Council Decision
of 22 July 2003
on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States
(2003/578/EC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 128(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(3),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(4),
Having regard to the opinion of the Employment Committee,
Whereas:
(1) Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union sets the Union the objective of promoting economic and social progress and a high level of employment. Article 125 of the Treaty establishing the European Community states that Member States and the Community shall work towards developing a coordinated strategy for employment and particularly for promoting a skilled, trained and adaptable workforce and labour markets responsive to economic change.
(2) Following the extraordinary European Council meeting on employment on 20 and 21 November 1997 in Luxembourg, the Council resolution of 15 December 1997 on the 1998 employment guidelines(5) launched a process with high visibility, strong political commitment and a wide-ranging acceptance by all parties concerned.
(3) The Lisbon European Council on 23 and 24 March 2000 set a new strategic goal for the European Union to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. To this end the Council agreed overall employment targets and employment targets for women, for 2010, which were completed at the Stockholm European Council on 23 and 24 March 2001, by intermediate targets for January 2005, and a new target for 2010, reflecting the demographic challenge, for the employment rate of older women and men.
(4) The Nice European Council on 7, 8 and 9 December 2000 approved the European Social Agenda, which states that the return to full employment involves ambitious policies in terms of increasing employment rates, reducing regional gaps, reducing inequality and improving job quality.
(5) The Barcelona European Council of 15 and 16 March 2002 called for a strengthening of the European Employment Strategy through a reinforced, simplified and better-governed process, with a time frame aligned to 2010, and which incorporates the targets and goals of the Lisbon strategy. The Barcelona European Council also requested a streamlining of policy coordination processes, with synchronised calendars for the adoption of the broad economic policy guidelines and the employment guidelines.
(6) The Brussels European Council of 20 and 21 March 2003 confirmed that the employment strategy has the leading role in the implementation of the employment and labour market objectives of the Lisbon strategy, and that the employment strategy and the broad economic policy guidelines, which provide the overarching economic policy coordination for the Community, should operate in a consistent way. The same European Council called for guidelines to be limited in number and to be result orientated, allowing Member States to design the appropriate mix of action, and for them to be supported by appropriate targets. 2003 provides a particular opportunity to use streamlined key policy coordination instruments - the broad economic policy guidelines, the employment guidelines and the internal market strategy - and give them a new three-year perspective.
(7) The employment strategy has been exhaustively evaluated, including a thorough mid-term review, completed in 2000, and a major evaluation of the experiences of the first five years completed in 2002. This evaluation pointed to the need for continuity in the strategy to address remaining structural weaknesses, as well as the need to address new challenges facing an enlarged European Union.
(8) The successful implementation of the Lisbon agenda calls for the employment policies of Member States to foster, in a balanced manner the three complementary and mutually supportive objectives of full employment, quality and productivity at work, and social cohesion and inclusion. The achievement of these objectives requires further structural reforms concentrating on 10 key interrelated priorities and special attention should be paid to the coherent governance of the process. Policy reforms require a gender-mainstreaming approach in implementing all actions.
(9) On 6 December 2001 the Council adopted a series of indicators to measure 10 dimensions for investing in quality in work and called for these indicators to be used in monitoring the European employment guidelines and recommendations.
(10) Active and preventative policies should be effective and contribute to the goals of full employment and social inclusion by ensuring that unemployed and inactive people, are able to compete in and integrate into the labour market. Those policies should be supported by modern labour market institutions.
(11) Member States should encourage the creation of more and better jobs by fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in a favourable business environment. Member States are committed to implementing the European Charter for Small Enterprises and are engaged in a process of benchmarking of the enterprise policy.
(12) Providing the right balance between flexibility and security will help support the competitiveness of firms, increase quality and productivity at work and facilitate the adaptation of firms and workers to economic change. In this context the Barcelona and Brussels European Councils called in particular for a review of employment legislation, while respecting the role of Social Partners. Levels of health and safety standards at work should be raised in line with the new Community strategy for 2002 to 2006. Particular focus should be placed on high-risk sectors for accidents at work. Access of workers to training is an essential element of the balance between flexibility and security and the participation of all workers should be supported, taking into account the returns on investment for workers, employers as well as society as a whole. Economic restructuring poses a challenge for employment both in current and future Member States and calls for positive management involving all relevant actors, including the Social Partners.
(13) The Barcelona European Council welcomed the Commission action plan on skills and mobility and the Council Resolution of 3 June 2002 on skills and mobility further invited the Commission, Member States and the Social Partners to undertake the measures required. Better occupational and geographic mobility and job matching will help increase employment and social cohesion, taking into account the labour aspects of immigration.
