7. Notes the Commission’s intention to promote women’s participation in its committees and working
groups and its commitments to increase the number of women in decision-making within its administra-tion;
8. Calls on the Commission to make it a priority to improve the statistical data base to establish and
maintain a full set of regularly updated statistics on women in decision-making throughout the EU;
9. Concludesthat bothmen andwomen are necessary in the decision-making process while the special
qualities of both sexes are complementary, which can only lead to better management;
10. CallsontheMemberStatestopromotetrainingforexecutivesandleadersGdashmenaswellaswomen
Gdash in order to promote non-discriminatory working relationships;
11. Calls on the Member States to introduce capacity development with government agencies with a
view to advancing career development for women;
12. Calls on the social partners to promote balanced participation by women and men in positions of
responsibility and decision-making and, in order to achieve this, to take the necessary steps in the recruit-
ment and professional training of their representatives in the various bodies of the social dialogue;
13. Calls on the Commission to use the existing Treaty provisions to encourage governments to
develop and implement policies and programmes to establish gender balance in decision-making bodies
and in the bodies and delegations involved in the enlargement process;
14. Calls on Member States to increase the number of women participating in peace-keeping, peace-
making, peace-building and conflict-preventing activities with which Member States collaborate; instructs
itscompetentcommitteetopayspecialattentiontotheroleofwomeninthesefields,andtomakerecom-
mendations towards the mainstreaming of gender considerations into all aspects of conflict resolution;
15. ExpectsthatthepositiondefinedbytheEuropean UnionandtheNGOswillplayanimportantrole
in the forthcoming UN Conference on the follow-up of the Platform for Action ‘Beijing plus five’ in New
York next June and that this will be decisively implemented by governments in order to fulfil their com-
mitments through concrete measures;
16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the other
EUinstitutions and bodies, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.
8. Annual economic report
A5-0041/2000
European Parliament resolution on the Commission document ‘The EU Economygdash 1999 Review’
(C5-0081/2000 gdash 2000/2046(COS))
The European Parliament,
Gdash having regard to the Commission document (C5-0081/2000),Gdash having regard to the Commission report on the review of the single facility providing medium-term
financial assistance for Member States’ balances of payments (COM(1999) 628),
Gdash having regard to Articles 99 and 104 of the EC Treaty,C 346/84 EN4.12.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday2 March 2000
Gdash having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1466/97 of 7 July 1997 on the strengthening of the
surveillance of budgetary positions and the surveillance and coordination of economic policies(1),
Gdash having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,Gdash having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the opinion of
the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A5-0041/2000),
A. whereas the launch of the euro is a determining event in the integration process of Europe, in the
formation of its home market, the unification of its financial markets and the strengthening of its
internationalposition,thusdefininganewregime foreconomicpolicyandbroaderpoliciesforattain-
ing the objectives of the Treaty,
B. whereas the control of inflation, the stabilisation of public finances and wage moderation achieved in
all Member States are positive developments which, taken together with internal monetary stability,amount to a very significant relaxation of certain important constraints that have so far impededgrowth in Europe,
C. having regard to the risks of deflation arising from an excessively restrictive monetary and fiscal pol-
icy, which mainly pursues the objective of price stability,
D. contrasting the stabilisation of public finances with factors which might destabilise the economy as a
whole, such as excessive indebtedness of the public sector, or potential fall-out from a collapse ofovervalued capital markets,
E. appreciating thefactthatclearsignsofarenewedrecoveryhaveemergedfasterthananticipatedinthe
European economy since the second quarter of 1999 and that GDP growth is expected to acceleratefrom the close-to-potential rate of 2,1% in 1999 to 3% in both 2000 and 2001; if not frustrated byadverseinternationaldevelopments,thistrendopensawindowofopportunityfortheEuropean econ-omy to continue to increase its growth, provided that the right policy measures are implemented,
F. whereas the policy of stabilisation adopted by the Union has proven to be right and should therefore
be pursued while emphasising the necessity to make employment a priority for European policy,
G. whereas this forecast of accelerating growth of about 3% when set against the background of the
sluggish average rate of real GDP growth of 1,9% which prevailed in the 1990s should be regarded
with guarded optimism,
H. whereas unemployment, having reached historical highs of above 11% in many Member States in
1997, is forecast to fall to 9,2% in 1999 in the EUas a whole; whereas, however, high unemploy-ment, a low labour force participation rate and the lack of flexibility in the labour market remain keyproblems in the EU,
I. recalling the Commission’s earlier estimate of 1995 that, under standard productivity and demo-
graphic evolution assumptions, a sustained 3-3,5% growth over five years is required for the unem-ploymentrate tobe reduced toaround 7% of the active population, which clearly showsthat growthalone cannot pave the way to full employment,
J. whereas any strategy to foster growth has to respect environmental sustainability, in particular the
Kyoto commitments undertaken by the EU,
K. whereas entrepreneurship, as measured by the fastrise and growth of technologically advanced enter-
