WRITTEN QUESTION E-2755/99 by Enrique Barón Crespo (PSE), Miguel Martínez Martínez (PSE) and Carlos Carnero González (PSE) to the Commission. Protecting jobs in the Carrier multinational company in Guadalajara (Spain) in the face of management plans.
8. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 225 E/201 Treaty rules on competition, it therefore considers, in a positive spirit, whether an agreement or a practice has cultural objectives and contains cultural provisions which are actually put into practice and may justify imposing restrictions on competition commensurate with the objectives in mind. These questions are considered with a view to the possible application of Article 81(3) of the EC Treaty, which lays down that the Commission may exempt restrictive agreements or practices the advantages of which outweigh the disadvantages as regards consumers, provided that they simply impose the restrictions indispensable to the attainment of their objectives and do not eliminate competition in respect of a substantial part of the products in question. The Commission also takes account of any alterations which the parties may make to such agreements or practices. Cultural benefits may constitute advantages for consumers under this rule. Lastly, under Article 151(4) of the EC Treaty, a cross-border book price-fixing agreement cannot be exempted unless the agreement or practice in question satisfies all the conditions laid down in Article 81(3) of the EC Treaty, and this presupposes, among other things, that the cultural benefits adduced are clearly shown to exist. National arrangements for fixing book prices may be based on national legislation or on agreements 2. between companies, in this case between publishers and booksellers. Different provisions of the EC Treaty apply to these two possible approaches. Legislation-based systems have to be examined in the light of Article 28 (the former Article 30), whereas agreements between companies have to be compatible with Article 81. In both cases, of course, the past rulings of the Court of Justice must be followed. Where arrangements based on legislation are concerned, any Member State may adopt such legislation provided it is compatible with the principle of the free movement of goods as laid down in the EC Treaty. This is a matter for the national authorities. In this context account must be taken of the Court of Justiceís judgment of 10 January 1985 in Case 229/ 83 Leclerc v Au blØ vert (1985 ECR 1), where the Court ruled that in the context of national legislation fixing the price of books, Article 28 of the Treaty prohibited áprovisions requiring the retail price fixed by the publisher to be applied to books published in the Member State concerned and re-imported following exportation to another Member State, unless it is established that those books were exported for the sole purpose of re-importation in order to circumvent the legislation in questioní. National price-fixing arrangements based on agreements between companies are compatible with the Community competition rules if they do not significantly affect trade between Member States. In such situations Article 81 does not apply. (1) Cf. the Commissionís decisions of 25 November 1981 in VBBB and VBVB (OJ L 54, 25. 2. 1982) and of 12 December 1988 in Publishers Association ü Net Book Agreements (OJ L 22, 26. 1. 1989) and the judgments of the Court of Justice of 17 January 1984 in Joined Cases 43 and 63/82 VBVB and VBBB v Commission [1984] ECR 17, of the Court of First Instance of 9 July 1992 in Case T-66/89 Publishers Association v Commission [1992] ECR II-1995 and of Justice of 17 January 1995 in Case C-360/92 P Publishers Association v Commission [1995] ECR I-23. the Court of (2000/C 225 E/228) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2755/99 by Enrique Barón Crespo (PSE), Miguel Martínez Martínez (PSE) and Carlos Carnero GonzÆlez (PSE) to the Commission (18 January 2000) Subject: Protecting jobs in the Carrier multinational company in Guadalajara (Spain) in the face of management plans A delegation comprising the President of the regional parliament of Castilla-La Mancha, the regional secretaries-general of the CO and UGT trade unions and delegates from the works council at Carrierís Guadalajara plant have visited Brussels in order to outline to representatives of the various Community institutions (Commission, Council and Parliament) their opposition to the closure plans drawn up by the multinational companyís management for that production centre. If they were to be implemented, the plans would entail the loss of more than 700 jobs in the company itself and the indirect loss of several thousand more (a ájobs genocideí), which would have an enormous C 225 E/202 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 8. 8. 2000 social and economic impact on the province and region, bearing in mind that Carrier is now one of the main industrial undertakings in Castilla-La Mancha. Furthermore, the closure plans drawn up by the firmís managers appear all the more unjustifiable bearing in mind that the company holds a significant market share and has been extremely profitable. The institutions in Castilla-La Mancha (starting with the regional government and parliament), the Spanish Congress of Deputies (in a series of declarations) and the citizens of Guadalajara, who have organised a variety of demonstrations, have all called for the closure plans to be abandoned and for production and jobs to be preserved. Can the Commission answer the following: ü does it consider that Carrier should take account of all social and economic factors in relation to its plant in Guadalajara and respond to the demands of workers, trade unions, the general public and institutions and withdraw its closure plans? ü will it take the appropriate steps and approach Carrier to that end? ü does it know whether Carrier has received any state or European aid which would oblige it to act to protect jobs? ü can it say whether Carrier has complied in this process with the directives on the information and consultation of bodies representing workers and labour organisations? ü does it take the view that this case, or the earlier Michelin case, strengthen the European Parliamentís proposals on relocations aimed at preventing socially irresponsible business decisions? Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (2 March 2000) The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as soon as possible. (2000/C 225 E/229) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2765/99 by Raffaele Costa (PPE-DE), Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE), Francesco Fiori (PPE-DE), Raffaele Fitto (PPE-DE), Giorgio Lisi (PPE-DE), Mario Mauro (PPE-DE), Guido Podestà (PPE-DE) and Stefano Zappalà (PPE-DE) to the Commission Subject: The case of Silvia Baraldini ü payment of a fine (18 January 2000) Is the President of the Commission aware of the case concerning the payment, by the Italian Government which at the time was led by Mr Prodi himself, of the $50 000 fine imposed on Silvia Baraldini? Apart from the fact that this is an exceptionally serious matter, it should be pointed out that: ü under formal authorisation from an entire Directorate-General of the ministry concerned, the budget of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was manipulated, without reasons and purposes being given; ü the Italian 1997 Finance Act ü a fundamental State law, comprising as it does the sum total of each individual ministry coming under Tables A and B thereof ü was manipulated. What is the Commissionís view of this matter, which involved a Member State and the United States? Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission (6 March 2000) The Commission has no jurisdiction to deal with the question asked, which is a matter solely for the national authorities concerned