COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 2 December 1996 on mainstreaming equal opportunities for men and women into the European Structural Funds (96/C 386/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

(1) Whereas equal opportunities for men and women on the labour market also promote competitiveness and economic growth; whereas the mainstreaming of equal opportunities into structural policies is a response to the need to reduce inequality of opportunities between men and women with regard to the rate of employment, the level of training, access to the labour market and involvement in the decision-making process;

(2) Whereas the Heads of State and of Government meeting within the European Council at Madrid on 15 and 16 December 1995 reaffirmed that the fight against unemployment and for equal opportunities is the priority task of the European Union and its Member States, and agreed that there should be an intensification of efforts to promote equal opportunities in the field of employment;

(3) Whereas the European Structural Funds (ERDF, ESF, EAGGF and FIFG) constitute an important instrument for working towards this goal, in accordance with their legal and economic commitments;

(4) Whereas the priority objectives of the Structural Funds are governed by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 of 24 June 1988 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments (1) and each of the Funds contributes in appropriate fashion to them; whereas the differences between the Funds must be respected if they are to achieve those objectives;

(5) Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 clearly sets down the respective responsibilities of the Member States and of the Commission in the implementation of the Structural Funds, in the framework of partnership and in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity;

(6) Whereas Regulations (EEC) No 2081/93 (2), No 2082/93 (3), No 2083/93 (4), No 2084/93 (5) and No 2085/93 (6) governing the Structural Funds adopted by the Council in 1993 refer to the principle of equal opportunities for men and women on the employment market as a goal to which structural measures should contribute; whereas promoting equal opportunities on the labour market is a specific task of the European Social Fund;

(7) Whereas the medium-term Community action programme on equal opportunities for men and women (1996 to 2000), adopted by the Council under Decision 95/593/EC (7), is intended to promote the integration of equal opportunities for men and women in the process of preparing, implementing and monitoring all policies and activities of the European Union and the Member States, having regard to their respective powers;

(8) Whereas the mainstreaming of equal opportunities for men and women into all policies and activities is one of the key principles set out in the Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 14 and 15 September 1995);

(9) Whereas, in spite of the improvements made since the adoption of the Council Resolution of 22 June 1994 on the promotion of equal opportunities for men and women through action by the European Structural Funds (1), Structural Fund operations to promote equal opportunities could be further improved, and efforts to mobilize the various partners involved and in particular the national and regional authorities responsible for devising and implementing the programmes must be continued and intensified, as noted in the Communication from the Commission of 21 February 1996 on Incorporating Equal Opportunities for Women and Men into all Community Policies and Activities;

(10) Whereas this point was endorsed at the European Conference on Equal Opportunities and the Structural Funds held in Brussels on 7 and 8 March 1996 at the initiative of the Belgian Government;

(11) Whereas a more active approach to economic and social solidarity, with particular emphasis on measures to promote equal opportunities for men and women, should be promoted; whereas the Funds might play an important role in reconciling family and working life and in integrating disadvantaged women and this can be combined with local employment initiatives and with the development of new sources of employment, as noted in the Communication from the Commission of 20 March 1996 on Community Structural Assistance and Employment;

(12) Whereas further impetus should be given towards mainstreaming equal opportunities into action supported by the Structural Funds, in the light of recent developments and commitments at the highest level and in view of forthcoming reviews;

(13) Whereas the monitoring committees have an essential role to play in ensuring that the aims affirmed in the programming of all Structural Funds will receive practical expression in the implementation process; whereas they should work to ensure that the mainstreaming of equal opportunities into the Structural Funds is translated into concrete measures,

I. CALLS ON THE COMMISSION AND THE MEMBER STATES, WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP AND HAVING REGARD TO THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPETENCES, to make a continued, deepened and determined effort to mainstream the principle of equal opportunities for men and women into action supported by the Structural Funds.

II. CALLS ON THE MEMBER STATES:

1. in accordance with the provisions laid down in the Regulations and with the priorities and commitments agreed in the Community Support Frameworks and in the single programming documents, to promote strengthened use of the Structural Funds to support actions which will make a positive contribution to the promotion of equal opportunities, in such areas, for instance, as the improvement of social infrastructure, access to employment and the terms and conditions of employment, access to business services and facilities, and the reconciliation of professional and family life for women and men;

2. to make full use of the existing programming possibilities of the various forms of Structural Fund intervention to promote equal opportunities, where appropriate by undertaking more operations combining the use of the different Structural Funds for actions in promotion of equal opportunities;

3. to examine the scope for refocussing programmes in response to the priorities established by the European Council at Essen and confirmed at Cannes and Madrid, namely the fight against unemployment and for equal opportunities.

III. CALLS ON THE COMMISSION AND THE MEMBER STATES, WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP AND HAVING REGARD TO THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPETENCES:

1. in relation to monitoring:

(a) to ensure, where appropriate, the participation in the monitoring committees of the competent authorities and bodies involved in promoting equal opportunities at local, regional and national level;

(b) to promote a balanced participation of women and men in the decision-making, selecting and monitoring bodies at local, regional and national level;

(c) to ensure, where appropriate, regular consideration of equal opportunities by the monitoring committees, with a view to examining how efforts to promote equal opportunities within the mainstream of Structural Fund actions and Community initiatives, as well as through specific initiatives, can be improved;

(d) to cooperate in the production of statistics, on the basis of available data, which are an essential prerequisite for measuring:

- the impact of action supported by the Structural Funds on the availability of social infrastructure,

- break down of long-term unemployed by sex,

- female and male economic activity rates, and - proportions of women and men by socio-economic category;

(e) to consider using the flexibility which results from annual reprogramming of unspent credits to strengthen efforts to promote equal opportunities;

2. in relation to evaluations and forthcoming reviews:

(a) to ensure that evaluations measure the extent to which the principle of promoting equal opportunities has been taken into account in the current programming period, with particular regard to the involvement of women in general measures and to the implementation, the relevance and the outcome of such measures; to develop, where appropriate, adequate evaluation procedures, tools and indicators to this end;

(b) on the basis of these evaluations, to decide on any changes which it may be necessary to make in the programming of actions for the remainder of the programming period.

IV. INVITES THE COMMISSION:

1. on the basis of existing structures, to systematize:

- the identification of good practice with regard to the promotion of equal opportunities through action supported by the various Structural Funds, and

- the dissemination of information and experience on such good practice;

2. to take account of this resolution, as well as the Council Resolution of 22 June 1994 on the promotion of equal opportunities for men and women through action by the European Structural Funds, when making a proposal for review by the Council of the Structural Funds;

3. to review each year in its annual report on the Structural Funds the impact of this Resolution, beginning with the report drawn up in 1998.

(1) OJ No L 185, 15. 7. 1988, p. 9. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3193/94 (OJ No L 337, 24. 12. 1994, p. 11).

(2) OJ No L 193, 31. 7. 1993, p. 5.

(3) OJ No L 193, 31. 7. 1993, p. 20.

(4) OJ No L 193, 31. 7. 1993, p. 34.

(5) OJ No L 193, 31. 7. 1993, p. 39.

(6) OJ No L 193, 31. 7. 1993, p. 44.

(7) OJ No L 335, 30. 12. 1995, p. 37.

(1) OJ No C 231, 20. 8. 1994, p. 1.