WRITTEN QUESTION No. 462/97 by Amedeo AMADEO to the Commission. Competitiveness of the chemical industry
Date: 1997-02-19
Institutions: AMADEO, European Parliament
Subjects: EU programme, chemical industry, competitiveness, inter-company cooperation, regional policy, school-industry relations













EUR-Lex - 91997E0462 - EN






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91997E0462

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 462/97 by Amedeo AMADEO to the Commission. Competitiveness of the chemical industry  


Official Journal C 319 , 18/10/1997 P. 0081 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0462/97 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission (19 February 1997)Subject: Competitiveness of the chemical industryThe Commission believes that, although it is one of the most modern and competitive in the world, the European chemical industry will have to respond to a number of challenges in order to maintain and, where necessary, strengthen its international competitiveness. These challenges have to do with:- the health and environmental implications of chemicals;- the European and world scale of the markets involved;- dependence on imported raw materials and energy;- extreme dependence on capital and RTD.The various steps which the industry, the Commission, and the Member States will accordingly have to take are being worked out and grouped together in line with the four priority areas identified in the communication on industrial competitiveness, namely:- measures to improve regulation;- measures to make for genuine competition;- measures to boost investment in intangible assets;- measures to develop industrial cooperation.Will the Commission:1. carry out a scientifically based in-depth cost-benefit analysis of the new rules on the classification, labelling, and use of chemicals;2. allow genuine liberalization of trade with economically emergent nations and seek alternative solutions to correct distortions caused by differing degrees of environmental protection?In addition, will it lay down programmes or encourage the chemical industry to conclude voluntary agreements aimed at filling the gaps or going beyond the minimum standards required in existing regulations?Joint answer to Written Questions E-0460/97 and E-0462/97 given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (2 April 1997)The Commission agrees to the importance of the matters raised by the Honourable Member. They in fact concern the much wider area of the activities pinpointed by the Commission in its communication entitled 'An industrial competitiveness policy for the European Chemicals Industry' ((COM(96) 187 final. )): which aims, for example, to improve the competitiveness of the Community's chemicals industries.In this connection the Commission is taking account of Parliament's report on said communication that was adopted during its plenary session on 13 March 1997, together with the Industry Council's conclusions of 14 November 1996 and the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee of 31 October 1996.The Commission is also aware of the underlying importance of cooperation between the representatives of industry, labour, scientific and university circles, and other partners in the chemicals sector. It has already secured, and will continue to secure, their involvement as part of the communication's follow-up programme, more particularly within the working parties set up in order to expand the various activities. The internal market, environmental aspects, research and development (education in training) and external industrial cooperation groups are covering the areas mentioned by the Honourable Member.