EESC- EF joint Conference

"Industrial change in Europe: current situation, prospects, responsibilities"
Brussels, 20-21 novembre 2003
Backgound information

This note has been prepared in order to help speakers and participants to explore the key questions to be addressed during the various sessions of the conference As mentioned in the letter of invitation, the aim of the conference is to take stock, look at the prospects for, and identify the responsibilities of the various actors involved in change, including civil society. Participants are also requested to consult official documents of the European institutions relevant to the seminar. The European Commission recently published Communication on "Industrial Policy in an Enlarged Europe" 1 contains useful information related to the conference themes. This document does not provide any general information related to the Consultative Committee on Industrial Change- CCMI, neither on the European Monitoring Centre on Change -EMCC. For further information, please see the websites 2. Lessons from the ECSC In the same year that saw the birth of the single currency, Europe had to say farewell to the first supranational treaty of European integration, the 1952 Treaty of Paris establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ESCS). The former ECSC Consultative Committee had carried out a great deal of useful work for the sectors in question. It is now perceived as a real model for concertation between social partners and public authorities. It fixed a decision-making process functioning on shared responsibilities. It created a specific industrial policy. On the basis of Council recommendations and European Commission proposals, a new Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI) has been installed within the European Economic and Social Committee. The CCMI makes it possible to hold a direct dialogue with the representatives of sectors and interest groups affected by industrial change. Its goal is to apply