Brussels, 15/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Saint-Etienne at the invitation of their first Vice-President Françoise Grossetête, the members of the EPP-ED Group of the European Parliament discussed the subject of ethics in business and the social responsibility of companies, under the chairmanship of the Group's president, Hans-Gert Pöttering. The meeting was attended by company decision-makers, consultants and representatives of the academic world.
The strict respect of ethics in the political world and by economic actors was highlighted by the EPP-ED group's vice-president, Spanish national Ignacio Salafranca as soon as work begun. Michel de Fabiani, Vice-President of the BP group and CEO of BP France, added to this by insisting on the need to ensure that practices are fair and that international, national or local regulations are balanced and guarantee a minimum amount of legal security for economic actors. Mr de Fabiani therefore urged for "zero tolerance" with regards moral responsibility in the business world. The Chair of the EP Committee on budgetary control, German national Dietmut Theato, also called for zero tolerance in ethical matters to be applied to European and national political leaders. Finnish national Iikka Suominen spoke of the high level of remuneration and the advantages enjoyed by some senior company directors, and the malaise that this can cause in public opinion, especially when there is social unrest due to closure of a worksite. The scourge of undeclared work, provoked by the too large a number of regulations and taxes, was denounced by Ursula Schleicher, from Germany, while her Spanish colleague, Theresa Zabell (who is a champion yachtswoman) drew a parallel with the world of sport. She welcomed the social activities (sponsoring of civil causes) by some of the well-known brands. Arnaud Pellissier-Tanon, "Maître de conférence" at Paris Sorbonne 1, felt that the ethic action of companies is more often than not the result of their well understood interest, warning against the mistaken idea that it would be good to promote such actions by law, as this would, he says, have counter-productive results. Finnish deputy Ari Vatanen noted that the policy of lower customs duties is, in some ways, an ethical support measure for the developing countries. Finally, Laurent Blivet, rapporteur for the working group on better corporate governance and a member of the Institut Montaigne, placed emphasis on the need for transparency and the specificity of European culture.