EU must change to fight job losses
14 November 2007
Jim Allister MEP used a debate in the European Parliament on globalisation to raise the Seagate redundancies in Limavady. Picking up on a speech by French President, Sarkozy, to the Parliament the day before, in which he endorsed the need for the EU to counter manufacturing losses, the MEP made two practical suggestions as to how Brussels could help.
First, it should reduce the threshold for assistance from its Globalisation Adjustment Fund to a lesser number of job losses so as to more often help smaller economies. (At present the threshold is 1000 job losses, though Limavady should qualify because knock-on redundancies also count.) Second, state aid rules should be relaxed to facilitate secondary assistance such as industrial de-rating. Such has a definite role to play in holding employment, but the problem posed by EU rules is a barrier. (This was something referred to this week by the DFP Minister.)
In the course of his remarks Mr Allister said:-
"For an increasing number of our constituents globalisation means desolation, as factory after factory pulls out and moves east. 2 weeks ago in Limavady, in my constituency, Seagate Technology announced closure with 960 job losses, leaving this small town reeling. It's not just the lure of cheap labour but our crippling burden of regulation on European industry which is devastating our manufacturing. President Sarkozy was right when he told us yesterday that the EU has the right to protect itself from such ravages. I wish it would.#
Two immediate steps would help. A lowering of the threshold for the European Globalisation adjustment Fund. 1000 job losses in Paris is bad, but in a small town like Limavady it is catastrophic, so the threshold should have a subjective element. Second, the EU needs to loosen its state aid prohibitions so that modest industrial de-rating, which might keep some manufacturing afloat, would not offend. I invite the Commission to respond positively on these two practical suggestions."
Note to Editors:
For fuller explanation of Globalisation Adjustment Fund see http://www.jimallister.org/default.asp?blogID=790
