Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the production of annual Community statistics on steel for the reference years 2003-2009" (COM(2002) 584 final — 2002/0251 (COD))
Date: 2003-03-26
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU statistics, data collection, steel

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Official Journal of the European Union

6.6.2003

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Regulation of
the European Parliament and of the Council on the production of annual Community statistics
on steel for the reference years 2003-2009’

(COM(2002) 584 final — 2002/0251 (COD))

(2003/C 133/17)

On 20 November 2002 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee,
under Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The preparatory work was entrusted to the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (rapporteur:
Mr Pezzini, co-rapporteur: Mr Moffat, delegate).

At its 398th plenary session on 26 and 27 March 2003 (meeting of 26 March), the European Economic
and Social Committee appointed Mr Pezzini as rapporteur-general and unanimously adopted the
following opinion.

1.

Introduction

1.1.
The ECSC Treaty, which expired on 23 July 2002,
provided the basis for the organisation of production and
distribution regimes for coal and steel in the Community, and
for an independent institutional system to manage it. The
bodies set up by the Treaty have enabled the Community steel
industry to achieve a high degree of excellence, due in part to
the procedures and production technologies used, and to the
human resources involved.

1.2.
Now, following a number of restructuring and stream-
lining operations which have given an important boost to the
modernisation of the sector, Community steel production for
the 15 Member States comes to some 160 million tonnes per
annum, compared to circa 40 million tonnes for the six
Member States of 1953. The sector
employs around
277 000 people (EU15), compared to over 400 000 in the six
Member States in 1953. Moreover, over the last 20 years, the
Community steel industry has achieved a 40 % reduction in the
energy required for every tonne produced. It has contributed
towards the development of a sustainable environment, using
recycled scrap metal for over 40 % of its output, making steel
the most recycled material in the world, and has reduced CO2
emissions by 20 % over the last decade.

This progress has been achieved by means of the
1.3.
establishment of an open, competitive market
that has
removed all internal customs duties, clear improvements in
the quality and performance of iron and steel products, and
major investment for modernisation. As a result, the European
steel industry is now one of the most successful in the world.

bution regimes based on a statistics system tailored to Com-
munity industrial and investment policies, and on dialogue
between the social partners, who are particularly interested in
training and retraining for human resources, continuous
training, equal opportunities and adapting the way work is
organised to social change.

The most important challenge facing the European
1.5.
Union at the beginning of the third millennium is without
doubt enlargement towards central and eastern Europe, which
will take the number of Member States from 15 to 25 in 2004.
The steel industry in the applicant countries has some strong
points, such as relatively low labour costs and good quality
human resources; but there are also a number of shortcomings
in production techniques, quality standards, energy consump-
tion, environmental impact, surplus labour and actual invest-
ment potential.

1.6.
In order to guarantee the successful modernisation and
integration of the applicant countries’ steel industries, and high
standards of quality, an effective social dialogue must be
established. This dialogue must be based on a systematic
statistical framework and the pooling of best practice. A close
link must also be forged with the elements of organised civil
society, in order to secure satisfactory levels of economic and
social cohesion and sustainable development.

As the Committee has stressed in various recent
1.7.
opinions (1), some highly specialised and locally concentrated

The modernisation and streamlining strategies, along-
1.4.
side the sector’s high standards of quality and capacity
improvements, were made possible by production and distri-

(1) ESCE Opinion on ‘The impact of the enlargement of the European
Union on the single market’, OJ C 85, 8.4.2003; ESCE Opinion
on the ‘Economic and social consequences of enlargement in the
candidate countries’, OJ C 85, 8.4.2003; EESC Opinion on ‘The
employment and social situation in the central and eastern
European applicant states’OJ C 193, 10.7.2001 p. 87.

