31989Y1007(01)

COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 26 September 1989 on the development of subcontracting in the Community (89/C 254/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas the Council adopted on 3 November 1986 a resolution concerning the action programme for small and medium-sized enterprises, and in July 1989 a Decision relating to the improvement of the business environment and the promotion of the development of enterprises, in particular of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Community;

Whereas, following communications on an enterprise policy for the Community and on "Strengthening cooperation between European firms : a response to the 1992 internal market deadline", the Commission has sent to the Council a communication on the development of subcontracting in the Community;

Whereas subcontracting is becoming a strategic choice for enterprises as part of their policy to make increased use of external resources;

Whereas the completion of the single market in 1992, by offering to enterprises wider market opportunities, will enable a more systematic recourse to cross-border subcontracting and, by reinforcing intra-Community competition, will emphasize structural changes in subcontracting relations;

Whereas the improvement of the enterprise environment is a major factor for the cross-border development of subcontracting;

Whereas access to appropriate and pertinent information and the improvement of communications are particularly important for establishing cross-border subcontracting relationships;

Whereas the adjustment to new demands for competitiveness gives rise to a change in relations between main contractors and subcontractors and will therefore call for special efforts on the part of each partner, in particular as regards the scheduling of orders, the organization of contractual relations, adjusting to new technologies and the development of customer diversification policies,

NOTES with interest the Commission's action so far, and in particular its promotion of cross-border subcontracting;

CALLS upon the Commission to pursue, in concert with the Member States, its general role of instigating, initiating and coordinating measures aimed at creating a propitious environment for subcontracting;

ENCOURAGES, in addition to the projects undertaken in the Member States, initiatives to improve the flow of information and communication between main contractors and subcontractors, in particular the continuation of work on multilingual sectoral terminologies and the improvement of the systems to assist in the search for partners;

TAKES NOTE of the possibility of setting up a European Information Centre on subcontracting and requests the Commission to continue its work, in close collaboration with concerned professional organizations and with the Member States;

STRESSES the importance of promoting more balanced relationships between main contractors and subcontractors and of promoting European subcontracting also to third country enterprises;

CONSIDERS that an improvement of the legal framework for subcontracting should be brought about for example by a careful examination of the problem of payment periods and that the special case of public procurement must be studied in depth;

WISHES to be kept informed of the progress of the Commission's work on the development of subcontracting in the Community.