WRITTEN QUESTION P-0388/04 by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission. Terni steelworks: closure of the Thyssen-Krupp plant.
Date: 2004-02-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Umbria, cessation of trading, employment policy, industrial restructuring, iron and steel industry, job cuts, social dialogue, worker consultation, worker information

3.4.2004

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/205

(cid:1) in its Communication of 2002 the Commission adopted a strategy aimed at creating a partnership for
the development of a European framework to promote corporate social responsibility in order to
safeguard jobs by strengthening competitiveness, social cohesion and environmental protection;

(cid:1) the Commission has also stressed that CSR is an instrument that may assist the achievement of the
objectives of the European Union’s policies, promote development and improve global governance by
incorporating existing policy instruments such as legislation and social dialogue;

(cid:1) the company Thyssen Krupp, which owns AST in Terni, had undertaken to turn Terni

into the

European centre of excellence for grain-oriented electrical steel;

(cid:1) the Terni plant is among the cheapest in Europe as regards product unit cost;

(cid:1) there has been heavy public investment in the site, including Community Objective 2 and ESF funding
from which AST has

infrastructure and vocational

the local system,

training),

(development of
benefited directly or indirectly.

Can the Commission say, in view of the above, whether and how it intends to intervene to prevent the
closure of AST’s electrical steel department in Terni, Italy, which would entail the loss of 900 jobs in the
area, as well as having adverse repercussions on the region, and whether it has a precise strategy for
tackling the negative impact of industrial restructuring measures?

(2004/C 84 E/0250)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0388/04

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

Subject: Terni steelworks: closure of the Thyssen-Krupp plant

(6 February 2004)

Thyssen-Krupp Electrical Steel, a German multinational producing electrical steel, has announced its
decision to discontinue production at the AST plant in Terni.

The site, which currently also produces stainless steel, since it can split the cost of the melting apparatus
with the electrical sector, was separated from the company about three years ago, after the privatisation of
the State-owned company ILVA, which caused enormous job losses, reducing the workforce from 7 000 to
3 000.

This closure would now cause 900 workers to be laid off, including the company’s own employees and
others working in related industries, lost turnover of EUR 140 million and the loss of 90 000 tonnes of
‘grain-oriented’ electrical steel (cid:1) a very high quality product (cid:1) per year, the end of the largest industrial
group in Terni and the whole region and the discontinuation of an industry which, by virtue of the
workers’ high level of professional skills, has a significant national strategic value.

The loss of some portions of the market, in some cases owing to obvious errors in commercial and
led Thyssen-Krupp to take the decision (cid:1) with the backing of the findings of a
production activities,
market survey which seem to be misleading (cid:1) to transfer this branch of the business to France or
Germany and to reject any possibility of selling the business, since this would encourage and provide
production capacity for competition in Italy, a country which buys 60 % of all European electrical steel
production and would in the future be obliged to obtain it from abroad.

In view of the serious consequences on both the job front and for the regional and national economy, the
fact that Thyssen-Krupp’s closedown of this activity in Italy may seriously upset the established equilibrium
of competition on the European market, and in view of the high level of excellence of this plant’s steel
production at European level,

can the Commission say:

1. how the EU might intervene to safeguard the future of the workers in Terni and the region’s economy;

C 84 E/206

Official Journal of the European Union

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3.4.2004

2. whether the decision taken by Thyssen-Krupp is lawful within the meaning of European legal
provisions concerning the social impact of industrial restructuring, including Directive 98/59/EC (1) on
collective redundancies, Directive 2001/23/EC (2) on transfers of businesses, Directive 94/45/EC (3) and
Directive 2002/14/EC (4) on informing and consulting employees;

3. whether this action is also lawful within the meaning of competition law, in particular as regards
concentrations between undertakings and the abuse of a dominant position, within the meaning of
Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 (5) and Article 82 of the Treaty, as interpreted by the Court of Justice
(C 85/76 and C 70/89)?

(1) OJ L 225, 12.8.1998, p. 16.
(2) OJ L 82, 22.3.2001, p. 16.
(3) OJ L 254, 30.9.1994, p. 64.
(4) OJ L 80, 23.3.2002, p. 29.
(5) OJ L 395, 30.12.1989, p. 1.

(2004/C 84 E/0251)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0445/04

by Mario Mastella (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(10 February 2004)

Subject: Crisis at the AST plant in Terni

The German group Thyssen-Krupp, the leading steel producer which owns the AST plant at Terni in Italy,
recently announced the closure of the electrical steel department there.

This decision will affect at least 900 workers, including those in related industries. The closure seems
totally unjustified and has aroused considerable dismay and prompted strong protest from the workers
involved and the trade unions represented in the firm. The closure would entail the dismantling of a well-
established industrial centre which is at the forefront of the industry because of its facilities, equipment
and, above all, the highly skilled workforce, and would have significant social repercussions, since it
contributes to a high level of employment in the area, especially among young people.

Can the Commission therefore:

(cid:1) ascertain whether the decision was taken in accordance with the European directives safeguarding
workers and whether, more specifically, it may constitute an infringement of Regulation (EC) No 2204/
2002 (1) of 12 December 2002 on State aid for employment;

(cid:1) ascertain whether consultations were held in good time between management and workers’

representatives, as stipulated in Article 2 of Council Directive 98/59/EC (2);

(cid:1) state, finally, what steps it will take to safeguard the future of the 900 workers, since Italy continues to

have one of the highest rates of unemployment in the European Union?

(1) OJ L 337, 13.12.2002, p. 3.
(2) OJ L 225, 12.8.1998, p. 16.

Joint answer
to Written Questions P-0376/04, P-0388/04 and P-0445/04
given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(5 March 2004)

The Commission has no authority to prevent or defer the closure of a company or a part thereof. It falls to
the social partners and other third parties to negotiate with the company a possible alternative.
The Commission hopes, however, that it will be possible to find an acceptable solution in order to alleviate
the important impact for the region affected by this restructuring.