No C 44/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 15. 2. 85 
Opinion on the communication from the Commission to the Council relating to statistical 
machinery to establish the order of priority to be applied when granting European Social Fund 
assistance to regions 
(85/C 44/08) 
Procedure 
On 16 October 1984 the Commission of the European Communities decided to consult the 
Economic and Social Committee, under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, on the abovementioned communication. 
The Section for Social Questions, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work 
on the matter, adopted its opinion on 6 December. Mr Beretta acted as rapporteur, with 
Mr Roseingrave and Mr Low as co-rapporteurs. 
At its 222nd plenary session held on 12 and 13 December 1984 (meeting of 12 December 1984) 
the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion with no votes against and 
two abstentions. 
1. General comments 
1.1. The Committee welcomes the adoption of 
statistical machinery which is to serve as a guide for 
management of the ESF. However, the statistical 
indicators, especially in the case of level III, still seem too 
imprecise and their definitions lack uniformity, so that 
they are not comparable. 
1.2. In particular, the Commission is disregarding 
long-term unemployment, on the grounds that this is 
indefinible. The Committee takes the opposite view, 
namely that such indicators have to be taken into 
account. A distinction can be made between short- and 
long-term unemployed on the basis of employment office 
statistics and statistics listing unemployed recipients of 
the various types of statutory allowances. The Committee 
reiterates its own reservations as to the feasibility of 
implementing the measures needed to assist the long-term 
unemployed (x) if this category cannot be identified. 
1.3. The Commission appositely defines the term 
'unemployed' as a person 'seeking paid employment and 
immediately available for such employment' but argues 
that it is impossible, when calculating indicators, to 
incorporate factors taking account of the conjunction 
of forces that influence the number of jobs actually 
needed. 
1.4. The Committee observes that the proposed 
machinery, besides jettisoning the long-term 
V) OJ No C 25, 28. 1. 1985. unemployment indicators and failing to identify available 
employment, does not make allowance at level III for 
the four areas undergoing reconstruction. Here the 
Commission is introducing flexible factors. 
Since the ESF's most significant innovation is its aid to the 
areas worst hit by the decline of traditional industries and 
even more so by technological change, the Committee 
insists on two points. Firstly, the statistical machinery 
must be founded on truly reliable data. Standard criteria 
must be applied for the definition of this data, so as to 
ensure comparability. Secondly, both sides of industry 
should preferably be involved in appraising the flexibility 
needed for more effective deployment of ESF 
resources. 
1.5. The Committee recommends that the 
Commission should follow in their statistics the approach 
adopted in the second periodical report on the economic 
and social situation and development of the regions of the 
Community. 
2. Specific comments 
2.1. The Commission proposes a 70 % weighting for 
unemployment and a 30 % weighting for per capita GDP 
per area. In the Committee's view, a more balanced 
weighting might be better suited to the aims of regional 
and area aid. 
2.2. The Committee understands the Commission's 
difficulties in obtaining data on underemployment and 
other insecure employment phenomena but cannot accept 
lack of comparability as sufficient grounds for scrapping 
15. 2. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 44/11 
this indicator. Comparability is by no means guaranteed 
even in the case of other variables. More important, 
the local impact of underemployment, concealed 
unemployment on job insecurity is so great in some 
regions of the Community that due heed must be taken of 
these factors when shaping ESF aid. 
3. Conclusions 
3.1. The Committee would point out that the 
proposed statistical machinery is not purely technical, as 
it is to determine the allocation of roughly half the Fund's 
aid budget. The Committee therefore reiterates the 
unanimous assessment expressed in its opinion on the 
review of the ESFO), to the effect that (a) standard 
criteria must be defined for the collection of data and their 
aggregation and (b) the statistical 'index' should be 
regarded as a guide and assessed in a broader context, 
involving both sides of industry. In this connection, the 
Section would stress the role of the ESF Committee. 
3.2. Accordingly, the Committee urges two stages of 
action: first, the criteria for statistical definitions must be 
more clearly specified. This stage will end on expiry of 
fixed deadlines when these criteria will become 
binding on the Member States, 
second, the indicators will be used to provide 
objective guidance for the management of ESF 
regional and area aid. 
3.3. The Committee would reiterate its call (2) for a 
review clause. Reintroduction of such a clause would 
enable the ESF to act with the flexibility required to adjust 
to the significant changes that can be expected in labour 
market patterns. 
3.4. Lastly, the Committee advocates closer 
coordination between the Regional Development and 
Social Questions Directorates of the Commission in the 
preparation and publication of the relevant statistics. 
Initially, standard criteria for collecting data on specific 
situations could be determined and adopted in an attempt 
to achieve more satisfactory statistical machinery and 
greater consistency between the desired aims. 
Done at Brussels, 12 December 1984. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR 
APPENDIX 
to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee 
The following passages in the opinion of the Section for Social Questions, which formed the basis for the 
Committee's deliberations, were replaced by amendments in the course of the page-by-page examination of 
the opinion: 
Page 3 
2.1. Fully aware of the difficulties with which the Commission has to contend owing to the 
reluctance of the individual Member States to adjust their information systems, the Section would make 
the following proposals for improving statistical indicators and making them comparable. The Section 
is highly sceptical as to the feasibility of introducing the proposed statistical machinery, with acceptable 
guarantees of objectivity, as from 1 January 1986. 
(>) OJ No C 124, 9. 5. 1983, point 2.5. (2) OJ No C 124, 9. 5. 1983, point 4.3. 
No C 44/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 15. 2. 85 
2.2. The Commission is proposing the use of regional distribution of gross value added at market 
prices in 1981, on the assumption that 'regional structures are relatively stable in the short term'. The 
Section has doubts about this premise and wonders why the Commission was prompted to use this 
indicator in this particular instance when all other references in the proposal relate to per capita 
GDP. 
Page 6, point 3.4. 
Lastly, the Section advocates more closely coordinated management of the ESF and the ERDF. 
Opinion on the amended proposals for Council Regulations: 
— applying generalized preferences for 1985 in respect of certain industrial products 
originating in developing countries 
— applying generalized tariff preferences for 1985 to textile products originating in 
developing countries 
— applying generalized tariff preferences for 1985 in respect of certain agricultural products 
originating in developing countries 
and the amended proposal for a 
Decision of the representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Coal 
and Steel Community, meeting within the Council applying for 1985 the generalized tariff 
preferences for certain steel products originating in developing countries (*) 
(Greenland) 
(85/C 44/09) 
On 20 November 1984, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned amended proposals (presented by the Commission to the Council under the 
second paragraph of Article 149 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic 
Community). 
The Section for External Relations, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work 
on the subject, adopted its opinion on 4 December 1984 in the light of the report by 
Mr Cremer. 
At its 222nd plenary session (meeting of 12 December 1984) the Economic and Social 
Committee adopted the following opinion with no dissenting votes and six abstentions. 
1. The Economic and Social Committee approves the 
Commission draft amendment to the proposal setting the 
Community's generalized tariff preferences scheme for 
1985. The amendment is designed to allow Greenland to 
H OJ No C 316, 27. 11. 1984, p. 6. benefit from the GSP arrangements when it becomes an 
'overseas territory'. 
2. The Committee deplores the fact that fishery 
products, which are Greenland's main exports, are to be 
excluded. It does, however, understand why the 
Commission has inserted the proviso of satisfactory