2002D0050 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 1
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►B DECISION No 50/2002/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 7 December 2001
establishing a programme of Community action to encourage cooperation between Member States
to combat social exclusion
(OJ L 10, 12.1.2002, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Decision No 786/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 21 April 2004L 138 7 30.4.2004
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DECISION No 50/2002/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 7 December 2001
establishing a programme of Community action to encourage coop-
eration between Member States to combat social exclusion
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular the second and third subparagraphs of Article 137(2)thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (
1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (3),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of
the Treaty (4), in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation
Committee on 18 September 2001,
Whereas:
(1)Pursuant to Article 2 of the Treaty, the Community shall have as
part of its tasks that of promoting a high level of employment
and of social protection and the raising of the standard of livingand quality of life throughout the Community and economic andsocial cohesion.
(2)Pursuant to Article 136 of the Treaty, the Community and theMember States, taking note of fundamental political principles,such as those set out in the European Social Charter signed atTurin on 18 October 1961, the revised Social Charter of theCouncil of Europe (1996), in particular in Article 30 thereof on
the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion, and
in the 1989 Community Charter of the Fundamental SocialRights of Workers, and bearing in mind also the rights and prin-ciples recognised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of theEuropean Union (
5) proclaimed jointly by the European Parlia-
ment, the Council and the Commission on 7 December 2000,
shall have as an objective the combating of exclusion.
(3)In its Recommendation 92/441/EEC (6), the Council recommends
that Member States should recognise the basic right of a person
to sufficient resources and social assistance to live in a manner
compatible with human dignity. In Recommendation 92/442/EEC (
7), the Council recommends that Member States should
guarantee a level of resources in keeping with human dignity.In its Conclusions of 17 December 1999(
8), the Council
commits itself to promoting social inclusion as one of the objec-
tives of the modernisation and improvement of social protection
systems.
(4)The European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee
and the Committee of the Regions have all urged the Commu-2002D0050 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 337 E, 28.11.2000, p. 130 and
OJ C 96 E, 27.3.2001, p. 229.
(2) OJ C 14, 16.1.2001, p. 69.
(3) OJ C 144, 16.5.2001, p. 52.
(4) Opinion of the European Parliament of 16 November 2000 (OJ C 223,
8.8.2001, p. 284), Council Common Position of 12 February 2001 (OJ C
93, 23.3.2001, p. 11) and Decision of the European Parliament of 17 May
2001. Decision of the European Parliament of 15 November 2001 andCouncil Decision of 21 November 2001.
(
5) OJ C 364, 18.12.2000, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 245, 26.8.1992, p. 46.
(7) OJ L 245, 26.8.1992, p. 49.
(8) OJ C 8, 12.1.2000, p. 7.
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nity to strengthen its contribution to efforts in Member States to
prevent and to combat social exclusion.
(5)The Commission communication of 1 March 2000, ‘Building aninclusive Europe’, described the challenge of social exclusionand poverty and the existing policy responses in Member States
and at Community level, and proposed on this basis to give a
new impetus to cooperation of the European Union in this field.
(6)The Lisbon European Council of 23 and 24 March 2000 incorpo-
rated as intrinsic to the overall strategy of the Union the
promotion of social inclusion to achieve its strategic goal forthe next decade of becoming the most competitive and dynamicknowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainableeconomic growth, with more and better jobs and greater social
cohesion.
(7)The said Lisbon European Council, finding the number of people
living below the poverty line and in social exclusion in the
Union unacceptable, deemed it necessary to take steps to make
a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty by settingadequate objectives. Such objectives were agreed by the NiceEuropean Council of 7, 8 and 9 December 2000.
(8)The said Lisbon Council further acknowledged that the newknowledge-based society offers the potential for reducing socialexclusion, both by creating the economic conditions for greaterprosperity through higher levels of growth and employment,
and by opening up new ways of participating in society. At the
same time, it brings a risk of an ever-widening gapbetweenthose who have access to the new knowledge, and those whoare excluded. It recognised that policies should be directedtowards avoiding this risk and maximising this new potentialand that the best safeguard against social exclusion is a job.
(9)The said European Council further agreed that policies forcombating social exclusion should be based on an open methodof coordination combining national action plans and a Commis-
sion initiative for cooperation.
