The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and in particular the provisions on social rights, and the provisions of the EC Treaty, in particular Article 136 thereof, pursuant to which the Member States have as their objectives the promotion of employment, improvement of living and working conditions, proper social protection and dialogue between management and labour with a view to lasting high employment and the combating of exclusion,

–   having regard to the Lisbon European Council Presidency Conclusions of 23 and 24 March 2000,

–   having regard to Council Directive 98/59/EC of 20 July 1998(1), which lays down precise procedures with regard to information, notice and consultation with workers' representatives in the event of collective redundancies, with the aim of avoiding or reducing the number of such redundancies and providing for accompanying social measures aimed at retraining workers hit by redundancy and reintegrating them into the productive cycle,

–   having regard to Directive 2002/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002 establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European Community(2),

–   having regard to the fact that the EU steel industry suffered from the US decision to impose import duties on steel, mainly from the EU,

–   having regard to its previous resolutions on the steel sector, restructuring and industrial mergers,

–   having regard to the continuing job losses in the iron and steel sector,

–   having regard to Rule 37(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.   whereas the disappointing economic performance of the EU economy in 2003 makes it even more imperative to complete the Lisbon agenda; whereas this situation is exacerbated by the challenge of enlargement and the uncertainties in the international economic climate,

B.   concerned about Europe's opting out of high-level technological production which, in recent years, was regarded as a model of technological know-how and which must be protected,

C.   having regard to the EU's interest in providing conditions in which industrial activities that employ a large segment of the working population of the enlarged Europe can be maintained;

D.   having regard to the desirability of a reflection on the medium- and long-term initiative that the EU intends to introduce with a view to protecting European industrial interests in a free-market context,

E.   having regard to the significant public investment funding from which AST Thyssen Krup has benefited, including structural funds from Objective 2 and from the European Social Fund, for developing local systems, infrastructures and vocational training,

F.   having regard to the mobilisation of the workers concerned, their trade unions, the local population and representatives of local authorities,

1.  Notes with satisfaction the initial results of initiatives taken by all the social and institutional partners, which have led to the opening up of genuine negotiating opportunities on the future of the company;

2.  Expresses it solidarity with the workers and their families;

3.  Considers it necessary to ensure that a strong and modern steel sector is maintained in the EU, in order to meet the requirements of lasting development and job creation;

4.  Urges the Commission to act firmly within the WTO and OECD to guarantee that there is a level playing field in the global steel market; welcomes the efforts made by European Commissioner, Pascal Lamy, in the steel conflict with the USA and expresses its concern about the steady loss of market share of Italian and European steel production;

5.  Reminds the Commission that following the expiry of the ECSC, its competences include tackling the economic and social impact of the changes in the European iron and steel sector;

6.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt a more decisive strategy to tackle industrial restructuring and its social impact; considers that all the subsidies granted in the context of public funding, including the Structural Funds, should be made subject to agreements regarding employment, local development and investments for the purposes of modernising production;

7.  Asks for concrete protection of the interests of employees and European enterprises, which must have the opportunity to operate within international markets and not be subject to any kind of dumping; calls also for the effective implementation of European legislation on dialogue between management and labour and for proper industrial relations;

8.  Asks the Commission and national governments to present the financial perspectives on the use of Community funds for future years, as well as an analysis of the priorities to be established to reconcile development and employment objectives;

9.  Asks the Commission, in particular, during the presentation of the third report on social and economic cohesion on 18 February 2004, to clarify its intentions on the growth of the European industrial sector, especially the steel sector, in the context of the new cohesion policy which will apply from 1 January 2007;

10.  Considers that Europe must create favourable conditions for its industrial interests, especially for the advanced and high technological sectors; emphasises that investment in research and development, with the commitment of EU funds through the Sixth Framework Programme, can be used to develop the new materials, designs and processes that can reconfigure industrial sectors;

11.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the WTO, the OECD and the social partners.

(1) OJ L 225, 12.8.1998, p. 16. (2) OJ L 80, 23.3.2002, p. 29.