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European Economic and Social Committee

Brussels, 8 December 2008

PLENARY SESSION
3 AND 4 DECEMBER 2008
SUMMARY OF OPINIONS ADOPTED
Full text versions of EESC opinions are available in the official languages on the Committee's web site at the following address:

Registry CESE 175/2008 EN-FR/CD/ms

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The session was attended by Mr José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, during a topical debate on the Lisbon Strategy. Mr Barroso presented the proposal for relaunching the economy to ensure growth and jobs and took part in the topical debate.

The session was also attended by Mr Jean-Pierre Jouyet, French Minister of State for European affairs,on behalf of the presidency-in-office of the Council. Mr Jouyet presented the progress report of the French presidency of the European Union.

The following opinions were adopted by the assembly on 3 and 4 December.

1.GROWTH AND JOBS / LISBON STRATEGY

  • Effective governance of the renewed Lisbon Strategy

Rapporteur: Ms Florio (Employees –IT)

Reference: Exploratory opinion – CESE 1928/2008

Key points:

The Lisbon Strategy is a project for European society as a whole enabling it to meet the challenges of a globalised world. The EESC emphasises that the Strategy requires sufficient support from national governments and therefore underlines that they have a political and moral obligation to agree and envisage reforms with civil society organisations. Taking into account differences between Member States the EESC recommends the creation of permanent dialogues in Member States where deemed necessary, involving national ESCs, social partners, SMEs, universities, other civil society stakeholders including social economy organisations, and those working to promote social cohesion and equal opportunities for all. The EESC proposes that at the end of each Lisbon cycle a conference (as a follow-up to the national permanent dialogue) could be held with stakeholders and civil society organisations concerned to address successes and shortcomings. The EESC estimates that there is an urgent need for a wider public discussion of the methodology and implementation aspects of the strategy and calls upon all organised civil society actors to engage in a wider and more in-depth debate of the Lisbon reforms at the different levels.

Contact: Mr Jüri Soosaar

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 96 28 – e-mail: )

  • Innovative and sustainable forest-based industries in the EU

Rapporteur: MrBurns (Employers –UK)

Co-rapporteur: MrStudent (Cat. 2 – DE)

References: COM(2008) 113 final – CESE 1925/2008

Key points:

The EESC recommends the following:

•Widen the notion of forest-based industries (FBI) to include forest owners and other economic operators such as forest contractors for identifying problems and opportunities from the outset of the value chain.

•Further improve, including through studies, existing European databases recording the volume and potential quality of all harvestable wood, as well as wood use (from both European and imported sources) by FBI, so as to make them complete, timely and comparable.

•Support increased production and mobilisation of wood from Europe’s forests and its equitable use for various purposes at national level.

•Promote an increased use of wood and wood-based materials.

•Support measures to improve the image of FBI.

•Work actively towards the recognition of the role of wood and wood products in mitigating the effects of climate change, e.g. acting as carbon stores.

•Safeguard the sector from negative effects deriving from the emissions trading scheme.

•Eliminate barriers to trade in wood and wood products. Ensure free but fair trade.

•Address the research needs of the industries as defined in the context of the Forest-based Sector Technology Platform (FTP), through the Seventh Framework Programme and related programmes.

•Encourage both relevant EU institutions and industry to pay special attention to enhancing the enforcement of those EU occupational health and safety policies, regulations and programmes that are relevant to FBI, so as to bring all EU countries up to the same standard.

•Develop European vocational training and qualifications for the whole forestry-wood chain, based upon the needs of industry.

•Encourage national and sub-national authorities to recognise and act upon the potential of commercial forestry and the FBI. Due attention should be given to increasing investment in road and other infrastructures in rural areas.

•In conjunction with the Forest Action Plan, develop systems to evaluate the economic and social value of multifunctional forestry and non-timber services and ensure that in future they are recognized as constituent parts of a single industry, which includes forest-owners, forest contractors, etc.