(10)This Commission initiative which consists of a proposal for amultiannual action programme designed to encourage coopera-
tion between Member States should aim at improvingknowledge, developing exchanges of information and best prac-tices, and evaluating experiences in order to enhance theeffectiveness and efficiency of policies to combat exclusion.
(11)The drawing-upof harmonised surveys and analyses, and thestudy of commonly agreed qualitative and quantitative indica-tors, will provide a basis for the development of the openmethod of coordination.
(12)The fight against social exclusion and poverty requires participa-tion in quality employment and access for all to resources,
rights, goods and services, to be facilitated.
(13)Measures to combat social exclusion should aim at enabling
everyone to support himself or herself, by gainful employment
or otherwise, and to integrate into society.
(14)The Social Protection Committee, set upby Council Decision
2000/436/EC (1) to enhance cooperation between the Member
States on social protection policies, contributes to the develop-
ment of and systematic follow-upto action to modernise socialprotection and promote social integration in accordance withthe Presidency conclusions of the European Council meeting inLisbon on 23 and 24 March 2000 and in Feira on 19 and 20
June 2000.
(15)Many non-governmental organisations at various levels (local,
regional, national and European) have experience of and exper-2002D0050 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 172, 12.7.2000, p. 26.
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tise in fighting social exclusion, as well as acting at European
level as the advocates of people who are exposed to social exclu-sion. Local and regional authorities also have experience and
knowledge in this field. Non-governmental organisations, social
partners and local and regional authorities can therefore makean important contribution at European level to understandingthe diverse forms and effects of social exclusion and to ensuringthat the design and implementation of and follow-up to the
programme take account of the experience of people exposed to
social exclusion.
(16)The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decisionshould be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/
468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the
exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commis-sion(
1).
(17)It is necessary, in order to reinforce the added value of Commu-
nity action, that the Commission, in cooperation with the
Member States, should ensure, at all levels, the coherence andcomplementarity of actions implemented in the framework ofthis Decision and all other relevant Community instruments,policies and actions, in particular those under the Structural
Funds.
(18)Special attention should be paid to social exclusion in view of
the future enlargement of the Union.
(19)The Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA Agree-ment) provides for greater cooperation in the social fieldbetween the European Community and its Member States, onthe one hand, and the countries of the European Free TradeAssociation (EFTA) participating in the European Economic
Area (EFTA/EEA countries), on the other. Provision should be
made for opening up this programme to participation by theapplicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe, in accordancewith the conditions laid down in the Europe Agreements, in theiradditional protocols and in the decisions of the respective Asso-ciation Councils, and by Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, funded by
additional appropriations in accordance with the procedures to
be agreed with those countries.
(20)In implementing this programme, the work carried out by otherinternational organisations, in particular the United Nations, the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the
International Labour Organisation and the Council of Europe,will be of particular interest.
(21)This Decision lays down, for the entire duration of the
programme, a financial framework constituting the prime refer-
ence for the budgetary authority during the annual budgetaryprocedure, within the meaning of point 33 of the Interinstitu-tional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the EuropeanParliament, the Council and the Commission, on budgetary disci-
pline and improvement of the budgetary procedure (
2). The
amount of the financial framework proposed in the programmeis compatible with the current financial perspective.
(22)Gender is a crucial cross-cutting issue which has a large impact
on the effects and causes of exclusion. Moreover, by virtue of
Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty, the elimination of inequalitiesand the promotion of equality, between men and women, arepart of the task conferred on the Community, which shouldfeature as an aim in all its activities.
(23)It is essential to monitor and evaluate the implementation of theprogramme to ensure that it achieves its objectives.2002D0050 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 4
(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(2) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.
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(24)Since the objectives of the proposed action concerning the
contribution of the Community to combating social exclusion
cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States for reasonsincluding the need for multilateral partnerships, the transnationalexchange of information and the Community-wide disseminationof good practice and can therefore, by reason of the scale andeffects of the proposed action, be better achieved at Community
level, the Community may adopt measures in accordance with
the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty.In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out inthat Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessaryto achieve those objectives,
HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
Establishment of the programme
A programme of Community action to encourage cooperation between
Member States in order to combat social exclusion, hereinafter referredto as ‘the programme’, shall be adopted for the period 1 January 2002to 31 December 2006.
