general report of high authority

7/27/2019 General report of High Authority

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tNos. 428 AND 429 (CHAPTER V, PART I, SECTION 3,

for cards were intending subsequently to take up jobs outside theirown countries : on the contrary, the majority were already employedabroad and wished to use their cards as labour permits.

Since the proportion of extensions applied for and granted hasbeen fairly substantial, it is to be presumed that once a worker hashis card he values it.

Most of the cards issued up to September 30,L960,were suppliedto workers in Belgium and the Netherlands (509 and 471 respectively).For the other countries the figures were: Germany I72, France 7,kaly 243, Luxembourg nil.

All the offers of employment made to cardholders came fromthe coalmining industry, and were made only during the last quarterof 1957 and at the beginning of 1958: when the coal crisis set inpractically all the remaining vacancies ceased to be available.429. The Seventh General Reportl) gives the various reasons for thecomparatively meagre results of the inttoduction of the Communitylabour card.

The High Authority nevertheless considers that the objectiveslaid down in Article 69 arc indissociable from the other economicand social objectives of the Treaty, and in particular from thoseenumerated in Articles 2,3 and 5. The provisions of Article 59 arecomplementary to those giving the High Authority special respoo-sibilities in the social field : they are among the means oPen to it forincreasing employment opportunities and ensuring that the workersare not called upon to bear the brunt of economic and technicalcharges. By giving workers of recognized qualifications comPletefreedom of choice throughout the Community as to the enterprisethey wish to work in, the implementation of Article 69 can do muchto improve and level up the living and working conditions of thelabour force. Moreover, genuine freedom of movement amongCommunity enterprises can help to ensure stability of employment ina market which is in process of technical and sttuctural transformation.r) No. 189.

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Nos. 430 AND 431 (CIIAPTER V, PART I, SEC:|'ION 3)

430. As eaily as I)54, the Governments gave it to be clearly under-stood that the list just compiled was to be regarded only as a firstscep towards freedom as to choice of employment in the extractiveand iron and steel industries, and that they were resolved to continueworking to extend the advantages of this freedom of movement to alarger and larger number of workers. The decision of December 8,1954, contains the provision that the Governments rrray meet, upon theproposal of the High Authority and of two of their number. to drawup fresh lists of jobs entitling workers to be considered as havingrecognized qualifications."

In accordance with this provision, the High Authority, inagreement with the Italian and Luxembourg Governments, wrote onSeptember 14, 1959, to the Governments inviting them to join inexamining whether the time had come to draw up a new list, andif so, what action might be taken to do so. The Governments accepted.,and a preliminary meeting of their representatives was held onOctober 15, 1959, at which it was agreed to set up a steering com-mittee to conduct preparatoty studies on a second list and to settlethe procedure to be followed. The steering committee met severaltimes between October 1959 and June 1960: it proposed that anIntergovernmental Commission be convened, and prepared the work-ing documents for rhe latter's use.

The Commission duly met from November 7 to 9, 1960, withM. Finet, Member of the High Authoriry, in the chair. The nationaldelegations includecl representatives. of the employers' and workers'associations.431. The Commission decided that the Governments should be askedto approve a second lisr of 116 recognized jobs,Sil in the iron andsteel industry and 29 in the coalmining industry. The High Authoritywill shortly be submitting the Commission's proposa.ls to the Govern-ments through the Council of Ministers.

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Nos.43l AND 432 (CHAPTER V, PART I, SECT/ONS 3 AND4)If these are adopted, all workers from member countries

employed, subject to cerrain conditions,l) in any of the I72 jobsfiguring on the first and second lists will be entitled to Communitylabour cards, and hence to take up offers of employment in such jobsin other Community countries vrithout risk of any difficulties underthe receiving country's regulations concerning recruitment and em-ployment of foreign labour.

Section 4: Readaptation of VorkersSECTION 23 OF THE CONVENTION

432. In its Eighth General Report2) the High Authority confineditself to mefltioning(a) the total amount of the funds made available between March 18,!954,when it first decided to assist readaptation, and February 9,

1960, when Section 23 of the Convention expired ;(b) the total number of workers covered by applications for readap-

tation assistance under Section 23.It is now possible to give further details.The accompanying table shows the breakdown by indusries

and counuies of the number of workers concerned and the amountsgranted. A few additional observations are, however, also called for.Although the High Authoriry is no longer entitled, sinceFebruary I0, 1960, to give financial assistance under Section 23,

readaptation operations approved before that date will of coursecontinue to be financed by the High Authority and the Governmentsconcerned up to their scheduled date of completion.

Many heads of enterprises faced with closure or with productioncutbacks have taken the precaution of applying to the High Authorityfor assistance in respect of workers whose discharge is only probable,and not definitely decided.r) See p. )6, footnote 2.s) No. 141.

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No.433 (CHAPTER V, PART I, SECTION 4/

433. Summary of Read,aptatiomscltemet ttsitted' by tbe High Authorit'y und'er Section 23 ol the Conaention

Iron-oremines

250250

Iron and steelindustry Totalsper country

Germany(Fed. Rep.)BelgiumFranceItalyCommunity

28,9006,6555,53095,285.

