Brussels, 21/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, which met early in the week in Brussels under the chairmanship of Michel Rocard (PES, France), heard Competition Commissioner Mario Monti deal with the social aspects of mergers and company restructuring.
"As MEPs, we have a concern which is not foreign to us. In this changing world, mergers, restructuring and company concentrations are increasing all the time, entailing social consequences sometimes more important than the legal consequences of EU decisions. The quality of social change is a factor of production. Such is the idea we share in this Parliament". It was in such terms that Michel Rocard introduced Commissioner Monti to MEPs.
In his response, Commissioner Monti stressed that "competition policy is the consumers' ally. It protects the economic freedom of the citizens and of companies, mainly SMEs, and makes a contribution to the evolution of society. An economy that has monopoly situations and abuse of dominant position would entail a less favourable distribution of wealth". He explained that "competition policy also has a direct role to play in market structure". He cited the example of the "fall in telephone tariffs with the rise in competition". As for workers, "they have a great deal to gain from competition policy". There is a fear that jobs will be lost due to the liberalisation process, but, added Monti, "one must also ask oneself whether it is true that competition is the enemy of employment. I would say not". He went on to explain that the liberalisation process, for example, has been "very positive in the telecommunications sector: thus, mobile telephony has created over 500,000 jobs over the last few years". As far as mergers and acquisitions are concerned, "which are operations that have the most effect on the destiny of workers who ask their rights to be taken into account", the Commissioner insisted on the fact that the "Commission has never refused to listen to trade unions. Their opinion may be useful when it is a matter of translating into practice the commitments taken by enterprise". He recalled that the Commission had refused certain operations as they did not present "sufficient guarantees in terms of worker consultation, employment stability for workers or replacement". He went on to insist: "I do not intend to deny the importance of social problems. Economic growth must be protected, as well as consumers. Regulations on the labour market must be revised at general level and not only in one sector for example. Hence the better attribution of resources". The Commissioner noted the existence of "specific national regulations regarding the information of workers concerned by a merger procedure", specifying that "it is more consistent to leave it up to national authorities to act in these matters". Regarding respect of social norms before clearance for a merger, Mario Monti felt it "difficult in practice as the stock market calls for particularly rapid action. The Commission believes in an organised system of competences where the best results are obtained if everyone does his or her work well, and not that of the others. At institutional and personnel level", added Mr Monti, saying, "I believe it would be possible to meet the requests relating to respect of norms in worker information/consultation in the event of company mergers. I have had very constructive links with the European Trade Union Confederation. And, in the context of revision of the rules in procedural matters, it would be appropriate to include, in the formula for requesting authorisation for a merger operation, a reference to the fact that the companies are subject to the obligation to respect information on worker consultation/information".
In answer to MEPs, Commissioner Monti mainly specified that "Europe's power lies in the fact that it has a social market economy, and not only a market economy" and that the "obligation for companies to inform workers is an obligation arising from national norms which are partly the result of the transposition of European norms".