INDUSTRY: PUBLICATION OF ANNUAL REPORT ON COMPETITIVENESS.

The European Commission publishes a report on the competitiveness of European industry annually in response to a request from the Council of Ministers (Resolution of November 21, 1994). The 1999 report focuses on sectoral data for manufacturing industry.Between 1988 and 1998, the added value at constant prices of the goods produced by manufacturing industry increased by 1.8% in the EU. Employment has declined by an annual average of 1.4%, falling in the majority of large EU Member States, with only Ireland and Denmark recording annual growth of +4.2% and +1.7% respectively between 1988 and 1997. The evolution of production and employment varies between sectors. Where there has been significant intangible investment (in industries pursuing active research policies), growth has been faster than average and jobs cuts relatively less severe. By contrast, labour intensive industries have recorded more disappointing results. Notwithstanding, differences in growth are more marked between countries than between industrial sectors, suggesting that the national environment within which companies operate should lie at the heart of political considerations.Over the period covered by the report (1988/1998), the average degree of specialisation of Member States in the production sector rose only very slightly. Certain large countries have accentuated their specialisation: notably Germany (motor industry), Italy (mechanical engineering industry) and the United Kingdom (food industry). Smaller countries have successfully exploited certain niches without generally increasing the specialisation of their production. The Commission further highlights a reduction in the geographic concentration of industries. High concentration results in a small number of countries supplying a large proportion of the products sold on a given market. Geographic concentration among a...