Brussels, 03/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - After being practically bled white by the persistent dumping practices of South Korea, the European shipbuilding sector should know a little more about its future on Wednesday evening, when the EU industry ministers bring the work of their Council to a close. The Fifteen are called upon to give their views on a proposal to establish a temporary defence mechanism in favour of the Community shipbuilding industry, a mechanism that divides the Union in two between the southern countries in favour of the mechanism and the northern countries that are opposed to the principle of granting operating aid. The latter do not have a minority blocking in Council, and so the future of the European shipyards hangs on the position to be adopted by France on Wednesday.
Given the unfair trading practices of the Republic of Korea, the European Commission has set a two-part strategy in place. On one hand, a temporary mechanism for granting operating aid to the sector and, on the other, the filing of a complaint at the WTO against South Korea. The mechanism would remain operational until the conclusion of the dispute settlement procedure. On the eve of the Council, positions are in stark contrast. Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands continue to be fiercely opposed to the principle of operating aid, but do not have a blocking minority. The future of European shipbuilding is therefore in the hands of France, which is also very reserved with regard to the mechanism recommended by the Commission but which, according to the Belgian Presidency, has "hinted at possible flexibility". The Council's approval of the defence mechanism therefore depends on whether a complaint is filed with the WTO. The Commission is willing for this to happen, but one of its spokespersons announced on Friday that, if there is no agreement on the issue on 5 December, it will not be worth going to the WTO in that, as the procedure may take up to three years, the European shipbuilding sector will have collapsed in the meantime. For the remainder, the Council will examine the following issues:
- Competition. Ministers will take stock of the state of progress of work on the proposal aimed at introducing a new system for implementing competition rules under Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty. All Member States are in favour of the reform proposed by the Commission, aimed at applying Community law to competition in a more decentralised manner.
- State aid. The proposed conclusions submitted to ministers on this subject recalls the commitment of Member States - confirmed at the Stockholm Summit - to pursue their effort with a view to reducing, by 2003, the need to redirect aid in favour of horizontal objectives of common interest, including cohesion objectives.
- Financing of SMEs. Council conclusions are also expected on this point, in the wake of the ministerial colloquy in Louvain-la-Neuve on 24 and 25 October and the presentation by the Commission, in October, of its document entitled "Access by Enterprise to Financing".
- Competitiveness and corporate policy. The Council will hold an exchange of views on the Commission communication entitled "Facing up to commitments, and speeding things up". It will adopt conclusions (innovation, qualitative indicators, impact of the new economy, etc.).
- Steel. The Council will examine the ECSC issue, and above all the consequences of non-ratification of the Treaty of Nice, and of the annexed ECSC protocol, before expiry of the ECSC Treaty in July 2002 (after the Irish "no"). It is out of the question that the Treaty of Nice be ratified before this date. Non-ratification deprives three proposals of their legal base. These proposals fix the provisions required for implementation of the ECSC protocol and continuation of certain activities. The Fifteen will therefore have to define alternative solutions to prevent a legal vacuum next July. Other questions concern the continuation of structured dialogue (ECSC Advisory Committee -Economic and Social Committee), the Steel Aid Code and ECSC statistics after expiry of the ECSC Treaty.
- Sustainable development. The Commission will inform the Council of the state of progress of work on the follow-up to the European Summit of Gothenburg in this respect.
- Biotechnology. The Commission will inform the State Council of the issue further to the adoption, in September, of a communication entitled "Towards a strategic vision of life sciences and biotechnology". In answer to the requests made at the Stockholm Summit, the document proposes a strategy that encompasses competitiveness, research, regulation, the international context, public participation and ethics.
- Social accountability of companies. The Commission will present to the Council its Green Paper on "promoting a European framework for the social accountability of companies", an issue also raised by the Social Affairs Council on 3 December.
- Aerospace. The Commission will report on the "STAR 21" initiative.