which are sometimes unfair and unjust.

Will the Commission say what its intentions are in this field and report on the many consultations it held on this subject in 1996?

Will it also say what special plans it has for the textile industry as part of a wider industrial strategy?

Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (4 September 1997)

On 9 April 1997 the Commission adopted a final decision ((COM(97) 1162 final. )) rejecting the experimental measures introduced by France to reduce social security costs in the textile, clothing, leather and footwear sector.

The Commission considered that the costs arising from agreements between the two sides of any given industry should be borne by the undertakings themselves. It therefore concluded that this measure is, by nature, fully State aid.

The sectoral nature of the aid made it impossible for the Commission to grant the derogations provided for in the guidelines on aid to employment ((OJ C 334, 12.12.1995. )).

In response to this decision, the French authorities have announced that they intend to submit a new cost-relief plan to the Commission.

The Commission shares the Honourable Member's view that textiles could remain a key sector of European industry. To this end, the Commission is ensuring strict compliance with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and discipline on international competition and will continue to apply the instruments at its disposal in compliance with its international commitments.

In this context, in 1996 the Commission submitted two communications to the Council and Parliament - one on the impact of international developments on the Community's textile and clothing sector ((COM(95) 447 final. )), which was examined at the March 1996 Council meeting on industry, the other on the competitiveness of subcontracting in the textile and clothing industry ((COM(96) 210 final. )), which was examined by the Council in November 1996.

In addition, working parties made up of representatives of both sides of the industry, the Member States and the Commission examined all the problems facing this sector over the last few months of 1996 and at the start of 1997. Based on a report by both sides of the industry, the Commission is preparing an assessment of this approach and the conclusions which it feels should be drawn.

The industrial strategy for the textile and clothing sector fits in with the Commission's industrial policy guidelines set out in a series of recent communications (('Industrial policy in an open and competitive environment - guidelines for a Community approach' (COM(90) 556 final); 'An industrial competitiveness policy for the European Union' (COM(94) 319 final); 'Benchmarking the competitiveness of European industry' (COM(96) 463 final). )). These guidelines lay down a general framework, taking account of the specific features of each sector. The objectives of guaranteeing an environment conducive to industrial activity and of developing and reinforcing the competitive advantages of the European Union's textile and clothing industry ensure the consistency of the initiatives taken by the Commission.