466. Plenary Session EESC in a new mandate

Brusel 19. – 21. 10. 2010

“Engaging people for an sustainable Europe”
(Staffan Nilsson, EESC president)

EESC is entering in its first mandate under the new TFEU with one third of new members and with only one quarter of women among 344 members. New elected EESC presidency is represented by president Staffan Nilsson (G3), Vice-President Jacek Krawczick (G1) and Vice-president Anna Marie Darmanin (G2). Mr. Nilsson has been presented his main priorities for the future mandate: dialogue and participation, sustainable growth and solidarity and development.

The Employers group is associating 119 members from the 27 EU Member States. President of the Employers´ Group Mr. Henri Malosse started the first group meeting with the words: “Our main task is to bring added value of the European dimension of the economy and to ensure that in time of economic slowdown the EU supports companies helping them to prosper, develop and to create jobs.”

The Plenary session has discussed and adopted the following opinions relevant to the employers and business:

• INT/522 Clean and energy efficient vehicles

The EESC supports the development of an EU strategy on clean and energy efficient vehicles. This will meet EESC concern about hydrocarbon depletion, carbon emissions and atmospheric pollution. It is essential that the strategy be holistic. Nothing will be gained if pollution and emissions are simply transferred to electricity generation and vehicle production or if bio strategies lead to bio damage such as deforestation. EU compliance with the Kyoto targets has been compromised by road transport; this strategy is overdue.

EESC would expect the strategy to incentivise breakthrough technology for ICVs as well as the more innovative forms of propulsion. It is too early to make definitive technology choices. Furthermore, it must enhance the global competitiveness of the EU automotive industry. Regulations should ensure that vehicles become progressively clean and lean but future competitiveness will also depend on radical ICV innovation in cars, buses and HGVs in addition to electric vehicle (EV) development.

European society must be involved in making the strategy work. Companies in the private sector must be engaged through their environmental reporting. Individuals who make buying decisions, whether for personal or company cars, should receive a mixture of financial incentives and disincentives to steer them towards clean and efficient vehicles.

 NAT/470 International Climate Policy – Post Copenhagen

Copenhagen fell well short of the EU's ambitions. Nevertheless, increasing support for the Copenhagen Accord shows that a majority of countries are determined to press ahead with action on climate change now. The task for the EU is to build on this determination, and to help channel it into action. This Communication sets out a strategy to help maintain the momentum of global efforts to tackle climate change. The EU has always been at the forefront of concrete action against climate change – it is on track to comply with its 2008–2012 Kyoto commitments, has adopted ambitious targets for 2020, including a commitment to reduce its greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions by 20% by 2020 and to increase this reduction to 30% if the conditions are right.

The EU's primary objective remains to reach a robust and legally-binding agreement under the UNFCCC. In order to achieve this, we should first focus on the adoption of a balanced set of concrete, action-oriented decisions in Cancun at the end of 2010. This should be as comprehensive as possible, but given remaining differences among Parties, the EU must be ready to continue the work for the adoption of a legally binding agreement in South Africa in 2011. Up to Copenhagen the pressure on expectations had very useful effects leading many major economies to set domestic targets prior to Copenhagen. Now we must consider a strategy that will keep momentum high without jeopardizing the primary objective. The initial reaction to the Copenhagen Accord was one of profound disappointment at the failure to reach a general agreement on targets and measures for combating global warming. However, on closer inspection, it does deliver some not inconsiderable advances not only toward the goal of keeping any increase in temperature to below 2°C compared with the pre-industrial era, but also in making progress possible on both technology transfers and funding for developing countries and on more specific agreements on the use of land and forestry. Its conclusions now need to be built on in the next rounds of negotiation in Cancun and South Africa. The EU should now focus on tangible ways of reaching the carbon reduction goals that it has set itself at the same time as reviving its economy. Demonstrable success in this double endeavour would bolster its credibility and influence in the international negotiations.

While sticking firm on decisions already taken, especially on the energy/climate package, the European Union should: stick for the moment to the 20% emission reduction target, but move a step further and, eventually, to a 30% reduction, if this proves to be economically and socially viable; mobilise and coordinate Community and national research capabilities in new low-carbon technologies and in the sphere of energy efficiency; focus its diplomatic efforts – as we await a global agreement – on more sectoral agreements in areas such as management of land and forests, technology transfers, a system of monitoring and evaluating commitments, financial assistance and ways of allocating it; pursue active diplomacy vis-à-vis the USA, Russia and the BASIC group, since any worldwide agreement is a non-starter without the United States and the other large countries; act as a driving force in bilateral and multilateral negotiations in forums other than the UN in order to pave the way for a worldwide agreement; pursue an ambitious European policy – given the major investments in the green economy made by China, the United States and South Korea – if we are to be the engines of tomorrow's economy and if we are adamant about retaining our competitive edge and not becoming dependent on patents, know-how and technologies owned by others.