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heavy industries, particularly in the coal and steel sectors, have
shown themselves to be uncompetitive. This is the case, in
the Czech
particular, with the steel
Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In many cases the steel
industry is concentrated in individual regions; this has had
tremendous economic and social consequences in the course
of the restructuring process.

industry in Poland,

2.4.
The proposal provides for exemptions: from the obli-
gation to collect data, for Member States whose steel industry
represents less than 1 % of the added value of the Community
steel industry; and from the obligation to supply data, for
enterprises with less than 50 employees.

1.8.
The Committee has also underlined the fact that
economic policy measures therefore need to be directed
towards the promotion of entrepreneurship, support
for
SMEs, competition, technologies (especially ICT), an active
employment policy, and a targeted macro-economic policy.

2.5.
The proposal states that the Commission is to be
assisted by a Statistical Programme Committee, instituted by
Decision 89/382/EEC/Euratom. Moreover, within five years
(Article 9 of the proposal) of the entry into force of the
Regulation, the Commission must present an interim report to
the European Parliament and the Council,
to assess the
situation and propose any changes.

2. The Commission proposal

3. Context

2.1.
The Commission’s proposed regulation is intended to
provide more restricted yearly statistics on EU steel production
It also proposes to use four
for the period 2003-2009.
questionnaires to process and analyse the impact of Com-
munity policies, and addressing the following:

— yearly statistics on the steel and cast iron scrap balance

sheet;

3.1.
The expiry of the ECSC Treaty on 23 July 2002 saw
the end of the EU steel statistics system, which had been based
on a data reporting system established in close cooperation
with associations of steel producers, users and suppliers, and
designed to meet production and market forecast require-
ments.

— fuel and energy consumption, broken down by type of
plant; and balance sheet for electrical energy in the steel
industry;

3.2.
There is still, however, a need for a steel production
statistics system of this kind, based on statistical surveys. This
is due in particular to:

— investment expenditure in the iron and steel industry;

— capacity.

Prior to the year 2000,

2.2.
there were 17 monthly
questionnaires, a quarterly questionnaire and approximately a
dozen yearly questionnaires. These were drastically reduced in
2000. Under the new proposal, production and sales statistics
would be absorbed into the Community system of production
statistics (Prod-Com);
the monthly series on employment
would be discontinued; and annual data for employment in
the steel
industry would continue to be available from
Structural Business Statistics.

the significant output and importance of the Euro-
3.2.1.
pean steel industry, which produces one fifth of the world’s
steel, i.e. approximately 160 million tonnes per year (EU15),
with approximately 300 steel
and almost
280 000 employees;

companies

3.2.2.
the need to be able to identify any under- or over-
production (in the steel sector in general, and for specific
categories of steel products),
in order to provide reliable
data for investment, modernisation and streamlining in the
industry, and to be in a position to make informed decisions
in international trade negotiations;

Community statistics on investment and capacity (1)
2.3.
should be available in a format that can be incorporated into
the OECD world steel capacity monitoring network.

3.2.3.
the specific nature of the steel industry, which is
subject to considerable cyclical fluctuation and to sudden,
rapid fluctuations in demand, combined with a supply-side
rigidity that has often led it into crisis;

( 1) Capacity meaning maximum possible output.

the need to estimate energy consumption, and the
3.2.4.
related CO2 emissions that are characteristic of the different
steel production systems;

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3.2.5.
the need to contribute to and check the world steel
capacity monitoring network, managed through an OECD
database, and ensure that Community statistics are fully
compatible with those of the OECD;

4. General comments

3.2.6.
EU enlargement to the 10 applicant countries, par-
ticularly those of central and eastern Europe, which are
particularly active in this sector, such as Poland, Hungary and
the Czech Republic. It is also worth emphasising that the
situation varies considerably from country to country, and
that it is therefore necessary to frame a restructuring strategy
that can provide economically sustainable production levels as
a precondition for the survival of the steel industry without
state aid;

3.2.7.
the need for activity indicators, not just in terms of
production, but for consumption volumes and trends, dom-
estic and overseas trade, and the level of stocks;

3.2.8.
implementation of the ‘Lisbon strategy’, the prime
objective of which is the modernisation of the European
economy, a return to full employment and stronger social
cohesion. While training and retraining of human resources
are essential to the competitiveness of the steel industry, it is
equally important that social dialogue and mutual confidence
in joint actions should be based on a consistent framework
of reliable and systematic statistical surveys,
including on
employment, in order to enable the steel industry to address
changes and developments on an open,
technologically
advanced market;

3.2.9.
the need to avoid adding onerous requirements for
the collection and supply of statistics to the load of already
overburdened steel producers, users and suppliers and national
and Community authorities, by fully applying the principle of
proportionality to statistics requirements.

