WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3870/97 by Amedeo AMADEO to the Commission. Competitiveness of European industry
Date: 1997-12-05
Institutions: AMADEO, European Parliament
Subjects: European industrial area, aid to undertakings, business policy, competitiveness, economic and social cohesion, economic convergence, handicrafts, innovation, research and development, small and medium-sized enterprises

22. 6. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 196/25

The complaint lodged with the Commission did not contain any particularly significant elements that would

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help clarify the case.

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The Commission guarantees confidentiality to any complainant.

The Honourable Member will be informed as soon as possible of the results of any further contacts that the

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Commission has with the Italian authorities with a view to clarifying matters.

(98/C 196/35)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3870/97

by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission

(5 December 1997)

Subject: Competitiveness of European industry

The Commission has submitted a communication on benchmarking › implementation of an instrument available
to economic actors and public authorities (COM(97) 153 final), which can serve as an appropriate basis for using
an instrument of comparative analysis of competitiveness.

This initiative needs to be fully consistent with other Community policies, particularly in the fields of research
and development, innovation, economic and social cohesion and undertakings.

Will the Commission use benchmarking to measure the efficiency of the policies it has adopted (internal market,
regional policy, research and development)?

Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission

(30 January 1998)

The Commission welcomes the endorsement of its view that benchmarking can equip the Community with a
powerful tool to compare performance in the different key areas and factors that determine economic success. In
this  regard,  the  Commission  believes  that  benchmarking  can  play  an  important  role  in  the  evaluation  of
Community policies.

With  a  view  to  fostering  widespread  adoption  of  benchmarking  as  an  instrument  for  influencing  policy
directions, the Commission is currently implementing a number of pilot projects in key policy areas affecting
framework conditions. The pilot project process will allow an effective working methodology for benchmarking
to evolve through a consensus approach, involving all relevant parties and based on transparency, dialogue and
expertise.  It  is  envisaged  that  the  methodology  being  developed  through  this  process  will  subsequently  be
applied systematically in a wide range of areas, including other Community policies.

The Commission would also point out that initial steps towards benchmarking of the other Community policies
identified  in  the  question  are  already  underway.  The  internal  market  action  plan  represents  a  form  of
benchmarking under which progress against targets will be monitored on an ongoing basis. Under the integrated
programme for small and medium entreprises (SMEs) and the craft sector (1), the Commission and the Member
States will develop concerted actions under which benchmarking will play an important role in promoting best
practice in the area of administrative simplification and support measures for enterprises.

In  the  case  of  economic  and  social  cohesion,  it  is  already  the  case  that  regional  development  programmes
co-financed  by  the  Community  in  principle  contain  quantified  targets  based  on  analysis  of  inter-regional
differences in economic performance and competitiveness. The effectiveness of the programmes ex post is then
assessed against the quantified targets established initially.

(1)  COM(96) 329 final.