Mr President, the issue of social security systems is an important one. This is a natural consequence of cooperation within the EU. The basis is monetary cooperation, which has since been followed up by macro-economic cooperation and cooperation on employment policy. It is now a natural consequence to move on to social security systems. These areas are mutually dependent upon one another. Economic stability is a reason for growth and can provide high employment. It also provides the opportunity to develop welfare provision. But the reverse is also the case: a well-developed policy on social security can contribute to high employment and to increased growth. In other words, social security is a factor of production. Social security systems differ from one EU country to another. This is largely due to historical factors. We are now faced with a number of common challenges, however; demographic development, for example, which has to do not only with the increase in the number of elderly people but also with the lower birth rate. The labour market is also changing. Women are venturing into the labour market in ever greater numbers. Another challenge is presented by technical development. We must meet these challenges together. The Commission’s communication recommends that experience should be more widely shared, a high-level group formed and benchmarking introduced. What is more, the report on social security should be published annually and examined in conjunction with the report on employment. This is good, but it is not enough. We propose a procedure like the Luxembourg process. Clear guidelines and indicators are required. At the same time, the Member States are to formulate the relevant methods in national action plans. We are creating a common model, but retaining the principle of subsidiarity. This social convergence is a process which will continue for a long period. Parliament must therefore be involved in the work – not by being part of the high-level group, but by enabling parliamentary representatives to track the work of the latter and come up with proposals as to how the process is to be carried on. Like the work on employment, the Commission’s proposal is founded upon four pillars. These are: to make the systems employment-friendly; to make the pensions systems sustainable in the long term; to promote social integration; and to guarantee sustainable, high-quality health and medical care. All this is important. In our report, we have highlighted the importance of combating poverty within the EU and of finding indicators as soon as possible so that we can make progress in this area. Equality has no pillar of its own. There, it is mainstreaming which applies. All four pillars should reflect aspects of equality. This is something we have borne in mind. We are submitting a wide range of proposals to the effect, for example, that there should be a transition to individualised social security systems; that parental leave should involve entitlement to benefits under the social security systems; that there should be better opportunities to combine family and working life; and that the basic old-age pension should guarantee a decent standard of living. These proposals favour women especially. Parallel to this European strategy of social convergence, a concrete plan for legislative work in the social sphere is required, together with proposals for framework agreements in the context of the dialogue between employers and employees, accompanied by a concrete timetable. We expect the Commission to present this as part of its proposal for a social action programme. Social convergence is also needed before the enlargement of the Union, partly in order to strengthen the social model and partly to combat the risk of social dumping. The Commission ought to consider devising a special action programme concerning social policy in connection with enlargement. We have had a constructive discussion in the Committee. We had a lot of amendments, but succeeded in agreeing upon a report. Now, the amendments which are to be voted on at the plenary sitting have been reduced in number to only fifteen. This indicates that we have a broad consensus. A number of these amendments have come back from the Committee reading, and these I shall reject. I shall also reject those amendments which have been tabled by the Technical Group of Independent Members, because I do not think that these add anything to the report. On the other hand, my group will applaud Amendment No 14 from the group of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party. I think this proposal is a good one. Certainly, it resembles Amendment No 1, but Amendment No 14 is better. Finally, I want to say that the EU is not only concerned with cooperation on trade. The EU is also a union for employment and social justice. In creating a citizens’ Europe, social policy has an important role to play. By means of this report, Parliament wishes to make its contribution to reinforcing the social dimension of European society. We hope that the Council and the Commission will take this contribution seriously and include it in future social policy. The Lisbon Summit will provide an excellent opportunity to present a strategy of this kind.

Political group: PSE