Brussels, 24/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - In Aviles (Spain) on 18 April, management and employee representatives of the world's largest steel producer, Arcelor Mittal, finalised negotiations to set up a European Works Council (EWC), a press release from the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) has announced. The negotiating partners agreed on the concept of a newly combined EWC, which will replace the Councils which existed at both Mittal Steel and Arcelor before the merger, according to the EMF. The new Arcelor Mittal EWC will represent more than 130,000 employees across the EU27. Negotiations, which took account of the industrial and cultural history of the employees in the various European countries, served to develop a social dialogue between employee representatives, trade unions and management. 21 representatives from nine countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and Spain), representing 18 EMF-affiliated organisations, took part in the negotiations. (gb)