The announcement of the closing of VW Forest is not without reminding that of Renault Vilvorde in 1997, which had lead a few years later to the adoption of the directive creating a general framework for workers' information and consultation. This time, the VW Forest case could encourage the Commission to make more visible its interventions on restructurings and even to push for a revision of the directive on European work's councils. (Réf. 061249)
The way in which the European Commission managed the announcement by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen of the restructuring of its Belgian site of Forest, close to Brussels, gives indications on how it intends to position on this type of issue, its expectations with respect to companies and the initiatives that it could take to develop its action.
- Informing the Commission. It is the first objection made by the Commission to Volkswagen. In a letter of November 30, 2006, the European Employment and social Affairs Commissioner, Vladimir Spidla, expressed his disappointment to the president of Volkswagen’s board of directors, Bernd Pischetsrieder, concerning the fact that himself and his services were not informed beforehand and in an informal way of the restructuring plan at Forest, as this is usually practised when important restructurings are envisaged.
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