10.000 jobs lost at Alcatel and Airbus: the least of the concerns of the European Commission

(B2) For the President of the European Commission, José-Manuel Barroso, Social Europe is the least of the worries. Asked about the social plans at Alcatel and Airbus, the spokesperson for the President of the Commission, José-Manuel Barroso, did not want to answer. Asking the question of the validity of the social plans in progress at Alcatel or Airbus comes under "ideological tendencies" according to Johannes Laitenberger and "has nothing to do with the long-term reflection initiated by the
Commission on the reform of the internal market". He also added that "the decisions are to be taken in the companies", considering that one should not "play on the confusion of responsibilities between those of the Commission and the Member States", thus denying any responsibility in this matter.

For the European Commissioner for Employment, Vladimír Špidla, the important thing is to support employees. “These dismissals cannot be avoided, just as further dismissals cannot be avoided in the future. The most important issue to be resolved is therefore to provide effective support to those made redundant to find a job. This is above all the task of the social plans of the companies. We must use all the instruments given to us by national and European legislation, information and consultation. On the side of the European Commission, our task is to check that everything is done in compliance, particularly with regard to the information and consultation of workers, which is governed by a European directive. And if there are problems or requests, we can react. For the moment, we have had no no such request." He added: "I would also like to make it clear that we are not looking to make layoffs more flexible. When we talk about developing flexicurity, it is about looking for new security in a time when everything is so flexible. The most important part for us is effective support in the moment of transition."

As for Gérard Larcher, French Minister of Labour, he does not want to use the Fund
globalization. The new globalization adjustment fund, set up at European level in January, is not - according to Gérard Larcher, Minister for Labor Relations, answering our questions during the Council of Employment Ministers on 22 FEBRUARY, "the patch to all the problems. The question is more to ask the question of the future of telecommunications, a question that must be asked at European level" (besides Alcatel, there is the case of Siemens and Nokia).