COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 16 May 1994 on the automobile industry (94/C 149/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union,

Having regard to the Commission communication of November 1990 on industrial policy in an open and competitive environment,

Having regard to the Commission's White Paper of December 1993 on growth, competitiveness and employment,

Having regard to the Commission communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council of February 1994 on the European Union automobile industry,

Having regard to the discussions held at the Auto Forum of 1 March 1994, sponsored by the Commission and the European Parliament,

Whereas the Union's automobile industry - which for this resolution covers both component and vehicle manufacturing - is, and will continue to be, of paramount importance to the Union's economy in terms of employment directly and indirectly depending on it, in terms of its contribution to the economy of the Union and its trade balance, and also in terms of its role in spearheading technological advancement and progress in the organization of production;

Whereas the automobile industry must continue to adapt its products to meet societal demands for clean, safe, efficient, quality and value cars;

Whereas the automobile industry must make additional efforts to respond to increasing environmental requirements and concerns;

Whereas competition is forcing European Union car and component manufacturers to undertake substantial restructuring with the objective of increasing productivity and cost effectiveness along the supply, manufacturing and distribution chain; whereas, in the supply sector, structural adjustment will be particularly important;

Whereas restructuring is taking place against a background of a severe downturn in demand in the Union in 1993;

Whereas it is essential that closer partnership relations between producers and suppliers and between producers and distributors be developed, in order to improve efficiency and competitiveness;

Whereas the main responsibility for improving industrial competitiveness lies with all elements of the industry themselves;

Whereas the role of the public authorities is to provide the industry with a clear, stable and predictable framework for their activities and to ensure an environment favourable to competitiveness;

Whereas the Union's approach to industrial policy centres on the completion of the internal market, the application of the competition rules, the use of horizontal policy instruments in the field of research and development and structural funds and on assuring equal access to markets and fair competition on a global scale;

Whereas strong efforts in the field of research and development, particularly in the areas of both product, process and production technology, are vital for the future competitive position of this industry;

Whereas the structural adjustment of the automobile industry, which presents different characteristics in the Member States, has important regional and social effects;

Whereas the necessary introduction of new technologies within the automobile sector depends crucially on the availability of people with the relevant skills and whereas that might entail reconversion of parts of the labour force on all levels;

Whereas it is essential for the European automobile industry to have better access to third country markets;

Confirming the conclusions of its resolution of 17 June 1992 (1),

HEREBY ADOPTS THIS RESOLUTION:

I

THE COUNCIL:

1. recognizes that the Union has an important role to play in creating a favourable business environment for the automobile industry which sets an appropriate framework for a future-oriented and coherent approach to the development, production, distribution and use of the automobile and its impact on the environment and on society as a whole;

2. underlines that the structural adjustment of the industry and measures to facilitate such adjustment are a matter of urgency, in order to prepare the full opening of the European Union market to Japanese competition in the year 2000 and in the light of the emergence of new strong competitors from other countries;

3. recognizes that to be successful, structural adjustment must take place in a stable and predictable regulatory policy environment, which takes account of the cost-effectiveness of regulatory measures, including their impact on the automobile industry's overall competitiveness, whilst giving industry sufficient lead time to adapt to necessary regulatory changes;

4. underlines the growing importance of component manufacturing and the further development of the outsourcing of systems and component production to suppliers within the automobile manufacturing value added chain, which is essential to increase the competitiveness of the automobile sector as a whole;

5. recognizes that, where appropriate for the proper functioning of the internal market, consideration should be given to further harmonization of relevant legislation concerning the automobile sector;

6. emphasizes that the environmental problems related to the use of automobiles - emissions, noise, congestion and solid waste from the scrapping of used vehicles - must be progressively and significantly reduced; in this context, the Council welcomes the adoption of Directive 94/12/EEC (2), which should lead to a further reduction of car emissions from 1996 for new vehicle types;

7. emphasizes that the Commission should reach a decision quickly on how Regulation (EEC) No 123/85 (3) on selective and exclusive distribution in the automobile industry should be applied in the future, taking account of the specific nature of, and competition in, the sector, the functioning of the said Regulation, progress in the internal market, the need to reinforce partnership relations between different elements of the distribution chain, in order to improve industrial efficiency and competitiveness, the balance of interests between the parties concerned (constructors, parts producers, distributors, consumers) and the contribution that the Regulation makes to the efficient management of the arrangement between Japan and the European Union on trade in automobiles which should not be weakened in any way;