4.1.
The Committee endorses the broad thrust of the
Commission proposal and its objective of providing key
statistics for the steel industry that meet the needs of insti-
tutional decision-makers, the industry, the world steel pro-
duction network, social dialogue and streamlining and mod-
ernisation processes, particularly in the applicant countries.

4.2.
The Committee would nevertheless suggest assessing
the practicalities of the proposed simplified reporting pro-
cedure, not least in relation to the accelerating cyclical demand
for steel,
the ensuing need for up-to-date data, and the
requirements of steel companies, in terms of investment and
global capacity decisions.

4.3.
An adequate transitional period (2003-2009) would
thus seem to be required in order to incorporate the different
statistics systems (Prod-Com, structural indicators, yearly ques-
tionnaires) into a comprehensive, systematic, consistent and
timely framework that can serve future policy strategy in the
sector.

4.4.
The data compiled through the proposed question-
naires — particularly as regards energy consumption and
balance sheets — may however prove inadequate to measure
efficiency, savings and environmental sustainability. Additional
statistics for the sector could in that case be supplied by means
the survey work done by the European Environment
of
Agency. These additional data should be incorporated into a
comprehensive framework as described in point 4.3.

4.4.1.
Information on consumption of steel by user sectors
is essential for both consumers and producers. Increased clarity
on the outlook for consumption and production of steel would
help to provide early indicators of developments in the sector
and facilitate timely decisions by policy makers. Certain activity
indicators, broken down by country and product type, should
also be made available, as should indicators on sectors
downstream and forecast data on factory orders.

In the light of the above it would appear necessary to
3.3.
use dependable statistics systems to provide a single systematic
and timely framework for all steel-related statistics, in order to
frame and implement a modernisation strategy for the sector
in preparation for a 25-member European Union. The aim is
to enable the sector to cope properly with international
competition, in full compliance with the Lisbon objectives, in
terms of the environment, employment and social cohesion.

Rather than putting the burden on Eurostat, these
4.4.2.
data could be gathered by means of
the statistical and
analytical activities of the relevant Commission departments,
in particular, the Enterprise DG which, in the Committee’s
view, should conduct a periodic coordinated analysis of the
competitiveness of the European steel industry, particularly
in the accession countries. This analysis could also cover
employment needs and trends in the sector.

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4.5.
Explicit provision should also be made for the
synchronisation of the various statistical survey and analysis
systems, since this is essential to provide a truly effective
survey and forecast framework for social dialogue and joint
actions by the social partners.

4.6.
The proposal makes no mention of the accession
countries or the statistics for the future Community policies
affecting them. In this respect, more focused measures seem
necessary, given that since the early 1990s the statistical
corpus of the central and eastern European countries has been
seriously affected by the shift from planned to transition
economies, and therefore needs to be restored and brought up
to date. On this note, the Copenhagen European Council in
December 2002 allocated additional resources to bolstering
the administrative capacities of the accession countries.

5. Specific comments

5.1.
The Committee agrees that an interim report should
be submitted within five years of the adoption of the regulation,
and believes that five years is a long enough period to be
meaningful. The report should be checked in advance with the
companies, social partners and users concerned, and should
be addressed not only to the European Parliament and the
Council but also to the European Economic and Social
Committee.