prises, does not match the scientific and technological potential available in Europe and remains dan-gerously behind the corresponding entrepreneurial mobilisation evident in the US,
(1) OJ L 209, 2.8.1997, p. 1.4.12.2000 EN C 346/85 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday2 March 2000
L. whereas the average costofsettingupanenterprise inEurope is€ 1600,asopposedto€ 500inthe
United States, and the average time required for setting up an enterprise in the EU is 11 weeks, whileit is one and a half weeks in the United States,
M. whereas short-term economic developments in Europe coincide with the world-wide onset of a tech-
nological revolution leading to a knowledge-based global economy; these new challenges impose theneed for corresponding structural changes in economic organisation, in the labour process and inwage-setting mechanisms, as well as a re-balancing of the relationship between the public and theprivate sector,
N. whereas policy-makers will have to respond to these new developments by creating optimum condi-
tions to enable the private sector to adjust fully to these repeatedly changing economic conditions so
as to allow entrepreneurs likewise to keep one step ahead of developments Gdash and hence of theircompetitors Gdash by means of innovation and creative entrepreneurship, which requires the formulationof a new political project involving a dynamically targeted economic policy,
O. whereasanewstrategicgoalmustinvolveanintegratedprogrammeofstrengtheningandmodernising
education at all levels, of re-inforcing entrepreneurship, of initiating and/or modernising basic infra-structure through projects of European interest conducive to increasing the productivity of the entireEUeconomy,
P. whereas larger private investmentsinEurope mustbeencouraged byimprovementstothe investment
climate and the creation of a dynamic enterprise culture, including a structural reform of the labourmarket, less red tape, improved access to venture capital for SMEs and a further opening of markets,
Q. whereas sucha project canonlysucceed asa resultofjointactionatUnionlevel, energetic leadership
by the European institutions, strengthening of solidarity and mobilisation of the vast majority of thepopulation and that this must be clearly beneficial to all in the context of a social market economy,
1. States that the recovery of the European economy in terms of GDP growth and company profits is
well under way, while unemployment remains unacceptably high and income inequalities and poverty are
growing;
2. Calls upon the Council, in setting the Broad Economic Guidelines, to formulate policies, including
microeconomicpolicies,designedtoachieve fullemploymentwhichareconsistentwithstablepricesandabalanced budget over the whole economic cycle;
3. Recalls that attainment of the objective of full employment depends on more sustained growth, as
borne out by international and European experience, and that this growth must be supported by an eco-nomic and fiscal policy favourable to investment, particularly on the part of small and medium-sizedenterprises, by a wage policy which reflects productivity gains and by a reduction in the rigidity whichstill characterises labour legislation in too many Member States;
4. Believes that an improved investment climate is instrumental to the achievement of higher growth
and recommends that the excessive administrative burden of starting and running businesses is alleviated,
that markets are opened further, and that a structural reform of labour markets is undertaken;
5. Findsitparticularlyimportanttopreventyouthunemploymentandlong-termunemployment;insists
that more is done to give the unemployed enhanced possibilities and incentives to find another jobquickly, including training or retraining in order to become more employable;
6. Recognises that public sector infrastructure spending may have positive effects on private sector
activity; notes that such investment should be undertaken on its own merits, having been tested againstsuitable rates of social and market return, and should not be undertaken as an instrument of demandmanagement, when experience proves that it may be counterproductive;C 346/86 EN4.12.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday2 March 2000
7. Calls on the Commission to introduce Community support measures for associations of SMEs, as a
way of improving the competitiveness and level of organisation of SMEs; such associations can providevarious support services to their members, such as credit centralisation, information and legal supportservices;
8. Requests the Ecofin Council to reconsider its reluctance to pursue energetically the improvement of
European infrastructure and in view of the progress of privatisation, of scientific advances and of techno-logical innovation that has taken place, to update the TENs programme proposed in the Commission’s1994 White Paper on ‘Growth, Competitiveness and Employment’ and to provide for its financing bymeans of Eurobonds issued by the European Investment Bank;
9. RequeststheCommissionandCounciltoincreasetheireffortstomaketheTrans-EuropeanNetworks
connect the present EUMember States and candidate countries in central, eastern and southern Europeand other neighbouring countries, particularly Russia and North Africa, stating that TENs are of particularstrategic importance to future growth and to integration between different parts of Europe and its neigh-bours;
10. CallsontheCommissionandCounciltostrengthenmodernInformationTechnologyHighwaysand
networks within the programme of Trans-European Networks in order to give Europe the best IT infra-structure in the world;
11. Calls on the Council and the Commission to lend active support to the scientific community and
industry in the formation of a common European research space, supported by increased spending onR&D to a level similar to that in countries with a comparable level of development;
12. AskstheCommissiontoaccelerate implementationofitsactionplanonventure capital,integration