8. emphasizes that public policy in the field of R& TD must be optimized through effective coordination of Union, national and Eureka programmes and projects; with regard to Community programmes under the fourth framework programme, a strengthened dialogue with appropriate industrial panels and better coordination and consultation between individual research programmes should be achieved in order to achieve the best long-term return on R& TD investment in terms of sustained industrial competitiveness throughout the industry;

9. emphasizes the need to enhance efforts relating to the provision of training at all levels in order to:

- anticipate the effects of restructuring on employment; in this context, training programmes based on the introduction of new production methods and to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to adapt to new forms of cooperation with major companies are of particular relevance,

- make changes economically efficient and socially acceptable,

- help in retraining and redeployment,

- promote best practice within the industry.

Community horizontal instruments can support the industry's own efforts, notably through Structural Funds, while complying with the powers that the Regulations on the Structural Funds confer on the Member States, in particular in the framework of industrial mutations, and through the use of appropriate Community initiative programmes;

10. emphasizes that, in order to support the Community's policy of international trade and competition, it is necessary to eliminate barriers preventing the European automobile industry from penetrating high-growth third markets, including barriers in the field of technical regulations, distribution, competition policy and foreign investment;

11. takes the view that, for the necessary changes to materialize, and for the European industry to become more flexible and more competitive, dialogue between the social partners should take place based on mutual trust, at the appropriate level, and according to national practices.

II

THE COUNCIL INVITES THE COMMISSION to encourage, within the horizontal industrial policy framework adopted by the Union, the structural adjustment process of the industry which is vital to its improved competitiveness and thereby to its future and in particular:

1. to coordinate and organize its programmes in the field of R& TD in such a way as to cover themes relevant to improved competitiveness, to facilitate access to the programmes for component suppliers notably small and medium-sized undertakings as well as their participation in consortia with vehicle manufacturers, to improve the dissemination of research results, and to facilitate industry planning in this sphere by presenting a clear view on the possibilities of funding projects covering several programme activities; in this context, the dialogue with industry should be further developed;

2. to encourage industrial cooperation by small and medium-sized undertakings in the components sector both among themselves and with the vehicle manufacturers in order to bolster improved and faster exploitation of R& D results to obtain new products and in order to strengthen improvements in production procedures and the organization of work, areas in which the European industry lags behind its competitors;

3. to reach a decision quickly, following full and proper consultations with all interested parties, on how Regulation (EEC) No 123/85 on selective and exclusive distribution should be applied in the future taking account of all elements referred to above;

4. to continue to promote better environmental and safety performance of automobiles by developing advanced environmental and technical standards which, within the context of global and multifaceted approaches to these problems, are cost-effective and achievable in a realistic time schedule in the overall context of a stable and predictable regulatory policy environment; in drawing up such measures, account should be taken of their impact on the industry's overall competitiveness;

5. to develop and to propose coherent policies, e.g. in the environmental and infrastructural sphere, impacting the future context of car use and which are thus of crucial importance to the car industry;

6. to continue to apply integrally and in conformity with all its objectives, the arrangement on automobiles with Japan which provides for the progressive opening of the Union market over a transitional period ending on 31 December 1999;

7. to draw up a list of the most important barriers impeding better market access for Union automobiles on third markets; on the basis of this list, a market opening plan should be drawn up together with a timetable for achieving results; progress should be reported to the Council under Article 113 of the Treaty;

8. to promote industrial cooperation and business contacts in the automobile sector with third countries, notably Japan, in areas where the greatest value added can be achieved at Union level;

9. to report to the European Parliament and the Council by the end of 1995 on the progress achieved in implementing this resolution and on the industry's structural adjustment. An interim report should be made to the Directors-General of Industry.

III

THE COUNCIL CALLS ON THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION actively to pursue the aforementioned objectives, in accordance with their respective powers.

(1) OJ No C 178, 15. 7. 1992, p. 6.

(2) Directive 94/12/EEC of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 March 1994 relating to measures to be taken against air pollution by emissions from motor vehicles and amending Directive 70/220/EEC (OJ No L 100, 19. 4. 1994, p. 42).

(3) Commission Regulation (EEC) No 123/85 of 12 December 1984 on the application of Article 85 (3) of the Treaty to certain categories of motor vehicle distribution and servicing agreements (OJ No L 15, 18. 1. 1985, p. 16). Regulation as amended by the 1985 Act of Accession.