Benchmarking, instrument to economic actors and public authorities

In adopting the report by Mr Simon Francis MURPHY (PSE, UK) Parliament considered that benchmarking was a basic instrument for guiding and improving European competitiveness. Parliament welcomed the Commission's proposal concerning the establishment of a high-level group on benchmarking, composed of industrialists, trade unions and consumers but also called for SMEs to be included through participants specifically representing them. It also asked that the European Parliament be directly involved with the work of this group through the granting of observer status to a small number of its Members. Parliament also asked the Commission to: - introduce an extra pilot project to investigate why certain European sectors such as food, drink, tobacco and furniture all outperformed their Japanese and American counterparts for industrial added value; -explore the benefits of benchmarking through the implementation of best practice on the employment market (cost of labour, adaptability of the workforce, investment in human resources); - investigate the possibility of an additional benchmarking project on infrastructure investment in the Union. �