Article 2
Principles
1. The programme shall be part of an open method of coordination
between Member States to give a decisive impetus to the elimination of
social exclusion and poverty by setting appropriate objectives atCommunity level and by the implementation of national action plans.
2. The programme and the national action plans shall contribute to a
better understanding of social exclusion, the mainstreaming of thecombating of exclusion in Member States' and Community policiesand measures, and the development of priority actions chosen byMember States in accordance with their particular situation.
3. In designing, implementing and following up the activities under
the programme, account shall be taken of the experience of MemberStates at all levels involved and of people exposed to social exclusion
and poverty, as well as social partners, non-governmental and voluntary
organisations, bodies providing social services and other actorsinvolved in the fight against social exclusion and poverty.
Article 3
Objectives
In the context of the open method of coordination referred to in Article
2(1), the programme shall support cooperation which enables theCommunity and the Member States to enhance the effectiveness andefficiency of policies to combat social exclusion by:
(a) improving the understanding of social exclusion and poverty with
the help in particular of comparable indicators;
(b) organising exchanges on policies which are implemented and
promoting mutual learning inter alia in the context of national
action plans, with the help in particular of comparable indicators;
(c) developing the capacity of actors to address social exclusion and
poverty effectively, and to promote innovative approaches, in parti-cular through networking at European level, and by promotingdialogue with all those involved including at national and regionallevel.2002D0050 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 5
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Article 4
Community actions
1. With a view to achieving the objectives set out in Article 3, the
following Community actions may be implemented within a transna-tional framework:
(a) analysis of characteristics, causes, processes and trends in social
exclusion, including the collection of statistics on the various forms
of social exclusion in order to compare these data, the study of
quantitative and qualitative indicators, the development of commonmethodologies and thematic studies;
(b) exchange of information and best practices encouraging the devel-
opment of quantitative and qualitative indicators, based on these
objectives as agreed by the European Parliament and the Council,
assessment criteria and benchmarks and monitoring, evaluationand peer review;
(c) promotion of dialogue involving the various actors and support for
relevant networking at European level between organisations active
in the fight against poverty and social exclusion, in particular non-
governmental organisations.
2. Arrangements for the implementation of the Community actions
described in paragraph 1 are set out in the Annex.
Article 5
Implementation and cooperation with the Member States
1. The Commission shall:
(a) ensure the implementation of the Community actions covered by
the programme;
(b) have a regular exchange of views with representatives of non-
governmental organisations and the social partners at Europeanlevel on the design and implementation of and follow-up to the
programme and on related policy orientations. To this end, the
Commission shall make useful information available to non-governmental organisations and social partners. The Commissionshall inform the Committee established under Article 8 of theseviews;
(c) promote active partnership and dialogue between all the partners
involved in the programme to encourage an integrated and coordi-nated approach to the fight against social exclusion and poverty.
2. The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member States,
take the necessary steps to:
(a) promote the involvement in the programme of all the parties
concerned;
(b) ensure the dissemination of the results of the Community actions
undertaken within the framework of the programme;
(c) provide appropriate information, publicity and follow-up with
regard to Community actions supported by the programme.
Article 6
Financing
1. The financial framework for the implementation of the
programme for the period referred to in Article 1 is hereby set atEUR 85,04 million, including technical and administrative expenditure.
2. The annual appropriations, including those relating to human
resources, shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within thelimits of the financial perspective.2002D0050 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 6
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Article 7
Implementing measures
1. The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision
relating to the matters referred to below shall be adopted in accordancewith the management procedure referred to in Article 8(2):
(a) the annual implementation of the programme's Community actions
and the annual plan of work;
(b) the breakdown of the funds between the different strands of the
programme;
(c) the arrangements for selecting activities and organisations for
Community support;
(d) the criteria for evaluating the programme, including those relating
to cost-effectiveness, and the arrangements for disseminating andtransferring the results.
2. The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision
relating to all other matters shall be adopted in accordance with theadvisory procedure referred to in Article 8(3).
Article 8
Committee
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7 of
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions ofArticle 8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at two months.
3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3 and 7 of
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions ofArticle 8 thereof.
4. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 9
Cooperation with other committees and links with the Social
Protection Committee
1. To ensure the consistency and complementarity of this
programme with other measures referred to in Article 10, the Commis-sion shall keepthe Committee regularly informed about otherCommunity action contributing to combating social exclusion. Where
appropriate, the Commission shall establish regular and structured
cooperation between this Committee and the monitoring committeesestablished for other relevant policies, instruments and actions.
2. The Commission shall establish the necessary links with the
Social Protection Committee within the framework of the Community
actions referred to in this Decision.
Article 10
Consistency and complementarity
1. The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member States,
ensure overall consistency with other relevant Community policies,instruments and actions, in particular by establishing appropriate
mechanisms to coordinate the activities of this programme with rele-
vant activities relating to research, employment, economic, industrialand enterprise policies, non-discrimination, immigration, equalitybetween women and men, social protection, education, training andyouth policy, health and in the field of enlargement and the Commu-nity's external relations.2002D0050 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 7
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2. The Member States shall make every possible effort to ensure
consistency and complementarity between activities under thisprogramme and those carried out at national, regional and local levels.
3. The Commission and the Member States shall ensure consistency
and complementarity between action undertaken under this programmeand action undertaken in the field of employment and also withCommunity action under the structural funds, in particular the Commu-nity initiative EQUAL.
Article 11
Participation of the EFTA/EEA countries, the associated countries
of Central and Eastern Europe, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey
This programme shall be open to the participation of:
— the EFTA/EEA countries in accordance with the conditions estab-
lished in the EEA Agreement;
— the associated central and eastern European countries in accordance
with the conditions established in the Europe Agreements, in theiradditional protocols and in the decisions of the respective Associa-tion Councils;
— Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, funded by additional appropriations in
accordance with procedures to be agreed with each country.
Article 12
Monitoring and evaluation
1. The Commission shall regularly monitor this programme in coop-
eration with the Member States in accordance with the procedurereferred to in Article 8(2).
2. The Commission shall report on the overall consistency of poli-
cies with social cohesion including progress achieved under this
programme in its annual summary report to the Spring EuropeanCouncil, on which the European Parliament shall express its views indue course.
3. The programme shall be evaluated by the Commission by the end
of the third year and at the end of the programme with the assistance of
independent experts. This evaluation will assess the relevance, effec-
tiveness and cost-effectiveness of activities implemented with regardto the objectives referred to in Article 3. It will also examine theimpact of the programme as a whole. The evaluation will also examinethe complementarity between action under the programme and thatpursued under other relevant Community policies, instruments and
actions.
4. The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the
Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee ofthe Regions a final report on the implementation of the programme by31 December 2006.
Article 13
Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Communities .2002D0050 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 8
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ANNEX
INDICATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME1.Action strands
With a view to achieving the objectives set out in Article 3 and imple-
menting the Community actions set out in Article 4, the following measures
may be implemented within a transnational framework:
Strand 1: Analysis of characteristics, processes, causes and trends in social
exclusion
To improve understanding of the phenomenon of social exclusion, the
following measures may be supported:
1.1. studies and meetings on the development of common methodologies to
measure and understand social exclusion and poverty, their extent, char-
acteristics, processes, causes and trends, and on technical work on
indicators;
1.2. the collection, in Member States and at Community level, and dissemi-
nation of statistics on the various types of social exclusion for the
purposes of comparing such data effectively. This measure should
support cooperation between national statistical offices and the Commis-
sion and improve the statistical reference sources at Community level
and their contribution to the analysis of social exclusion and poverty;
1.3. the promotion of innovative approaches, the development of thematic
studies to contribute to the understanding of social exclusion, in order
to address common issues in connection with policy developments in
Member States, including emerging issues in relation to the knowledge-
based society.
It is important to reflect the experience on the ground of persons confronted
with social exclusion and poverty and to make use of all relevant sources of
information on social exclusion and poverty, including that coming from
non-governmental organisations.
In analysing social exclusion and poverty, special attention will be paid to
their multiple dimensions and to the diverse situations of the social groups
concerned, including child poverty, and of the geographical areas which are
exposed to the risks of social exclusion.
