§ Mr. HagueTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of the discussions which took place in the EC Industry Council on 24 November.
§ Mr. HeseltineI chaired the meeting of the Industry Council in Brussels on 24 November. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Industry represented the United Kingdom.
From the United Kingdom point of view, this was a highly successful Council which met all our objectives. In particular, we secured adoption of two resolutions: one on deregulation which highlights the importance of the Commission's impact assessment system in helping to reduce the burdens of EC legislation on industry and will ensure regular scrutiny and review of the Community's record on deregulation; and one which underlines the importance of dialogue with business on the best way of achieving environmental objectives and ties the Commission to assess the costs and benefits of different means of achieving these objectives.
We also succeeded in securing satisfactory Council conclusions on the future of the European Coal and Steel Community which call for substantial reductions in the levy on coal and steel producers.
A discussion of the Commission's annual report on competition policy resulted in Presidency conclusions supporting the vigorous and even-handed application of EC competition policy.
The main debate in the Council centred on proposals for aid to the Spanish steel industry. The Council was unable to approve the derogations from the steel aids code required to accommodate the Spanish proposals. The Council decided that further work was needed and the issue should be reconsidered under the Danish Presidency. The Council discussed recent Commission ideas on restructuring the steel industry, which will also need further consideration under the next Presidency.
Other items briefly discussed included future policy on small and medium-sized enterprises and a Commission communication on the non-energy mining industry.