To back up its diplomatic endeavours, the European Union should also mobilise organised civil society in order to make public opinion aware of the need for our society to waste fewer natural resources and use more renewable ones, and for us all as individuals to adopt a more public-spirited outlook. That is why the EU will need to raise the level of its outreach, building confidence that an international deal can be brokered and exploring specific measures to be agreed in Cancun. It needs to focus on building support with different partners.

 NAT/472 Integrated Product Policy

 On 18 June 2003 the Commission adopted its Communication "Integrated Product Policy – building on environmental Life-Cycle Thinking". The concept of Integrated Product Policy (IPP) aims at coherent action, using the most appropriate policy tools and involving stakeholders, towards "greener" products that combine lower environmental impacts with enhanced service to consumers. It calls for continuous improvement in product manufacturing and design, and for promoting their uptake by consumers.

The EESC welcomes the European Commission's report on the implementation of integrated product policy, considering it appropriately embedded in the broader concept of the Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production/Sustainable Industrial Policy (SCP/SIP Action Plan). Whilst the IPP includes the issue of market forces, the EESC thinks there is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to the use of market instruments, such as environmental taxation and incentives, in order to improve their applicability, in a coordinated fashion. The Committee proposes that closer attention be paid to the exchange of experience between Member States and a particular focus placed on incentives, their implementation and the role of long-term voluntary agreements. The EESC is convinced that standardisation could benefit a large number of products, as it could have a positive effect on their recyclability, effectiveness and environmental performance. In the implementation of the Eco-Design Directive, standardisation plays a crucial role and should be strengthened for the future. In this context, the Committee calls for closer alignment of the two EMS schemes (EMAS should get closer to ISO 14001) could help to ensure EMAS's more systematic implementation as part of the SCP/SIP Action Plan.

The Committee emphasizes that any provision, policy or instrument, even for the implementation of the SCP/SIP Action Plan, should be drawn up and adopted in such a way that it does not damage the competitive environment or the workings of the internal market and fully respects the principle of better regulation and the goal of sustainability. Cost-effectiveness is also essential to the success of the SCP/SIP Action Plan. The initial impact analysis should be complemented by analyses of macro- and micro-economic effects and should also take account of the main value chains at the earliest possible stage and with the utmost transparency.

The EESC is convinced that priority should be given to existing Community programmes such as the SET plan (European Strategic Energy Technology Plan), the ETAP plan (Environmental Technologies Action Plan) or technological platform activities. Particular attention should be paid to good coordination and a sufficient level of ambition.

The EESC fully agrees that any further IPP activities should now be assessed and undertaken under the umbrella of the SCP/SIP Action Plan. The implementation of the IPP and the SCP/SIP Action Plan must be a dynamic process, based on ongoing dialogue and cooperation between the various stakeholders (from businesses and politicians to consumer organisations and NGOs committed to the environment), in order to strengthen tools for communication with consumers, organic production and the promotion of sustainable public procurement and purchasing.

• CCMI/075 Metal working industry

While the metalworking sector is an essential part of the industrial fabric of Europe and plays an essential role in the EU’s manufacturing infrastructure and in industrial employment, the metalworking industries are little recognised in the institutions and even among national legislators/politicians. This sector is mainly composed of SMEs (400 000 companies, EUR 530 billion value of production (2008), consumes two thirds of the raw steel produced in the EU). The sector has a pivotal role to EU’s industrial fabric since it produces the components, which are supplied to other industries (automotive, aerospace, transport and mechanical engineering) and plays essential role in metalworking technologies.  The CCMI believes that at this point of time there is a need to develop an analysis of the transformations occurred within the sector, as well as an insight of the transformations, which lay ahead, which include among others the following:

• The metalworking industry is an SME industry (more than 90% of SMEs and family owned) where consolidation/concentration is very limited compared to the sector's large supply chain partners, which are engaged in a major consolidation process.
• The metalworking industry is therefore (and increasingly so) in sandwich position between large suppliers (steel industry) and large customers (car industry, mechanical industry).
• Access to competitive inputs is essential, in particular semi-finished products and energy - both in hands of much larger industries (steel, utilities). Both factors are distinctly out of an SME manufacturer’s control and, in these fields, adequate political support and anticipation of future needs are of vital importance.
• Access to finance, possibilities to finance investments in order to stay competitive, innovate and meet the challenges of the future are increasingly limited and an adequate framework should be investigated.

 

The metalworking industry is absolutely key in the move towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy, in line with the objectives of the EU 2020 strategy. The EESC calls upon the European Commission to take due account of this branch of the downstream industry with regard to its own organisation and in allocating human resources, and to improve the level of the industry's representation and contacts in DG Industry and Entrepreneurship and DG Trade.

Vladimíra Drbalová
International organisations and EU
EESC Member