of financial markets and SMEs, strongly encouraging the rapid development of technologically dynamicsmall companies into major, world-class enterprises, and to treat the definitive formulation and promptintroduction of a European company statute as an optional alternative vehicle for incorporation as a mat-ter of priority;
13. Calls on the Council and Commission to do everything in their power to render the European
patent application process quicker, simpler, more efficient and cheaper, in order to improve the competi-tiveness of European inventions and hence Europe’s prospects for the future; insists, however, on betterprovisions to secure full respect for ethical standards and consumer interests;
14. Requests the Commission and Council to propose legislation for setting up a special European
research fund to which the accumulated unspent surplus earnings of the European Steel and Coal
Community, which will be wound up in 2002, should be dedicated;
15. Asks the Commission to propose an Action Plan on, and thus pursue energetically, the transition
fromtheexistinginternalcommonmarkettoaseamlessEuropeanhomemarket,toremoveanyremainingobstacles and to ensure strict application of the Competition Policy to such a market, while taking intoaccount Parliament’s position on a reform of Competition Policy as expressed in its resolutions of 18 Jan-uary 2000 on the 1998 competition report(
1) and on the report on state aid(2);
16. Looks to the Member States to review their tax, contributions, and benefits systems in order to
reduce the burden on labour as a factor of production;
17. Callsonthe Member Statestosimplifythe Luxembourg, CardiffandCologneprocesses, in order to
ensure greater effectiveness and transparency as regards the general public;
18. Believes that efforts must be undertaken urgently to achieve effective coordination of macroeco-
nomic, employmentand socialpolicy; calls onthe Member Statesto develop a social convergence processalong the lines of the European employment strategy, including European guidelines, benchmarks,exchange of comparable data and national action plans on poverty and social exclusion;
19. Urges the Commission to include proposals for resources to implement the ideas of the e-Europe
initiative, especially regarding education, infrastructure and broad public access to the Internet;
(1) Texts adopted at that sitting, Item 10.
(2) Texts adopted at that sitting, Item 11.4.12.2000 EN C 346/87 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday2 March 2000
20. Requests the Counciltorespondcreatively tothePresidency’s initiative ofdefining anew economic
and political strategy capable of taking such advantage of the innovation process in a knowledge-basedeconomy so as to transform Europe into the world’s most dynamic area;
21. Asks the Commission and the Council, taking into account the changes in skills dictated by emer-
gent technologies to introduce quantitative targets of youth training as well as retraining for long-termunemployed workers, to which Member States will bind themselves to converge over a fixed time period;
22. AskstheCommissiontoinitiatestudiesoftheprocessof,andtheinstitutionsfor,thenegotiationof
terms of employment in the various Member States in order to evaluate whether they are conducive to aflexible labour market, which will promote employment, both in current conditions as well as in the con-ditions of the developing knowledge-based economy;
23. Calls on the Commission to commission an annual report on the economic and social situation in
the EUfrom independent European economic researchers, to be submitted to the European Parliament;the report should also take account of the European impact of national policy measures, in order toimprove the necessary coordination of European economic policies;
24. Callson the Council and Commissionto eliminate the democratic deficit in economic and employ-
ment policy-making by means of an interinstitutional agreement involving the European Parliament fullyin decision-making on the broad outlines of economic policy and the economic policy guidelines;
25. Requests the Council to take proper account of the risks implicit in the overvaluation of capital
markets pointed out in the Commission’s Report and to mandate the Commission to initiate negotiationswith the G7 Council in order to formulate appropriate policies and take prompt measures for increasingtransparency and combating the speculative element in the activities of global finance;
26. Recognises the relationship between education and opportunities for long-term economic growth,
and calls on the Commission to urge all Member States to ensure that general educational standards areimproved, and that all children leave school prepared for life and the world of work and ready to partici-pate in the shaping of our community;
27. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the govern-
ments and parliaments of the Member States.
9. Fisheries and environment (Bergen, 13 and 14 March 1997): second report
A5-0016/2000
European Parliament resolution on the second report from the Commission to the Council and the
European Parliament on the implementation of the ‘statement of conclusions from the intermedi-
ate ministerial meeting on the integration of fisheries and environmental issues, 13 and 14 March
1997 in Bergen’ (COM(1999) 270 gdash C5-0156/1999 gdash 1999/2150(COS))
The European Parliament,
Gdash having regard to the Commission’s second report to the Council and European Parliament
(COM(1999) 270 Gdash C5-0156/1999),
Gdash havingregardtotheconclusionsoftheintermediateministerialmeetingontheintegrationoffisheries
and environmental issues held on 13 and 14 March 1997 in Bergen,
Gdash having regard to its resolution of 10 March 1999(1) on the communication from the Commission to
the Council and the European Parliament: report on the implementation of the ‘statement of conclu-sions from the intermediate ministerial meeting on the integration of fisheries and environmentalissues, 13 and 14 March 1997 in Bergen’ (COM(1998) 326 Gdash C4-0495/1998),
(1) OJ C 175, 21.6.1999, p. 104.C 346/88 EN4.12.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday2 March 2000