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EU’s seven point agenda to improve the competitiveness |
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2004-7-5
A high level group has made seven recommendations to improve the competitiveness of the EU textiles and clothing industry and ensure that it keeps its status of world leader. The group included participants who had gathered in Brussels recently. They included EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and EU Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, representatives from EU Member States (France, Italy, Germany and Portugal), Members of the European Parliament as well as representatives from industry, retailers, distributors, European textiles associations, trade unions and local textile and clothing associations. A report would be prepared by the European Commission addressed to the Council by September, with proposals for implementing the recommendations adopted by the High Level Group.
The recommendations in detail:
1. Strengthen protection of intellectual property rights:
The Group proposes the creation of a user-friendly European website with clear information on existing legislation and bodies competent for enforcement; It also proposes action at EU-level to educate and advice rights holders as well as consumers;
2. Improve education, training and employment:
Set up a national and other European observatories for training and employment to carry out and co-ordinate training as well as examine how to attract investment as part of regional development initiatives. Develop common qualification standards. Mobilise European structural funds and provide flexible and simpler procedures for SMEs experiencing difficulties to access the various Funds available as early as 2004
3. Enhance competitiveness:
Identify action to provided access to credit for SMEs as well promoting actions to raise the awareness of SMEs to existing credit possibilities. Create a Task Force of the entire textile/clothing chain at EU level to develop coherent marketing strategies and enhance co-operation along the pipeline. This could be the core of a future Pan-European Industrial Co-operation Network. Improve transparency in public procurement. Launch a survey to identify the abuses in unfair practices in the retail sector.
4. Re-focus regional funds in support of textiles industry:
The Group suggested concentration on existing structural funds as well as those available for 2007-2013 to cater for the needs of the textiles sector. Areas for future initiatives suggested by the group covered: support schemes for SMEs, actions to strengthen company’s financial structure or support energy saving and environmental protection and safety.
5. More R&D and innovation for the textiles sector: simpler rules for access of SMEs to R&D and innovation programmes:
The Group called for EU-support for a large-scale flagship research project in the sector to achieve a technology breakthrough in garment manufacture. Support for projects on Fashion creation and new consumer or industrial customer services; envisage action to develop technical textiles for innovative applications; call for Commission ought to examine state aid rules for non-technological innovation; the group also recommended facilitating industry participation and SME access to public R&D and innovation programmes.
6. Trade: improving the access of the EU textiles industry to third countries:
The Group concluded that it is essential for the EU textiles industry to increase its access to third country market by negotiating a decrease in tariffs (in the on-going WTO negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda, as well as in bilateral negotiations with Mercosur or the Gulf countries). It also called for the establishment of an “Action Plan” to address existing trade barriers in third countries. It called for the acceleration of the efforts for making effective the pan-Euro-Med area for textiles if possible by the end of 2004. Targeting better and concentrating the EU unilateral trade preferences (the Generalised System of Preferences - GSP) to favour the poorest and smaller developing countries, including measures in the area of rules of origin to facilitate that exports from Least Developed Countries can effectively benefit from EU duty-free treatment. The Group also recommended trade defence instruments to be more user friendly for sector with SMEs predominance. It also recommends to continue work on marking of origin and of social/environmental labelling among all interested parties with a view to reach common positions within the next three months.
7. China:
The Group stressed the importance of the Chinese market as destination of EU exports. It also discussed the exceptional surge of Chinese exports at reduced prices in 2002-2003. To avoid a similar situation when the WTO quotas are totally phased out on 1 January 2005, the group recommended to address trade issues in the context of the recently established “EU-China Textiles Dialogue”. It also recommends setting up a monitoring system to examine the evolution of imports from China, the market access it offers to the EU and compliance with its WTO commitments. The group also recommends the establishment of transparent procedures and criteria for the evaluation and handling of requests for safeguard measures under the textiles-specific safeguard clause for China in the WTO.
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