Progress: Procedure completed
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
---|---|---|---|
Lead | REGI | HUTCHINSON Alain ( PSE) | |
Committee Opinion | EMPL |
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54
Legal Basis:
RoP 54Subjects
Events
The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by Alain HUTCHINSON (PES, BE). It pointed out that companies choose to relocate their activities for manifold reasons, some of which are not connected to issues of productivity, efficiency or economic viability. Such relocation is liable, however, to result in major job losses and economic hardships whose impact on regional development will be all the more pronounced where there are few employment possibilities in the region abandoned. Company relocation is a serious concern in several Member States. Parliament called for practices that are not conducive to the achievement of cohesion and full employment, such as relocation that is not justified from the point of view of economic viability or that is liable to lead to substantial job losses, not to be supported financially by the EU. It recommended that the Commission keep current company closures and relocations under review and that it demand that aid granted be paid back if it is misused.
Parliament acknowledged the Commission's proposal, within the framework of the reform of the Structural Funds, to penalise companies which, having received EU aid, relocate their activities within seven years of the grant of aid. It called also for companies that have received public aid - in particular where they have failed to comply with all of the obligations connected with that aid - or laid off the staff at their original location, without complying with national or international law, and have then relocated within the EU, to be blocked from receiving public aid in their new location, and also blocked from receiving Structural Funds or State aid for a period of seven years following relocation. Measures should also be contemplated with regard to 'reverse' relocations, namely those which, without relocation of the company's activities, lead to deterioration in working conditions. Parliament welcomed the fact that the Commission had taken measures adapting the new guidelines on national regional aid with a view to repayment of aid granted to companies which fail to comply with the conditions attaching to the aid and which relocate their plants within or, especially, outside the EU.
Parliament called for the rapid establishment of a European strategy for managing and monitoring the relocation of companies, implemented at Union level and coordinated with all the Member States. It asked that the Commission entrust the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (European Monitoring Centre on Change) with the remit of studying, assessing (including establishing the number of jobs created and lost, while taking into account their quality) and monitoring the issue of relocation.
It also called for on the Commission for the following:
- the implementation of existing provisions with regard to reimbursement of subsidies by companies which fail to respect their obligations with regard to investment for which they have received public subsidy;
- listing companies which infringe rules on State aid or Community funds by proceeding to relocate their activity within or out of the EU without having fulfilled the requirement on perenniality contained in the rules concerned;
- a European Code of Conduct to prevent transfers of companies or their production units to another EU region or country for the sole purpose of obtaining European financial aid;
- the inclusion of social clauses in international treaties, and to do so on the basis of the five International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions considered to be priorities;
- the targeted use of the European funds, which should be focussed on vocational training and the retraining of workers in regions affected by restructuring or relocation and, in particular, of those workers who have been affected by a job loss as a result of the relocation of their former employer;
- provisions designed to penalise more severely companies which, after having received public subsidies, relocate all or part of their activity outside the European Union;
Parliament supported the Commission's proposal to create a globalisation fund to stave off the economic and social impacts of restructuring and relocation, and called for that fund to be allocated sufficient funding to cover the roles assigned to it. The use of Community funds should be made subject to specific rules relating to innovation, local development, employment, and to production commitments within the territory of the undertakings benefiting from these funds.
The committee adopted the own-initiative report drawn up by Alain HUTCHINSON (PES, BE) on relocation in the context of regional development. MEPs stressed the need to ensure consistency between regional development policy and competition policy, and added that public aid should not provide a spur to the relocation of economic activity. They wanted to see a Community-wide regulatory legal framework, with monitoring systems to quantify the economic and social cost of any relocation. In this context they called for the European Foundation on the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, based in Dublin , to carry out studies into the impact of the relocation of companies, assessing the number of jobs created and lost, while taking into account their quality.
The report said that practices that are not conducive to the achievement of economic cohesion and the strategic goal of full employment, such as unjustified relocation likely to cause job losses, should not be financially supported by the EU. The Commission was urged to take measures adapting the new guidelines on national regional aid with a view to repayment of the aid granted to companies which relocate their plants within or, in particular, outside the EU. MEPs also suggested that the guidelines should allow the granting of public aid, as an emergency measure, in the event of major job losses even though the region concerned would not normally qualify for such aid.
The committee backed the Commission's idea, as part of the reform of the Structural Funds, of penalising companies which, having received EU aid, relocate their activity within seven years of the granting of the aid. It also urged the Commission and the Member States to name and shame companies which infringe rules on state aids or Community funds as a result of relocation. MEPs suggested that the Commission draw up a European code of conduct to prevent transfers of companies or their production units to another EU region or country for the sole purpose of obtaining European financial aid.
Lastly, the report called on the Commission and the Member States to monitor the effective and targeted use of European funds, which should be focused on vocational training and the retraining of workers in regions affected by restructuring or relocation and, in particular, of those workers who have been directly affected by a job loss as a result of the relocation of their former employer.