17,061r0,560r,55r2,3645947

500 106

) E,M.A, units of account.The table therefore covers four categories of workers:

(a) those a$sisted in the past under Section 23, as affected by areadaPtation operation now completed ;

(b) those now receiving assistance, as affected by an operation stillin progress ;(c) those who will receive assistance, because they actually will be

discharged;(d) those who will not, in the event, be assisted, because althoughtheir enterprises are at present planning to discharge them,

future develoPments will enable them to be kept on after all-The exact alnount involved is similarly uncertain, as it is nctt

yet known how many workers are to benefit. It is, however, clearthat the High Authoriry will not be called upon to pay out the wholeof its appropriations for this purpose. Disbursements up to Sep-rember 30, 1960, totalled L5,760,000 units of account: the differenceis due partly to the circumstances just mentioned, and Partly to twoprocedural considerations, namely, that in some cases readaptationprogrammes are phased over several years and have not yet run theirIull course, and that the whole of each actual grant to the workers ismade in the first instance by the Government concerned' whichrecovers the amounts due from the High Authority at a later date.274

55,100900 t7,34610,5602,5r2


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Nos. 446 AND 447 (CHAPTER v, PART I, SECTION 5)

these included the role in redevelopment of the different types offinancial aid and of the economic intelligence groups and financingcorporations ; the special problems arising in connection with the re-employment of mineworkers; different factors aff.ecting redevelop-ment operations; and the practical conduct of these operations onrhe spot.

Finally, the Conference met again in plenary session to hearand debate the reports of the committees' spokesmen and the two" general reports " submitted, at the High Authority's request, byProf. Di Nardi, of Rome, and Prof. By6, of Paris, the first dealingwith the most effective means of action available for the redevelop-ment of coalfields, and the second with the conclusions energing fromthe various redevelopment schemes canied out in the Communitycounuies and the United Kingdom.

The Conference was agreed by all concerned to have beenhighly successful, both as to the quality of the reports submitted andto the general atmosphete of co-operation and helpfulness whichprevailed; in addition, it made possible a numbet of extremely vaiu-able personal contacts.

Resubs447. The working patty which had been responsible for otganizingthe Conference was instructed to dravr up, in co-operation with thedepartments of the High Authority, a summary repon giving clearlyand concisely the essential results of the proceedings. The report,same area after it had suffered impoverishment and the morale of itsmitted to the Council of Ministers at its meeting on January I0, 1961.

The report emphasized that advantage should be taken of goodperiods in the trade cycle to push ahead with redevelopment projectsin hand or envisaged, since it was obviously better to prevent theeconomic and social decay of an area than to have to reactivate thesarne area after it had suffered impoverishment and the morale of itsinhabitants had been lowered. Redevelopment therefore requiredIong-term planning as well as short-term action.

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No. 447 (CHAPTER V, PART I, SEC"ION 5,

The methods employed must be tailored to the social andeconomic characteristics of the area concerned. \ilThatever the in-dividual circumstances, however, only the concentration at a givenjuncture and given geographical foci of a corpus of appropriateconcessions and advantages would produce the shock effect neededto prevent large-scale departures of skilled workers, encourage localinitiative and attract new industries.

Such advantages would include improvements to basic services,the equipment of sites and the construction of factory premises.

The necessary impetus might in some depressed areas beprovided by building industrial estates and setting up corporations tomanage them.

Tax concessions, though valuable, were felt to be less im-portant than the provision of capital-equipment grants and loans,the latter to be rnade available on specially advantageous terms,including low rates of interest, initial interest-lree periods, longmaturities and generous conditions as to collateral and other securities.In general, the object of financial assistance should be simply to givea sraft to investment, care being taken not to cause any distortion inconditions of competition.

In order to meet regional requirements as effrectively as possibleand avoid delays caused by administrative formalities, somethingshould be done to decentralize credit facilities for the benefit of theincoming industries. Arrangements might also be made for suchcredits to be granted, in certain cases, by special bodies pardy financedfrom public funds.

Manufacturers thinking of setting up in a redevelopment areashould not have to apply to several different quatters in order toascertain and to avail themselves of the concr:ssions which theEuropean institutions, the Governments and the local authorities areprepared to offer them. Action should therefore be taken to centralizethe arrangements for supplying information and granting concessions.and to simplify the adminisuative fomalities i:nvolved as far aspossible.

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III

Nos. &7 AND 448 (CLIAPTER V, PART I, SECT/ON 5,Various facilities could and should be provided for helping toretrain mineworkers for other jobs, and for limiting any rnaterial

hardship incurred as a resulr of the change of employment. The fullvalue of such facilities - which must of course also be automaticallyand equally available to mineworkers of foreign nationaliry employedin the area - would be felt if they were brought into play right atthe start of the redevelopment operation.The progressive levelling of tariff. walls was in some cases

causing shifts in the traditional balance between one area and an-other, and since the introduction of the Common Market redevelop-ment problems had been assuming new proportions - Communityproportions. Consequently, ir was to the interest of the Governmentsto exchange information on their respective plans and ro co-ordinareamong themselves quite a number of measures so as to make themmore effective. In parricular, rhey should line up their plans ofaction for geographically-adjacent areas which happened to be separ-ated by national frontiers: thus for instance there was room forFranco-Belgian co-operation on the redevelopment of the FrenchNord and the Belgian Borinage.

The European institutions for their pan must facilitate theplanning and financing of redevelopment projects, and co-operatewith the Governments (with whom of course the main responsibilityrested) in harmonizing the action to be taken. As for the HighAuthority in particular, ir musr always bear in mind that the co-ordination of redevelopment policies at Community level was anessential adjunct to a co-ordinated energy policy.448, The work of the Conference v/as necessarily of an exploratorynature. The Conference had no power to take actual decisions. Itdid, on the othet hand, carry out a first reconnaissance of appropriatemethods and possible fields for future co-operarion between theGovernments and the European institutions.

The exchange of experiences and ideas which took place thereundoubredly brought to light a number of new possibilities in connec-

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general report of high authority

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