European Parliament
Marie-Noëlle Lienemann (PSE ). –
(FR)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, many employees and citizens of the European Union do not understand the European Commission’s passivity in the face of the hostile TOB affecting the
Arcelor
group and have been deeply shocked by the remarks made by Commissioner Neelie Kroes, who does not see any need for a defence strategy for European groups. She is just happy that there are international groups in Europe.
Adopting this attitude means forgetting about our past, namely that Europe was founded on the European Coal and Steel Community. It means disregarding any notion of an industrial policy and it means believing the remarks and the commitments of
Mittal Steel
’s boss, which he will clearly go back on in the long term. Proof of this is the closure, in Ireland, of one of this group’s factories despite the commitments that had been made to the local authorities.
Finally, I should like to say that, in this industrial policy affair, it is clear that the
Mittal Steel
group is basically aiming to take the
Arcelor
group’s own funds, which are unquestionably the fruit of
Arcelor
employees’ labour; it is also seeking to pave the way for long-term relocations and is thus threatening …
(The President cut off the speaker)