Documents
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2006)1999/2
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2006)1725
- Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament: T6-0077/2006
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A6-0013/2006
- Committee report tabled for plenary: A6-0013/2006
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE367.791
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE362.888
- Committee opinion: PE357.629
- Committee opinion: PE357.629
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE362.888
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE367.791
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A6-0013/2006
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2006)1725
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2006)1999/2
Activities
- Ilda FIGUEIREDO
Plenary Speeches (5)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Relocation in the context of regional development (debate)
- David MARTIN
Plenary Speeches (5)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Hélène GOUDIN
Plenary Speeches (4)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Nils LUNDGREN
Plenary Speeches (4)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Luís QUEIRÓ
Plenary Speeches (4)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Lars WOHLIN
Plenary Speeches (4)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Jean-Pierre AUDY
Plenary Speeches (3)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Pedro GUERREIRO
Plenary Speeches (3)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Relocation in the context of regional development (debate)
- Johannes BLOKLAND
Plenary Speeches (2)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Duarte FREITAS
Plenary Speeches (2)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Françoise GROSSETÊTE
Plenary Speeches (2)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Andreas MÖLZER
Plenary Speeches (2)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Relocation in the context of regional development (debate)
- Carl SCHLYTER
Plenary Speeches (2)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Oldřich VLASÁK
Plenary Speeches (2)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- 2016/11/22 Relocation in the context of regional development (debate)
- Milan GAĽA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Graham BOOTH
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Jim ALLISTER
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Alfonso ANDRIA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Jan ANDERSSON
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Liam AYLWARD
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Jean Marie BEAUPUY
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Rolf BEREND
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Jana BOBOŠÍKOVÁ
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Brigitte DOUAY
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Lena EK
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Hynek FAJMON
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Anne FERREIRA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Ambroise GUELLEC
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Gábor HARANGOZÓ
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Konstantinos HATZIDAKIS
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Ewa HEDKVIST PETERSEN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Anna HEDH
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Jacky HÉNIN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Marian HARKIN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Alain HUTCHINSON
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Caroline JACKSON
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Christa KLASS
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Timothy KIRKHOPE
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Carl LANG
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Marine LE PEN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Astrid LULLING
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Linda McAVAN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Cecilia MALMSTRÖM
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Diamanto MANOLAKOU
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Sérgio MARQUES
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Jean-Claude MARTINEZ
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Francesco MUSOTTO
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Seán Ó NEACHTAIN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Janusz ONYSZKIEWICZ
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Marie PANAYOTOPOULOS-CASSIOTOU
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Zdzisław Zbigniew PODKAŃSKI
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Reinhard RACK
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Karin SCHEELE
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Elisabeth SCHROEDTER
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Inger SEGELSTRÖM
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Nina ŠKOTTOVÁ
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Peter SKINNER
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- László SURJÁN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Kyriacos TRIANTAPHYLLIDES
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Frank VANHECKE
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
- Åsa WESTLUND
Plenary Speeches (1)
- 2016/11/22 Explanations of vote
Votes
Rapport Hutchinson A6-0013/2006 - am. 26 #
Rapport Hutchinson A6-0013/2006 - am. 27 #
Rapport Hutchinson A6-0013/2006 - am. 29 #
Rapport Hutchinson A6-0013/2006 - am. 17 #
Rapport Hutchinson A6-0013/2006 - am. 19 #
Rapport Hutchinson A6-0013/2006 - am. 30 #
CY | LU | LV | EE | MT | SE | SI | DK | FI | SK | CZ | AT | LT | IE | PT | BE | EL | NL | HU | IT | ES | FR | PL | DE | GB | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total |
6
|
5
|
6
|
5
|
5
|
18
|
6
|
13
|
12
|
12
|
21
|
18
|
12
|
12
|
19
|
19
|
23
|
26
|
20
|
50
|
45
|
72
|
51
|
93
|
73
|
|
Verts/ALE |
40
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
Netherlands Verts/ALEAbstain (1) |
2
|
2
|
France Verts/ALEFor (6) |
Germany Verts/ALEFor (11)Abstain (1) |
5
|
||||||||||||
GUE/NGL |
36
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
Czechia GUE/NGL |
3
|
Greece GUE/NGL |
1
|
Italy GUE/NGLFor (7) |
1
|
2
|
Germany GUE/NGLFor (7) |
1
|
|||||||||||||
IND/DEM |
31
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
Poland IND/DEMAgainst (7) |
United Kingdom IND/DEMAgainst (9) |
|||||||||||||||
NI |
25
|
3
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
France NIAbstain (5) |
7
|
3
|
|||||||||||||||||
UEN |
24
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
Italy UENAgainst (5) |
||||||||||||||||||||
ALDE |
74
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
4
|
Finland ALDEAgainst (5) |
1
|
Lithuania ALDEAgainst (7) |
1
|
Belgium ALDEAgainst (5) |
Netherlands ALDEAgainst (5) |
1
|
4
|
2
|
France ALDEAgainst (9) |
Poland ALDE |
Germany ALDEAgainst (7) |
United Kingdom ALDEAgainst (11) |
||||||
PSE |
178
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
Sweden PSEAgainst (5) |
1
|
Denmark PSEAgainst (5) |
2
|
1
|
1
|
Austria PSEAgainst (7) |
2
|
1
|
Portugal PSEAgainst (9) |
Belgium PSEAgainst (6) |
Greece PSEAgainst (7) |
Netherlands PSEAgainst (7) |
Hungary PSEAgainst (7) |
Spain PSEAgainst (20)
Alejandro CERCAS,
Antolín SÁNCHEZ PRESEDO,
Antonio MASIP HIDALGO,
Bárbara DÜHRKOP DÜHRKOP,
Carlos CARNERO GONZÁLEZ,
Emilio MENÉNDEZ del VALLE,
Francisca PLEGUEZUELOS AGUILAR,
Inés AYALA SENDER,
Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ,
Joan CALABUIG RULL,
Luis YÁÑEZ-BARNUEVO GARCÍA,
Manuel MEDINA ORTEGA,
Maria BADIA i CUTCHET,
María Isabel SALINAS GARCÍA,
María SORNOSA MARTÍNEZ,
Miguel Angel MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ,
Raimon OBIOLS,
Rosa DÍEZ GONZÁLEZ,
Rosa MIGUÉLEZ RAMOS,
Teresa RIERA MADURELL
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