Unregulated relocation of companies to eastern Europe — call for intervention by the Commission to curb social dumping in the EU

15.3.2018

Question for written answer E-001584-18
to the Commission
Rule 130
Mara Bizzotto (ENF)

An increasing number of Italian firms are moving all or part of their activities to Eastern Europe to take advantage of substantially lower labour costs and the grants offered by host countries to companies relocating.

By exploiting imbalances in the single market and generous EU funding, eastern European countries are competing unfairly with their western counterparts, forcing Italian companies, for example, to close down or relocate. According to Eurostat, in 2016 the average hourly wage in Bulgaria was six times lower than in Italy, namely EUR 4.40 as against EUR 27.80.

The unregulated relocation of companies is leading to a socioeconomic crisis in Italy: many traditional manufacturers have disappeared and the social costs for Italian families are disastrous. I have submitted numerous written questions since 2011 calling on the Commission to address this pressing matter.

1. What has been done since 2011 to prevent the unfair practice of unregulated relocation from one Member State to another?

2. What steps does the Commission intend to take to safeguard the thousands of jobs in Italy that are being jeopardised by a single market which encourages companies to relocate to countries with low labour costs?