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the commission report is essentially a descriptive report detailing the development of state aid in the manufacturing sector and certain other sectors according to various typologies such as the method of financing and the objectives pursued |
let me refer you to the explanatory statement for the quantitative aspects of the report and simply mention at this point that the annual level of state aid on average for the period under review is in the order of eur 95 billion corresponding to a reduction in the order of 13 in relation to the period 19931995 a reduction which is essentially due to a reduction in aid in the federal republic of germany |
to put it plainly the level of state aid declared roughly speaking is generally stable during the period under discussion and comes to approximately 12 of community gdp or more or less the equivalent coincidentally of the community budget for one year |
this being the case there are considerable disparities between states which may be measured in various ways such as for example as a percentage of added value and per wage earner |
i think it is also interesting to add state aid and community aid which may be assimilated in some way into state aid |
this clearly shows that it is the four countries which benefit from the cohesion fund among other things which come at the top of the list |
this being the case let me now come to the proposals made in the report |
we note first of all that the committee considers the data as presented in the commission' s annual report to be in too aggregated a form to enable an indepth evaluation of state aid policy which is simultaneously legitimate sensitive to national interests and extensive in terms of compliance with the rules of competition pursuant to the actual terms of the treaty |
the commission can only collate and analyse the data provided by the member states |
it is therefore down to the states and regions to ensure the quality of the data provided and our committee considers that additional efforts must be made in this respect |
it is in this spirit that our parliamentary committee for example has championed the longstanding idea of a public register of state aid accessible via the internet |
having better more detailed information available particularly with regard to the objectives pursued and the results recorded must make it possible for the european commission to itself proceed or to commission in a regular manner studies of the social and economic evaluation of national and regional state aid policies |
and insofar as such studies already exist to publish more openly its own comments with regard to the objectives of the treaties which are not only to ensure the competitivity of the european economy but also sustainable development and economic and social cohesion |
by stressing primarily the quality of the information provided our debate in committee and hence the report which it is my honour to present to you avoided a simplistic response in the form of an a priori statement that the level of state aid was in absolute terms either too high or not high enough |
most committee members have sought rather to find a balance between on the one hand the need to see that both states and businesses comply with the competition rules and on the other hand acknowledgement of the value of such aid with a view to contributing to the objectives of the treaty particularly as i have said already as regards sustainable development research and development and economic and social cohesion |
this being the case various amendments to the rapporteur' s initial draft report were adopted in committee particularly highlighting the need for effective reimbursement of aid found to be illegal as well as the establishment of a league table of results |
seven amendments have been retabled for this plenary sitting |
most of them are an expression of the political differences among ourselves regarding the appropriateness and effectiveness of state aid in view of the inadequacies acknowledged or not of private investment alone the market failures or inadequacies of the market |
there is in particular one amendment let me point out concerning the energy sector which in my capacity as rapporteur i see as particularly important |
i should like to conclude this presentation commissioner by stressing two things firstly a concern of the members of the committee and secondly a demand of our committee |
the concern involves the preaccession process for the countries of central and eastern europe in terms of competition policy and state aid |
this is undoubtedly a complex issue and one where we should like to see the commission informing us of the latest development in the matter particularly in terms of the capacity of the economies involved in the accession process to comply with competition rules and as far as state aid is concerned the need in all probability to have specific rules on state aid used to assist restructuring of their sectors |
and finally in conclusion our demand regarding the future responsibilities of the european parliament in the matters we are discussing competition policy and state aid in the context of the intergovernmental conference |
as you know commissioner our report argues that the codecision procedure should apply in the case of basic legislation on state aid |
mr president commissioner my contribution to today' s debate concerns the steel aid code that is the state aid in europe granted in accordance with this code and which was assessed by the commission |
there were a total of 27 cases in 1998 and the commission submitted its own report on these |
the ecsc treaty is due to expire shortly |
hence what we must focus on today is the question as to how state aid is to be managed in future |
the european commission' s decisions which feature in the report are welcomed by the european parliament as is the decision to ask for the money back in specific cases thus applying article 88 of the ecsc treaty |
the competitiveness of the european steel industry also forms the subject of the commission' s most recent communication which we have not yet debated in parliament |
as in other sectors the general ban on state aid according to article 87 (1) of the ec treaty also applies to the iron and steel industry |
according to this article state aid is irreconcilable with the common market in principle |
exemptions are only permitted in precisely defined cases |
under article 88 the commission is obliged to supervise state aid |
in 1998 the largest case concerned the supply of company capital totalling eur 540 million to the preussag in germany |
furthermore the member states must give the commission advance warning with regard to their intentions concerning state aid |
the rules pertaining to the steel industry were drawn up on 18 december 1996 |
these stipulate that state aid can only be awarded to the steel industry in particular preciselydefined cases ie those involving aid for research and development aid for environmental protection social security to ease the closure of steelworks and aid to help noncompetitive enterprises cease trading altogether |
in addition there is a special provision of up to eur 50 million for greece |
however there were obviously problems with the practical administration of the steel aid code over the past few years that were not brought fully to bear in the report |
as far as parliament is concerned it is important for us to waste no time in getting down to a debate on the regulations that are to succeed this state aid code once it has expired |
there must be no wateringdown of the existing principles underlying the steel aid code |
no one wants an unimpeded subsidy competition in europe |
this would be to the considerable disadvantage of the internal market regardless of the fact that the steel industry has undergone consolidation in the past few years |
consequently parliament believes it is necessary for the steel aid code to be amended in the light of the industry' s claims about unequal treatment and for the commission to provide the council with followup regulations |
