Opinion of the ECSC Consultative Committee on the continuation beyond 2002 of the structured dialogue in the coal and steel sectors
Date: 1999-03-25
Institutions: Consultative Committee of the European Coal and Steel Community
Subjects: ECSC, economic policy, industrial policy, social dialogue (EU), social policy

11.5.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 130/5

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

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

(1999/C 130/03)

Preamble

Motivation

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:

to set up beyond 2002 an instrument

for
The proposal
dialogue and mutual understanding similar
to the ECSC
Consultative Committee is the outcome of projecting the
into the future. As
positive experience of the ECSC model
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.

(cid:151) industrial policy,

(cid:151) market trends,

(cid:151) instruments of social action,

(cid:151) technical and social research.

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.

is

The most interesting and innovative aspect of the ECSC has
been and still
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 chal-
lenges had to be faced in the field of social policy,
the
contacts between all the parties concerned were particularly
intensive.

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
the ECSC Treaty in
matters connected with the expiry of
2002 (1) recommended that
trans-
parent and structured consultation(cid:146) should continue beyond
2002. Furthermore, this necessity was also clearly stated by
communication of 8
the European Commission in its
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).

this (cid:145)joint, simultaneous,

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.

(1) OJ C 206, 11.8.1995.

the dialogue within the ECSC Consultative
As a result of
it has been possible to guide the decisions of
Committee,
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 conse-
quences. This is why bodies should be set up at European level

C 130/6

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Official Journal of the European Communities

11.5.1999

which 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.

(cid:151) social aspects (European Social Fund, after being reformed

in a more sectoral direction),

The Council of Ministers itself has asked the Commission to
put forward proposals on the non-financial aspects affected by
the ECSC Treaty (1). The ECSC Consultative
the expiry of
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, guaran-
teeing an independent structure, the right to official consul-
tation 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 (cid:145)Expiry of the
ECSC Treaty (cid:151) Financial Activities(cid:146) (2), presented by the
European Commission to the Consultative Committee at its
337th session in Dresden on 10 October 1997. This communi-
cation introduces an (cid:145)ad-hoc Committee, which could be made
up of members appointed by the Council along the lines of the
ECSC Consultative Committee(cid:146).

(cid:151) 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 (cid:145)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(cid:146), as Jean Monnet
put it (3).

the representatives of

The positions and opinions of
the
industries concerned will be forwarded to the Council of the
the European
European Union,
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.

the European Commission,

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.

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:

(cid:151) technical and social research (ECSC reserve funds and other

special-purpose funds),

Composition and size of
dialogue

the proposed structure for

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.

(cid:151) industrial policy in the two sectors,

(cid:151) long-term and short-term market trends,

(cid:151) action to deal with crises (European structural funds, after

being reformed in a more sectoral direction),

The method of appointing the members and designating the
the members must be
organisations authorised to appoint
modelled on the present method of appointment. The aim is
to ensure optimum representation by taking account not only
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.

the best skills but also of

the actual availability of

(1) OJ C 247, 7.8.1998.
(2) Doc. COM(97) 506 final.

(3) Jean Monnet’s address to the first Session of the ECSC Consultative

Committee on 26 January 1953.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 130/7

the renewal period should be
With a view to continuity,
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
the field of
European Union,
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.

the extension of

in view of

Operating budget and secretariat

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

(cid:151) relatively permanent interlocutors in the various European

Union bodies,

(cid:151) a permanent secretariat of European officials ensuring the

required neutrality,

(cid:151) an operating budget

similar

to that of

Consultative Committee so that all
perform their duties to the full,

the present
the members can

(cid:151) 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.

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case No IV/M.1456 (cid:151) Dura/Adwest)

(1999/C 130/04)

(Text with EEA relevance)

On 11 March 1999, the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to
declare it compatible with the common market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89. The full text of the decision is only available in English and will be
made public after it is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

(cid:151) as a paper version through the sales offices of the Office for Official Publications of the European

Communities (see list on the last page),

(cid:151) in electronic form in the (cid:145)CEN(cid:146) version of the CELEX database, under document number 399M1456.
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