5.2.
In the Committee’s view, it is important to identify and
define clear statistical criteria for the questionnaires that the
national statistics offices will have to manage and transfer to
Eurostat, in order to ensure the data are homogeneous, reliable
and up-to-date, particularly in relation to the necessary
upgrading of public administration in the accession countries.

5.3.
In the Annex entitled ‘Yearly statistics on the steel and
scrap iron balance sheet’, certain language versions refer
wrongly (under 1010 and 1070) to the month rather than the
year [translator’s note: this does not apply to the English
version]. This and other inconsistencies should be corrected to
bring all the language versions into line (see code 3210 in
French and English).

5.4.
The production/delivery statistics incorporated within
the Prod-Com system, and the statistics on activity indicators
for forecasts for sectors using steel, should all be synchronised.
These statistics should also be made available to economic and
social decision-makers in the sector and to organised civil
society.

5.5.
As regards the ‘Statistics on Employment and the
Labour Market in Central European Countries’, the ‘National
time series’ should include a specific item for the steel industry
under ‘Employment by economic activity’. The employment
data for the sector must be broken down sufficiently to allow
for the requisite training and retraining measures under the
Community Structural Funds.

The Committee therefore calls for the addition of two

5.6.
new recitals, to be worded as follows:

5.6.1.
‘Having regard to the need for a comprehensive,
systematic and timely framework that can serve future policy
strategy in the sector, and also serve social dialogue, including
basic statistics applying clearly defined criteria, with a sufficient
level of disaggregation, particularly for the accession countries;’

5.6.2.
‘Having regard to the need for a periodic coordinated
analysis of the competitiveness of the European steel industry,
to include
with input
from the socio-economic players,
forecasts,
additional statistics with indicators for activity,
employment trends and environmental sustainability, in line
with the Lisbon strategy; this analysis should be conducted
without increasing the burden on Eurostat but rather by
drawing on the statistical and analytical activities of Com-
mission departments and agencies, and on the work of the
EESC’s Consultative Commission on Industrial Change, in a
properly coordinated and synchronised manner.’

6.

Importance of statistics in the modernisation process

6.1.
The Committee recognises the wealth of practical
experience built up within the context of the ECSC Treaty,
and in particular within the ECSC consultative committee,
regarding EU coal and steel policies, not least in the statistical
field (1).

6.2.
It is vital that this wealth of experience be used to the
full to promote the modernisation and the competitive and
employment capacity of the steel industry of the enlarged 25-
member EU. The aim should be an EU production system
that is increasingly based on knowledge and environmental
sustainability, in a context of competitive economic develop-
ment, higher and better quality employment and greater social
cohesion, as set out in the Lisbon strategy.

(1) See the ECSC consultative committee’s resolution of 10.4.2002

on coal and steel statistics.

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least

In the Committee’s view, in order to move effecti-
6.3.
vely in this direction,
there must be a reliable, compre-
hensive and coherent statistical survey and forecast system,
not
to provide for an open social dialogue that
can involve the various components of organised civil
society and promote effective joint measures in the areas
of production and employment, also in the applicant coun-
tries.

The Committee’s own Consultative Commission on
6.4.
Industrial Change could play a major role here, using the
experience of its own members, and in particular that of the
delegates from the sector’s employer and union organisations,
in order to work with the relevant EU, national and regional
competitive
authorities

and implement

to fine-tune

a

Brussels, 26 March 2003.

modernisation strategy for the steel industry of the enlarged
EU.

6.5.
Until now, competitive modernisation of this kind has
been successfully accomplished through the joint efforts of the
sector’s economic and social players and the government
authorities, and also by employing the mechanisms available
under the ECSC Treaty, which has now expired. The Committee
recommends tailoring structural and cohesion policy instru-
ments, together with other instruments that could be used in
this area, to further the necessary strategies, drawing on
detailed up-to-date statistics. The Committee also calls for a
greater level of coordination between Commission policies,
instruments and departments in order to make the steel
production system of the EU of 25 or more members ever
in a context of
more competitive on the world market,
sustainable development that will generate jobs.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH