It's about the commitment of all who are concerned in the process. To conclude the debate on the Green Paper we held a very interesting Conference in Glasgow, jointly organised by the Ian McCartney, the UK Government and the Commission. At that conference we looked at a number of cases where firms had reorganised their ways of working. Over and over again, the message came through. Where workers are fully involved in the change process, the results are much more positive than where the changes are imposed without the involvement of the workers concerned.
European companies have to be competitive if they are to compete in world markets.
But what we compete on is quality. We don't compete with third world countries by paying ever lower wages or reducing working standards. In the more recent Communication, we have taken this idea of involving the social partners directly in the development of labour market rules a step further. In doing so, it echoes and develops the invitation to the social partners set out in the adaptability pillar of the Employment Guidelines. It is a challenge that we hope the social partners will respond to and one that will see a further shift away from legislation towards negotiated and agreed arrangements.