BULLETIN of T H E Eu R O Pea N C O M M U N It I E S
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6-1968 BULLETIN of t h e Eu r o pea n C o m m u n it i e s SECRETARIAT OF THE COMMISSION Contents Pages I. The Commission proposes a fresh spur to action in three Community sectors · 5 Extracts from an address by M. Jean Rey to the European Parliament 5 II. Euratom's future research activities 13 Ill. Internal. activities 35 Establishment and operation of the single market 35 Free movement of goods 35 Competition policy 37 Freedom of establishment and freedom to supply services 38 Towards economic union 39 Medium-term economic policy 39 Monetary and budget policy 39 Social policy 39 Policy concerning -nuclear and general research, technology, instruction and training - dissemination of i£l:formation 42 Energy policy 48 Industrial policy 49 Agricultural policy 50 Common transport policy 57 IV. External activities 60 Enlargement of the Community 60 The Community's commercial policy 60 GATT 61 Bilateral relations 63 Relations with international organizations 64 Development aid - General 65 6- 1968 3 V. The Community and the Associated States 66 Turkey 66 African States and Madagascar and overseas countri~s and territories 66 VI. Institutions and organs 71 Council 71 Court of Justice 73 Economic and Social Committee 74 Administrative affairs • 75 VII. The European Investment Bank 16 Miscellaneous 78 Publications of the European Communities 82 4 6- 1968 I. The Commission proposes a fresh spur to action in three Community sectors Extracts from an address by M. Jean Rey, President of the Commission of the European Communities to the European Parliament Strasbourg, 15 May 1968 With 1 July 1968 - the date on which the customs union is to be complete - only six weeks away, M. Jean Rey delivered an address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on the Community's action programme in certain essential sectors. This speech ended with an important statement on the main problems posed at the present stage of the Community's development. The President began by saying that "on 1 July, a year and a half in advance of the date laid down in the Treaty of Rome, the customs union will have been completed within the Community. The last remaining internal customs duties will have disappeared, the external customs tariff will have been introduced in its entirety, and the first two tariff reductions negotiated at Geneva last year will come into force. This great event will bring home to public opinion in Europe the importance and urgency of carrying through the second phase of European integration, that of economic union, on which a great deal of work has been done in the last few years and on which we should now concentrate our efforts. The Treaties have, of course, not yet been merged; but, even without this, the merging of the Executives alone has made it possible to infuse fresh vigour into certain essential sectors of Community activity. It is about in~ustrial policy, energy policy and regional policy, that I would like to talk to you today. I will not go into questions of research and technology: they have been the subject of much discussion with the Parliament since last September. Moreover, social policy should leaven all our other policies, whether they concern industry, energy, the regions, agriculture, transport, research or medium-term economic planning. I would also recall that we are stressing a certain number of priority tasks connected with continuity of employment and higher incomes for workers, with social advancement through improvements in training, readaptation and further training, with development of relations between the two sides of industry, with pursuit of a policy on incomes, property ownership and social security which helps the balanced development of economic expansion and social progress in the Community, and lastly with the reform of the principles underlying the European Social Fund and the means available to it." Before moving on to the main themes of his speech, the President had two comments to make. 6- 1968 5 "First: the Commission has not reached the end of its deliberations and tasks. Following the merging of the High Authority with the Commissions the new Commission has had to establish a basis for the rational organization of its whole administration and to take fair decisions. All this has been complicated by the fact that the authority managing the administration, in other words our Commission, has no powers in budget matters. At the same time the COmmission was having to tackle the great tasks vital to the life of the Communities. Our study of the problems involved is therefore only at an early stage and I am presenting to you today, in the name of the Commission, guidelines rather than a precise and detailed programme. Second: the Commission doubted whether it would be wise to cramp its thought and action by an absolutely rigid framework. Deeply convinced of the value of pro grammes (and our Medium-term Economic Policy Programme is an example of this), the Commission feels that it will have to work largely in. the light of experience and at the same time to continue discussions with everyone concerned." Industrial policy "Because the customs union is practically complete it has now become essential to devote more and more attention to the problems of industrial development in the Community. 1. Generally speaking, it must be said that if industry in the Community is to develop favourably, the first requirement is that our economic policy should be coherent in respect of both short-term and medium-term problems. Then industry in the Community is faced with great problems, serious handicaps and difficulties which call for action to be taken not only by the industrialists themselves but also by the public authorities and even more, at present, by the authorities of the Community. The Commission holds, moreover, that the necessary changes and adjustments must not tend towards a situation in which we have nothing but large-scale concerns. Small and medium-scale enterprises still have as much - if not more - of a future at Community level than they had before. The dynamism of the enterprises and their ability to compete, rather than their size, must be our chief objective. Lastly, in all action to be taken we must never lose sight of the social aspect. 2. For industry in general, one essential and immediate task is to deal with the obstacles which still partition the Community in many fields. The Commission intends to continue its drive to remove the technical obstacles and to press forward with increased energy in the task of devising the statute of the European company. While paying tribute to the high quality of the work now in hand, the Commission is seriously concerned about the slowness with which it is advancing and feels that other, more rapid methods will have to be used. At the same time, work on the approximation of company law and the right of establishment must be speeded up. Work must also be resumed on the convention to establish a European patent, which has been in the doldrums too long. In the tax field, our Commission also attaches special importance to the disappearance of the tax obstacles which still impede mergers between enterprises registered in different member countries. 6 6- 1968 Many other things remain to be done in such fields as occupational training, and the enterprises themselves will have to make an immense effort if they are to match · the efficiency of the management methods used by American enterprises in certain fields. Industrial policy cannot confine itself to action of a general nature. The measures in support of certain industries must doubtless remain the exception. They cannot · be a substitute for private enterprise and must in no circumstances be used to correct the errors made by managements. As public resources are limited, a decision has to be made on the industries which are to be assisted. It should be stated clearly that the vast maJO!lty of firms and industries must be able to live and develop without aid from the public authorities of the Member State concerned or from the Community. The establishment of the general conditions just referred to should be enough to ensure that most enterprises and sectors are in a good position to face competition inside and outside the Community. 3. On the other hand, long-established enterprises threatened by decline or facing structural difficulties - and I repeat: structural difficulties, not difficulties peculiar to a particular industry - and enterprises belonging to what are generally known as growth industries should be regarded as posing specific problems calling for active intervention by the authorities in the general interest of the Community. The aim of the Community's policy for these industries should be to accept the structural changes which are necessary in the interests of general economic expansion and to facilitate the adaptation of enterprises to these changes. The problems of the declining industries are, incidentally, in large measure of a regional and social nature." In dealing with the difficulties of these industries, the President of the Commission defined the principles which could guide Community action and came to the conclusion that the Community "must arrive at a situation where action to support particular industries can no longer be the subject of isolated decisions by a single Member State. Depending on the nature of the measures proposed, co-ordination at Community level or decisions on the basis of the articles in the Treaties will be called for. These Community decisions, this concerting of action, must relate to the industries that will benefit from the said measures, to the level at which they are taken, and to their nature.