Contact:MrJosé Miguel Cólera Rodríguez

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 9629 – e-mail: )

  • European partnership for researchers

Rapporteur: MrSalvatore (Employees – IT)

References:COM(2008) 317 final – CESE 1908/2008

–Key points:

The EESC is in full agreement with the Commission's communication, highlighting the strategic role of an effective European Research Area when regarding economic competitiveness and knowledge development. The launch of a European partnership to ensure better careers for researchers and greater incentives for researcher mobility would help to stem the brain drain and then attract top researchers to the EU area.

The Committee stresses the following aspects:

Member States must take decisive steps to adopt open, transparent and merit-based recruitment procedures and to remove all barriers to the free movement of researchers within the EU.

From recruitment to the end of researchers' careers, merit should be based not only on the number and quality of publications, but also on scientific results. Consideration should be given to innovative capacity, particularly in the early phase, and, in keeping with allotted tasks, to organisational and management skills as careers advance. Experience in international partnerships should always be highly valued.

Mobility, understood as a period of time spent in another country or region or in another public or private research institute, or a change of discipline or sector, should be seen as making a precious contribution to researchers' professional development, and as such encouraged with financial/social security related incentives, and balanced with family needs. Furthermore, measures aimed at ensuring contract continuity and promoting social security and entitlement to various forms of social provision and their transfer, should researchers move, must be strongly encouraged.

Contact:Ms Filipa Pimentel

(Tel.:00 32 2 546 84 44 – e-mail: )

2.SINGLE EUROPEAN SKY AND THE AERONAUTICS INDUSTRY

  • Aeronautics industry

Rapporteur: MrOpran (Employers – RO)

Co-rapporteur: MrBaudouin (Cat. 2 – FR)

Reference: Own-initiative opinion – CESE 1921/2008

Key points:

The opinion concerns the fixed-wing sector of the EU civil aeronautics industry serving the passenger and freight transport market. The Committee has several recommendations to propose:

  • Set up a new technological development framework to encourage businesses in different EU countries to work together more effectively in order to set and meet their industrial priorities.
  • Step up coordination between the European Commission and the European Defence Agency (EDA) in order to promote the development of new dual-use technologies to be implemented in both the military and civilian segments of the aeronautics industry and to monitor their dissemination.
  • Support industrialists in implementing CLEAN SKY JTI.
  • Promote the active participation of EU countries with a recognised tradition in aeronautics to set up a network of European aeronautics subcontractors able to supply high added-value products and services and help them work together in order to reach critical mass.
  • Support businesses that have developed innovative industrial strategies like "Open Innovation" in the regional European aeronautics sector.
  • Encourage reduced dependence of subcontractors on current principals.
  • Consider a financing procedure that would ensure the continuity of the manufacturing process, despite the dispute between the EU and the USA at the WTO.
  • Anticipate developments and changes in employment by introducing job and skills forecast management.
  • Rapidly implement a set of measures on:
  • making air transport more environment-friendly;
  • passenger satisfaction and safety;
  • the reduction of CO2 emissions by the air transport sector, noise pollution and fuel consumption;
  • the development of concepts that make it easier to dismantle old equipment.

Finally, the Committee believes that the sector's challenges consist in remaining competitive, being useful to the public and broadening its international reach. The Committee therefore believes that the Commission and the MemberStates should promote practical measures in order to better forecast change and minimise its social impact.

Contact:Mr José Miguel Cólera Rodríguez

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 96 29 – e-mail: )

  • Joint undertaking to develop the new generation European air traffic management system (SESAR)

Rapporteur-general: MsLe Nouail Marliere (Employees – FR)

References: COM(2008) 483 final – 2008/0159 CNS – CESE 1917/2008

Key points:

Contact: Ms Aleksandra Klenke

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 98 99 – e-mail: )

3.ENERGY

  • The social implications of transport and energy developments

Rapporteur: Ms Batut (Employees – FR)

Reference: Own-initiative opinion – CESE 1911/2008

Key points:

Maintaining the European social model depends partly on the transport-energy pair, the rising price of which over the long term will affect the lives of individuals, businesses and employees, as well as mobility and employment in general. The transport-energy pair is becoming the fourth exclusion factor, alongside housing, employment and wages. Consumer prices incorporate factors like liberalisation, the euro exchange rate, the state of the financial markets, tax, the cost of renewables, the fight against climate change and external elements. The market cannot regulate everything on its own. The EESC opinion proposes several lines for thought on instruments which should be prepared to boost social inclusion and to promote a fairer apportionment of costs and prices.

