WRITTEN QUESTION No. 108/98 by Honório NOVO to the Commission. Closure of an enterprise in Castelo Branco (Portugal) with the possible motive of relocation
C 223/114 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 17. 7. 98 For the same reasons the Council adopted a Resolution on the matter of tobacco smoke in public places in 1989 (1) which was subject of a Commission report in 1996 (2) setting out the measures taken by Member States to give it effect. Furthermore within the framework of Community legislation concerned with the protection of workers, specific measures regarding smoking at the workplace are already in effect (for example work with asbestos, the dangers of smoking to pregnant women) and the Commission is examining how these rules could be reinforced especially to protect all workers at their place of employment from suffering the effects of passive smoking. The use of the term áclassificationí in the context of these activities is perhaps not the most appropriate. What is important is the recognition that tobacco smoke, or a component of the smoke, can cause cancer or other diseases and that measures should be taken which effectively deal with the issue. This is why the Commission communication on smoking prevention (3) sets out practical measures to limit the effects of passive smoking. These measures are considered to have the best potential for effective impact on the public so that people realise the dangers both in their daily life and at their place of work. (1) OJ C 189, 26. 7. 1989. (2) COM(96) 573 final. (3) COM(96) 609 final. (98/C 223/145) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0108/98 by Hono·rio Novo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (30 January 1998) Subject: Closure of an enterprise in Castelo Branco (Portugal) with the possible motive of relocation The transnational footwear enterprise Trenogarine, based in Italy, has an industrial unit in Castelo Branco (Portugal), known locally as Ducalbi. The enterprise Trenogarine/Ducalbi has not paid its workers since November 1997, and production has been at a standstill since 4 December 1997 due to lack of raw materials. There are clear and substantiated indications that the management of this Italian transnational intends to close down the unit and relocate it away from Castelo Branco, possibly to a third country. Can the Commission state whether the establishment of the Trenogarine/Ducalbi industrial unit in Castelo Branco received any support from Community funds (from the PEDIP or any other source), and, if so, whether or not the company fulfilled all of the contractual obligations arising therefrom, especially with respect to job preservation and creation and the continuity of labour in the factory. Can the Commission also state how it will react should the management of Trenogarine/Ducalbi act on its presumed intention to relocate this industrial unit away from Castelo Branco to a third country? Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (16 March 1998) According to the information available to the Commission and confirmed by the Portuguese authorities, the enterprise Trenogarine, also known as Ducalbi, did not benefit from any support in the framework of the programmes PEDIP I and PEDIP II. The enterprise did introduce a project to the aid scheme Sistema de incentivos a base regional (SIBR) in the first Community support framework but it was not accepted. The Commission does not intend to comment on the hypothetical transfer of an industrial unit to another location