Council Decision
of 18 February 2002
on guidelines for Member States' employment policies for the year 2002
(2002/177/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 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) The Luxembourg process, based on the implementation of the coordinated European Employment Strategy, was launched by the extraordinary European Council meeting on Employment on 20 and 21 November 1997. The Council Resolution of 15 December 1997 on the 1998 Employment Guidelines(5) has launched a process with high visibility, strong political commitment and a wide-ranging acceptance by all parties concerned.
(2) 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. The attainment of this goal will enable the Union to regain the conditions for full employment.
(3) 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.
(4) The Stockholm European Council on 23 and 24 March 2001 agreed to complement the Lisbon targets for employment rates to be reached by 2010 with intermediate targets for employment rates by 2005 and a new target for 2010 for increasing the employment rate among older women and men.
(5) The Stockholm European Council also agreed that regaining full employment not only involves focusing on more jobs, but also on better jobs. To this end common approaches should be defined for maintaining and improving the quality of work, which should be included as a general objective in the employment guidelines.
(6) The Stockholm European Council further agreed that the modernisation of labour markets and labour mobility need to be encouraged to allow greater adaptability to change by breaking down existing barriers.
(7) The Gothenburg European Council on 15 and 16 June 2001 recognised that the fundamental Treaty objective of sustainable development implies that employment, economic reforms, social and environmental policies be addressed in a mutually reinforcing way, and invited Member States to draw up sustainable development strategies. Such strategies should include the promotion of employment in the environmental field. Synergies which result from environmental and employment policies should be demonstrated and used.
(8) In implementing the employment guidelines, Member States should aim at a high degree of consistency with the two other priorities highlighted by the Lisbon Summit, namely modernising social protection and the promotion of social inclusion, while ensuring that work pays, and the long-term sustainability of social protection systems is secured.
(9) The Lisbon European Council stressed the need to adapt European education and training systems both to the demands of the knowledge society and to the need for an improved level and quality of employment, and called upon Member States, the Council and the Commission to pursue a substantial annual increase in per capita investment in human resources. In particular, Member States should strengthen their effort towards the use of information and communication technology for learning.
(10) The Santa Maria da Feira European Council on 19 and 20 June 2000 invited the social partners to play a more prominent role in defining, implementing and evaluating the employment guidelines which depend on them, focusing particularly on modernising work organisation, lifelong learning and increasing the employment rate, particularly for women.
(11) The Council Decision of 19 January 2001 on guidelines for Member States' employment policies for the year 2001(6) reflects the new political messages endorsed by the Lisbon and Santa Maria da Feira European Councils.
(12) The 2001 Joint Employment Report, drawn up by the Council and the Commission, describes the employment situation in the Community and examines the action taken by the Member States in implementing their employment policy in line with the 2001 employment guidelines and the Council Recommendation of 19 January 2001 on the implementation of Member States' employment policies(7).
(13) Consistency and synergy between the employment guidelines and the broad economic policy guidelines should be ensured.
(14) The Lisbon and Nice European Councils launched an open coordination process in the area of social inclusion. Consistency and synergy between the employment and social inclusion processes should be ensured.
(15) The opinion of the Employment Committee was drafted jointly with the Economic Policy Committee.
(16) On 18 February 2002 the Council adopted a further Recommendation on the implementation of Member States' employment policies(8).
(17) The implementation of the guidelines may vary according to their nature, the parties to whom they are addressed and the different situations in the Member States. They should respect the principle of subsidiarity and Member States' responsibilities with regard to employment.
(18) In implementing the employment guidelines, Member States should be able to take regional situations into account, while fully respecting the attainment of national targets and the principle of equal treatment.
(19) The effectiveness of the Luxembourg process requires that the implementation of the employment guidelines is also reflected inter alia in financial provision. To this end, the national reports should, where appropriate, include budget information in order to permit an effective assessment of the progress achieved by each Member State in implementing the guidelines, taking into account their impact and cost-effectiveness.
(20) Partnership at all levels should be encouraged, including with the social partners, regional and local authorities and representatives of civil society so that they can contribute, in their respective fields of responsibility, to promoting a high level of employment.
(21) There is a need to consolidate and develop further comparable indicators to make it possible to assess the implementation and impact of the annexed guidelines, and to refine the targets which they contain and facilitate the identification and exchange of best practice.
(22) Member States should strengthen their efforts to include and make visible a gender perspective across all the pillars.
(23) Quality in work is an important objective of the European Employment Strategy. It involves both the job characteristics and the wider labour market context, and should be promoted through actions across all the pillars,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Sole Article
The guidelines for Member States' employment policies for the year 2002, annexed hereto, are hereby adopted. Member States shall take them into account in their employment policies.
Done at Brussels, 18 February 2002.