Strand 2: Policy cooperation and exchange of information and best practices
In order to promote policy cooperation and mutual learning in the context of
national action plans, the following transnational activities may be supported:
2.1. transnational exchanges aimed at transferring information and good
practices and encouraging peer review by means of meetings/work-
shops/seminars on benchmarks or on policies and practices, or other
forms of exchange such as joint development of strategies and common
dissemination of information, field visits and exchanges of personnel
etc., organised at the initiative of either Member States and/or other
key actors with the active involvement of Member States, or European
organisations. Transnational exchanges between national observatories
or similar recognised bodies may also be supported under this strand;
2.2. expert work and technical studies in connection with the development of
indicators and benchmarks, including in relation to the knowledge-based
society;
2.3. annual report on social exclusion, which would present the state of play
on the action conducted, especially national action plans, in the main
policies and fields where the fight against poverty and social exclusion
is at stake.
Bearing in mind that social exclusion is a multidimensional phenomenon,
particular attention should be paid to relevant policy developments on social
protection, employment, education and training, health and housing policies.
Strand 3: Participation of the various actors and support for networking at
European level
To promote dialogue with all the operators concerned, the following
measures may be supported:
3.1. core funding for key European networks involved in the fight against
poverty and social exclusion; the core funding is subject to an upper
limit of 90 % of the expenditure eligible for support. This ceiling may
only be reached under exceptional circumstances;2002D0050 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 9
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3.2. an annual European Union Round Table Conference on social exclusion.
The conference would be organised in close collaboration with the
Presidency of the Council of the European Union and prepared for in
consultation with all the actors concerned, among others social partners,
representatives of non-governmental organisations with experience in
the field, and representatives of the European Parliament, the Council,
the Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions.
2.Access to the programme
Under the conditions and arrangements for implementation specified in this
Annex, access to this programme shall be open to all public and/or private
bodies, actors and institutions involved in the fight against social exclusion,
in particular:
(a) Member States;
(b) local and regional authorities;
(c) bodies responsible for combating social exclusion;
(d) social partners;
(e) bodies providing social services;
(f) non-governmental organisations;
(g) universities and research institutes;(h) national statistical offices;
(i) media.
3.General considerations
The programme shall take into account the results of preparatory actions and
activities under other relevant Community policies, instruments and actions.
In designing, implementing, following up and evaluating activities under the
programme, account will be taken of the experience of people exposed to
poverty and social exclusion, as well as social partners, non-governmentalorganisations and other bodies involved in the fight against social exclusion
and poverty. In all its activities, the programme will respect the principle of
gender mainstreaming.
4.Method of presenting applications for support
Strand 1: Measures covered by this strand will be mainly imple-
mented through calls for tenders. For cooperation with
national statistical offices, the Eurostat procedures will
apply.
Strand 2: Measures covered by strand 2.1 will be mainly imple-
mented in response to annual calls for proposals (some
policy meetings/seminars might be organised directly by
the Commission). Proposals will have to involve bodies,
actors and institutions from at least three Member States
and may be submitted to the Commission either by
Member States and/or other key actors with the active
involvement of Member States, or by European organisa-tions. Strands 2.2 and 2.3 will require specific calls for
tenders.
Strand 3: Under strand 3.1 support may be provided to European
networks satisfying criteria established by the Commis-
sion in accordance with the procedure referred to in
Article 8(2). Strand 3.2 may be supported in response to
requests for subsidies from Member States.
5.Carrying out the activities
The activities to be taken may be funded by service contracts following calls
for tender or by subsidies for joint financing with other sources. In the latter
case, the level of financial assistance by the Commission may not, as a
general rule, exceed 80 % of the expenditure actually incurred by the reci-
pient.
In carrying out the programme, the Commission may require additional
resources, including recourse to experts. These requirements will be decided
in the context of the Commission's ongoing assessment of resource alloca-
tion.2002D0050 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 10
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In implementing the programme, the Commission may make use of technical
and/or administrative assistance (definition, preparation, management, moni-
toring, audit and control), in the mutual interests of the Commission and of
the recipients.
The Commission may also undertake information, publication and dissemina-
tion activities. It may also undertake evaluation studies and organise
seminars, workshops or other meetings of experts.
Activities undertaken will fully respect the principles of data protection.2002D0050 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 11