we all know that so far the council has dragged its feet with regard to followup regulations of this kind |
the reason for this is that people are under the impression that once the steel aid code expires they will be able to do their own thing again without the inconvenience of the european commission' s supervision |
we therefore demand that once the treaty expires steel aid must be regulated by a council regulation according to article 94 for that is the only way to create the necessary legal validity and clarity |
this is the only way to enforce the strict ban on all aid not covered by the code |
a council regulation that is directly applicable law must also be observed by the regional governments |
what we need to avoid doing in the future is compromising competition conditions and disturbing the balance in the markets |
we also need to criticise the commission' s practice of approving multiple aid packages for steel enterprises which in their view do not fall within the categories of the code even given the fact that the european court of justice approved this unequal treatment where certain individual decisions were concerned |
the commission will be called upon in a report that has yet to be compiled for the year 1999 to give a detailed explanation of its active role in the elaboration of restructuring plans and approved exemptions thus enabling a proper assessment of the overall situation to be made |
once the committee on economic and monetary affairs has adopted the draft report unanimously with two abstentions i would ask that we make full use of this opportunity which we have ourselves created in plenary sitting |
mr president ladies and gentlemen the internal market is not complete |
subsidies monopolies and barriers to competition are still impeding markets and development alike |
national governments provide subsidies and promise that this is the last time but then it happens again |
subsidies distort allocations both within and between countries |
a successive phasing out of state aid is required and more and more markets must be opened up to competition this applies to those which have been turned into monopolies both private and public |
public monopolies are more often than not phased out reluctantly |
increased competition and newly established organisations should be able to provide significant benefits in terms of welfare including within the spheres of education health care and social services |
public monopolies must be replaced by competitive structures |
europe must be modernised made more entrepreneurial in spirit and adapted in such a way that it becomes a more competitive environment for consumers and companies |
effective competition pushes prices down and raises standards of living |
it is precisely upon price levels that consumer policy has failed to focus sufficiently in fact competition policy and consumer policy belong together |
the internal market is the basis for our work |
its legislation is to apply equally to all to large and small countries alike |
a systematic survey of the various national regulations is needed if barriers to competition are to be dismantled the eu' s own regulations too may therefore need to be analysed |
the new model now being tested by the commission ought not to lead to a process of nationalisation pure and simple which would undermine the established competition policy |
in order to be effective it must be well anchored in the member states' national authorities |
in six months' time it may be appropriate to carry out an analysis of the outcome and also to look more closely at the new situation' s effects upon the commission' s role |
the question of how best to make further progress has so far been solved through the idea of holding an interinstitutional congress which will open up an unbiased debate adopting a broad perspective and involving representatives of different interests |
this will provide the opportunity to establish new principles or to return to the more radical changes which have been discussed there will also be the opportunity to find new common solutions and to analyse amendments from the committee debate |
the law must be correctly applied in matters of competition |
wrongly applied competition policy may cause losses in the legal sphere and interfere with the right of ownership which is an important and basic principle we should stand up for |
we have a quite exciting debate in front of us |
a conference where the issues are properly debated will make it possible to straighten out misunderstandings at the same time as perhaps improving upon certain points |
parliament and the commission can together increase their efforts to achieve an effective competition policy and so create new opportunities and new resources for our citizens |
in fact in my own constituency of stockholm we have many good local examples of increased supply and improved quality which have arisen precisely because of exposure to competition in areas which were previously total monopolies |
we would encourage a continuation of the open debate which has been strengthened in the course of consideration of the reports by mr von wogau and mr rapkay |
we hope that the legal points of view will also be accorded the importance which is only reasonable in a state based on the rule of law |
mr president as a new member i am pleased to be able to make my maiden speech here today even though there has been a delay |
i would like to begin by thanking the rapporteurs mr von wogau mr langen mr rapkay and mr jonckheer as well as the commission for their excellent cooperation |
competition is certainly fundamental to the social market economy and european competition policy is a success story take the energy and telecommunications sectors where there has been a demonstrable lowering of prices and improvement in quality of service |
all this is to the good of the consumer |
but we have now arrived at a point where we need to develop competition policy further |
the commission has put forward a new white paper on this containing two key points dropping the obligation to notify and retrodisplacement of law enforcement |
dropping the obligation to notify will mean less red tape and administration costs at any rate |
at the same time this change of system will also lead to more onus being placed on the individual in the business world of course |
it will no longer simply be a case of submitting papers and having them approved for one thing each person will have to take responsibility themselves and that is probably why there is unease about this in other quarters |
however i believe that we should use this opportunity for europe to set down a marker for less red tape |
the second point relates to the retrodisplacement of law enforcement |
if we are to create a culture of law in europe then there is no doubt that the law must be applied not only by the commission by central bodies but also by national authorities by national courts |
we are not discussing the fact that although every eu law is only ever decided on centrally it is precisely the adaptation phase where we will experience a lack of legal certainty |
it will certainly be necessary to develop an instrument for this in the anticipated legislative procedure that will enable enterprises to enjoy legal certainty and to have recourse to the commission in this matter |
the way to a european monopolies commission must be kept clear something that will certainly form a subject for future discussion |
but we need there to be more transparency in the competition policy |
parliament must have more involvement and i also believe that if we were to introduce a register in which we could ascertain what state aid is being granted then this would encourage the member states to be more disciplined |
however when it comes to what the future holds for competition there are two issues dear to my heart |
one is subsidiarity |
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