HC Deb 13 May 1993 vol 224 cc533-4W
Mr. Congdon

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of the European Community Council of Industry Ministers held on 4 May.

Mr. Sainsbury

I represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of European Community Industry Ministers held in Brussels on 4 May.

The most important item on the agenda was restructuring of the EC steel industry where I underlined the importance of keeping up the momentum of the discussions with industry to ensure that a definitive programme of capacity reductions is in place before the 30 September deadline set by the Industry Council in February. I emphasised that a successful restructuring plan is dependent on strict control of state aids to the industry, a point with which Vice-President Van Miert fully agreed. With support from a number of other member states, I argued for the European Coal and Steel Community levy to be phased out rapidly and the Danish presidency hoped that decisions could be taken by the end of the year.

The Council agreed in principle to extend the provisions of the seventh directive on aid to the shipbuilding industry to the end of 1994.

There was discussion of measures to support small and medium enterprises with a decision that a single programme should commence in July this year, subject to agreement on the detail of the text.

The Commission, at the United Kingdom's instigation, made a presentation of the progress towards accomplishing the tasks set out in the Council resolution on administrative simplification agreed during the United Kingdom presidency. The United Kingdom had placed this important topic on the agenda to keep up the momentum of the Commission's work in this area. The Commission's action should help to ensure that burdens on British business are minimised.

We also tabled a paper, which was supported by a number of other member states, outlining our concern about the damage to the United Kingdom's recycling industry caused by German packaging waste legislation. The Danish presidency hoped that progress could be made at the June Environment Council on the packaging waste directive as a Community solution to some aspects of this problem.

The Council also held a wide-ranging debate on the link between industrial competitiveness and environmental protection. We consider this link to be important and will continue to work with the Commission and other member states so that the relationship between industrial competitiveness and environmental protection is taken into account when formulating policies.