Contact: Ms Ana-Cristina Costea

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 88 97 – e-mail:)

  • Future investments in the nuclear industry and the role of such investments in EU energy policy

Rapporteur: MrIozia (Employees – IT)

Reference: Exploratory opinion – CESE 1912/2008

Key points:

In the next 20 years Europe will have to plough investment of around EUR 800-1000 billion (whatever the fuel used) into replacing existing power stations. Out of a total of 146 nuclear reactors, an estimated 50 to 70 will have to be replaced (with potential costs of between EUR 100 and 200 billion).

The EESC callsupon the Commission to encourage the Member States to launch a campaign for transparency and certainty regarding European energy demand, energy efficiency and the various options, including nuclear. As matters stand, it considers prolonging the use of power stations to be an economically viable option, provided that safety rules are strictly observed, even if this means foregoing a substantial increase in efficiency (15-20%).

Itrecommends facilitating investment in a) research into safety and into protection for workers and the public, and b) support for training, apprentice and professional development programmes. This investment should be partly financed by national public programmes, as well as by Euratom FP7.

The Committee thinks that the various regimes for compensation and allocating responsibility in the case of accidents are insufficient and unwarranted. It would like to see, as an initial step, harmonisation of the provisions of the Paris and Vienna Conventions, which do not lay down the same type of applicable legal framework and the same compensation measures for nuclear-related damage. A directive should be adopted, as provided for in Article 98 of the Euratom Treaty on insurance of risks.

The EESC believes that, in order to cope with a potential substantial increase in the demand for new power stations, European industry must plan major investment in knowledge and training and in research and development, which is essential for the future of the sector in Europe. Iturges the Commission to support research and development programmes, especially on fourth generation nuclear technology.

In the Committee’s view there are a number of steps that the Union and MemberStates might consider taking to reduce uncertainties.

On the political side they could seek to build long lasting political consensus across the political spectrum about the part that nuclear may have to take in the fight against climate change.

On the economic side they could clarify what requirements they will impose about decommissioning and nuclear waste disposal and the financial provision that operators should make for these long-term costs.

On the research side the Union and member states may be able to support further R&D into third and fourth generation nuclear technology.

– Contact:Ms Maria José Lopez Grancha

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 87 13 – e-mail: )

  • Energy efficiency through Information and Communication Technologies

Rapporteur: MrHernández Bataller (Various Interests – ES)

References: COM(2008) 241 final – CESE 1913/2008

Key points:

The EESC considers the Commission's Communication as a positive step towards achieving EU sustainable development objectives and agrees that the contribution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in this respect is twofold: Firstly, research, development and innovation on ICT components, equipment and services will allow energy savings in their use. Secondly, the application of ICT at both the production and consumption stages in different economic areas will allow "dematerialisation" of many procedures and the replacement of physical and material exchanges by energy-saving online services.

In this context, he Committee stresses the need to promote medium- and long-term measures to encourage energy efficiency in this domain. The Commission could therefore promote and facilitate plans for replacing equipment whose energy consumption is high due to technological obsolescence or because it has reached the end of its useful life.

The Commission can also adopt a similar approach in other spheres, such as the electricitynetwork, "smart" buildings and "smart" lighting. The high energy consumption of internet servers and search engines must also be taken into consideration and specific solutions should be developed in this area too.

