Brussels, 09/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - More than 30 European regions which have been hit by the crisis in the shipbuilding sector sent out an appeal to the European institutions, in Brussels this Thursday 8 April, for the urgent creation of a programme to help the shipbuilding industry, in which many jobs are at stake. At a meeting of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) on the same day, the regional experts in question summed up the economic prospects of this sector with the CoR secretary general Gerhard Stahl and other high-level representatives of the EU.
The representatives of the regions concerned - and speaking on behalf of around 60 million people - submitted a petition to Gerhard Stahl, and also to the President of the EP Jerzy Buzek, members of the cabinets of the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and his Vice-President for Industry Antonio Tajani and the Spanish Permanent Representation in Brussels. This petition "urges the European institutions to establish appropriate conditions for an emergency programme. A targeted fleet renewal programme is expected to boost regional investments and industrial activity, improve the infrastructure, reduce significantly dangerous emissions from ships and thus contribute to a healthy environment".
A press release issued by the Committee of the Regions notes that for these 30 regions of the EU, the future of the shipbuilding industry is a major priority of economic development. Shipbuilding is a high-tech sector which provides hundreds of thousands of highly-qualified jobs in shipyards and the great many providers of equipment and services for these shipyards. However, as a result of the economic crisis, demand to build new ships has fallen. The regions in question explain that at the end of 2009, some 20% of jobs in these shipyards had been affected and that the situation was escalating dramatically in 2010. This is why, if no new contracts are signed before the summer, an unprecedented employment crisis affecting more than half of these workers can be expected. (G.B./transl.fl)