(14) The implementation of coherent and comprehensive lifelong learning strategies is critical in delivering full employment, improved quality and productivity at work, and better social cohesion. The Barcelona European Council welcomed the Commission communication "Making a European area of lifelong learning" which spelt out the essential building blocks of lifelong learning strategies of partnership, insight into demand for learning, adequate resources, facilitating access to learning opportunities, creating a learning culture, and striving for excellence. The ongoing process on concrete future objectives for education systems, launched by the Lisbon European Council, plays an important role with respect to human capital development and synergies with the Employment strategy should be fully exploited. On 5 to 6 May 2003, the Council adopted a series of benchmarks of European average performance in education and training, several of which are of particular relevance in the context of employment policies. The Lisbon European Council called for a substantial per capita increase in investment in human resources. This requires sufficient incentives for employers and individuals, and redirecting public finance towards more efficient investment in human resources across the learning spectrum.
(15) An adequate labour supply is needed in order to meet the demographic challenge, support economic growth, promote full employment, and support the sustainability of social protection systems. The joint report from the Commission and the Council, "Increasing labour-force participation and promoting active ageing" adopted by the Council on 7 March 2002, concludes that this requires developing comprehensive national strategies based on a life cycle approach. Policies should exploit the employment potential of all categories of persons. The Barcelona European Council agreed that the European Union should seek, by 2010, a progressive increase of about five years in the effective average exit age at which people stop working. This age was estimated at 59,9 in 2001.
(16) Gender gaps in the labour market should be progressively eliminated, if the European Union is to deliver full employment, increase quality at work and promote social inclusion and cohesion. This requires both a gender mainstreaming approach and specific policy actions to create the conditions for women and men to enter, re-enter, and remain in the labour market. The Barcelona European Council agreed that by 2010 Member States should provide childcare to at least 90 % of children between three years old and the mandatory school age and at least 33 % of children under three years of age. The underlying factors of the gender gaps in unemployment and in pay should be addressed and targets on the reduction of such gaps should be achieved as a result, without calling into question the principle of wage differentiation according to productivity and labour market situation.
(17) The effective integration into the labour market of people at a disadvantage will deliver increased social inclusion, employment rates, and improve the sustainability of social protection systems. Policy responses need to tackle discrimination, provide a personalised approach to individual needs, and create adequate job opportunities by providing recruitment incentives for employers. Council Decision 2001/903/EC(6) of 3 December 2001 designated 2003 as the "European year of people with disabilities". Access to the labour market is a major priority with respect to people with disabilities who are estimated to represent some 37 million people in the European Union, many of whom have the ability and desire to work.
(18) In order to improve the prospects for full employment and social cohesion, the balance between income from work against income in unemployment or inactivity should be such as to encourage people to enter, re-enter and to remain in the labour market, and to foster job creation.
(19) Undeclared work is taken to mean "any paid activities that are lawful as regards their nature but not declared to public authorities". Studies estimate the size of the informal economy on average at between 7 % and 16 % of EU GDP. This should be turned into regular work in order to improve the overall business environment, the quality in work of those concerned, social cohesion and the sustainability of public finance and social protection systems. Improving knowledge about the extent of undeclared work in Member States and the European Union should be encouraged.
(20) Employment and unemployment disparities between regions in the European Union remain large and will increase after enlargement. They should be tackled through a broad approach involving actors at all levels in order to support economic and social cohesion, making use of the Community Structural Funds.
(21) The evaluation of the first five years of the employment strategy highlighted better governance as a key for the strategy's future effectiveness. A successful implementation of employment policies depends on partnership at all levels, the involvement of a number of operational services, and adequate financial resources to support the implementation of the employment guidelines. Member States have responsibility for the effective implementation of the employment guidelines, including ensuring a balanced delivery at regional and local level.
(22) The effective implementation of the employment guidelines requires active participation of social partners, at all stages, from designing policies to their implementation. At the Social Summit on 13 December 2001 the Social Partners expressed the need to develop and improve coordination of tripartite consultation. It was also agreed that a Tripartite Social Summit for Growth and Employment would be held before each spring European Council.
(23) In addition to the employment guidelines, Member States should fully implement the broad economic policy guidelines and ensure that their action is fully consistent with the maintenance of sound public finances and macroeconomic stability,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Sole Article
The guidelines for Member States' employment policies ("employment guidelines"), annexed hereto, are hereby adopted. Member States shall take them into account in their employment policies.
Done at Brussels, 22 July 2003.