Consumers can also contribute to this effort by using new technologies appropriately, as it is generally estimated that about 12% of a household's annual electricity bill can be attributed to devices in standby mode. However, since the replacement of equipment entails considerable costs for consumers, in certain cases this should be offset by social assistance.

The Committee urges the Commission to actively promote quality certification, precise and clear labelling on the energy efficiency of given equipment, as well as awareness-raising campaigns to inform consumers, businesses, administrations, etc. The Commission should also stimulate the development of standardised and reliable indicators for quantifying and evaluating ICT-induced energy savings.

In all, the Committee believes it is necessary to strengthen the political impetus in the EU to guarantee the resources needed to achieve the proposed energy-saving objectives, with compulsory measures regarding equipment to fill the gaps in national plans.

Contact: Mr Georgios Karageorgos

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 87 54 – e-mail: )

4.INDUSTRIAL POLICY

  • Territorial development and corporate responsibility

Rapporteur: MrPezzini (Employers – IT)

Co-rapporteur: MrGay (Cat. 1 – FR)

Reference: Own-initiative opinion– CESE 1923/2008

Key points:

The Committee feels that it is essential, in the context of the Lisbon and Göteborg Strategies, to reinvigorate local networks, in other words organic groups of public and private operators, structures and infrastructure which, in joint initiatives for local development, combine high levels of prosperity and competitiveness with social and environmental responsibility across the board. Furthermore, the Committee strongly advocates a Community initiative on the development of "socially responsible regions" (SRRs), flanking the objectives of grassroots democracy with plans to make administrations and all public and private operators shoulder their responsibilities, working towards an integrated strategy of making the best use of local resources to increase competitiveness.

The Committee calls for the SRR initiative to be accompanied by a European action plan aimed at:

  • promoting the introduction of the territorial dimension in EU policies, particularly in the context of the Lisbon and Göteborg Strategies;
  • fostering the incorporation into national, regional and local policies of the priorities set out in the Territorial Agenda and LeipzigCharter;
  • encouraging and co-funding territorial participatory foresight exercises, aimed at generating a shared vision of socially responsible territorial development; and
  • launching regional networks of excellence and European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation on this subject.

In the follow-up to the SRR Community initiative and related action plan, the Committee thinks that:

  • the EU should substantially relieve the administrative and bureaucratic burden on the regions' economic and social operators, by simplifying the content and the procedures used by the EU and applying the "open method of coordination";
  • Member States should apply Community provisions uniformly, so as to preserve the unity of the EU internal market;
  • local and regional authorities should fully involve economic and social operators and develop compatibility strategies as regards cooperation, innovation and competition; and
  • the private sector should foster constructive social dialogue encompassing civil society focused on a shared vision that anticipates industrial change.

Contact:MrJosé Miguel Cólera Rodríguez

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 9629 – e-mail: )

  • The competitiveness of the metals industry

Rapporteur: MrZöhrer (Employees – AT)

Co-rapporteur: MrChruszczow (Cat. 3 – PL)

References: COM(2008) 108 final – CESE 1924/2008

Key points:

Overall, the opinion agrees with the Commission's analysis on the characteristics of the sector while pointing out that the metals industry is not a homogeneous sector. Nevertheless it underlines that many of the proposals are too general and calls on the Commission to draw up a timetable with a concrete set of measures covering individual sub-sectors as a follow-up to this Communication.

The Committee proposes cooperation with stakeholders to carry out studies on demand, production and technology trends in individual sectors which, building on the experiences of the ECSC, are accompanied by permanent monitoring and social dialogue. The steel industry serves as an example here as regards to collection of data on iron and steel, so the opinion encourages the Commission to continue to collect some key statistics for other areas of the metals industry as well, since it is becoming increasingly apparent that general industry statistics do not provide enough information to be able to conclude that there is a specific need for policy action in the other sub-sectors.

As regards energy policy, the opinion calls for market and price transparency measures to ensure secure supplies on the basis of long-term contracts. Furthermore, the Committee points to the significance of renewable energies and the contribution that industry itself makes to electricity and heat generation.