NoC287/48 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 4.11.92
5.TheGroupofEmployersnotesthattheHeadsofGovernmentdeclaredatLisbonthatcertainCommunity
rulesshouldbere-examinedinordertoadaptthemtothePrincipleofSubsidiarityandbelievesthatthis
actionshouldequallyinvolvethoseproposalsundertheSocialActionProgrammewhicharecurrentlyunder
discussion .
Mr/Mrs/Miss:ANDRADE ,ARENA,BAGLIANO ,BEALE,BELL,BELTRAMI ,BENTOGON^ALVES ,
BERNABEI,BREDIMA-SAVOPOULOU ,CAVALEIROBRANDAO,CEYRAC,CONNELLAN ,vanDAM,
DELOROZOY ,DONCK,DOUVIS,FRERICHS,GAFFRON,GAFOFERNANDEZ ,GARDNER,GHI­
GONIS,GIACOMELLI ,GIESECKE,GREEN,KAARIS,KAFKA,KAZAZIS,LITTLE,LÖW,McGARRY,
MERCÈJUSTE,MEYER-HORN ,MOBBS,NOORDWAL ,PANEROFLOREZ,PARDON,PEARSON,
PELLETIERR.,PERRIN-PELLETIER ,PETERSEN,PETROPOULOS ,PROUMENS ,ROBINSON ,RODRI­
GUEZDEAZERODELHOYO,RODRIGUEZ GARClA-CARO ,ROMOLI,SAUWENS,SCHADE-POULS­
EN,SCHNIEDERS ,SOLARI,STECHERNAVARRA,TESOROOLIVER,TUKKER,WHITWORTH ,
WICK.
Opinionon'SocialDevelopments intheCommunityin1991'
(92/C287/13)
On27May1992theEconomicandSocialCommittee,actingunderthefourthparagraphof
Article20ofitsRulesofProcedure,decidedtodrawupanOpinionon:'SocialDevelopments
intheCommunityin1991'.
TheSectionforSocial,Family,EducationalandCulturalAffairs,whichwasresponsiblefor
preparingtheCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon18June1992.The
RapporteurwasMrLow.
Atits298thPlenarySession(meetingof2July1992)theEconomicandSocialCommittee
adoptedthefollowingOpinionwithnovotesagainstandfiveabstentions .
States.Buta'two-speedsocialarea'islargelyundesir­
able.Itshouldnotbepossiblefordifferentbasicsocial
rightsorsocialprotectionlevelstobecreatedinthe
MemberStates.Suchasituationcouldseriouslyhinder
freedomofmovementforworkersandleadtodistor­
tionsofcompetitionintheCommunity .
1.3.TheCommitteewillexpressitsviewsonthis
topicinaseparateOpinion.However,itasksrightnow
thatthelegalandpoliticalincorporationoftheTreaty
ofMaastrichtandtheProtocolofMaastrichtbeclari­
fiedandtruststhattheTreatywillberatifiedasquickly
aspossiblebytheParliamentsandfullyappliedinall
MemberStates.1.Introduction
1.1.TheannualOpinionfromtheCommitteeon
socialdevelopmentswillthisyearplaceitsmainempha­
sisonlabourmarketandemploymentdevelopment ,
bearinginmindtheconclusionsoftheCommission's
annualreporton'EmploymentinEurope1991'.The
annualreporton'TheImplementation oftheSocial
Charter'asmentionedinparagraph29ofthe'Com­
munityCharterofFundamentalRightsofWorkers'
willbedealtwithseparatelyinanotherOpinion.
1.2.TheCommitteeconsidersthattheresultsofthe
EuropeansummitinMaastrichthave,onthewhole,
beenbasicallypositive.Itseesinthemprogresstowards
acommonEuropeansocialarea.Thenewareasand
procedureslaiddownintheprotocolonsocialpolicy
inparticularmeanthecreationofasocialCommunity,
alongsidetheEuropeanEconomicCommunity .The
Committeeregretshoweverthattheagreementon
socialpolicyannexedtotheprotocolwassignedby
only11outof12MemberStates.Itwouldthereforebe
desirableforthetwelfthMemberStatetoendorsethese
newagreementsassoonaspossible.Thereisafear
thattheremaybeasocialpolicysplitintheCommunity,
withtheresultthattherewouldbeoneEuropeansocial
policyfor11MemberStatesandanotherfor12Member1.4.MostECsocialpolicyin1991wasrelatedto
theSocialCharterandtheSocialActionProgramme .
By1November1991theCommissionhadpresented46
ofthe47initiativesannouncedintheactionpro­
gramme,ofwhich34wereproposalsbytheCom­
missiontotheCouncil.Asof30June1992,13ofthese
proposalshadbeenfinallyadoptedbytheCouncil:
fouroftheminthefieldofhealthandsafetyatthe
workplaceandtwoonotherworkingconditions.

4.11.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC287/49
InthecaseofthreeproposalstheCouncilhasdrawn
upacommonposition,while12othersarestillunder
consideration bytheCouncil.Considerationofthree
ofthesehasbeenpostponed.2.1.3.Although9millionnewjobswerecreatedin
theperiod1985-1990,jobgrowthclearlysloweddown
in1991.Thistrendisexpectedtocontinuein1992in
viewofaforecastgrowthrateofaround1,7%andan
inflationrateofaround5,5%fortheCommunityin
1992.
TheCommitteewillexpressitsviewsonthissubject
inanOpinionontheimplementation oftheSocial
Charter. Itappearsinanycasethattheseestimatesarecurrently
beingreviseddownwards,makingthesituationstillless
favourable .
2.LabourMarketandEmploymentDevelopments2.1.4.ThelabourmarketintheCommunityasa
wholehasbecomemoreadaptable,butbusinessmen
andworkersshouldadapttheirworkingmethodsand
practicesevenmorethanhithertotochangingcircum­
stances.Aboveall,newjobsmustbecreated.The
approachtothisnecessaryobjectiveshouldbetwofold:
adaptationandreorganization ofworkingtimetaking
accountofproductionrequirements,andgivingwork­
ersthechancetoexpressandsatisfytheneedsresulting
fromthis.2.1.Theyear1991wasmarkedbyaslowdownin
jobgrowthandariseinunemployment .Thiswas
largelyduetothegenerallyworseningeconomicsitu­
ation.
Inthelightofthischangedenvironmentfirmsmust
showahighdegreeofflexibility.Inreturntheywill
encountergreaterflexibilityinthelabourmarket.Economicgrowthin1991waspracticallystationaryat
+0,2%.Thentherewerespecificproblemsincertain
sectors,suchasarmamentsandcars.Moreover,world­
widemanyexportmarketsareinarecessionand,above
all,thecollapseofEasternEuropeanmarketshashad
adampeningeffectonthewholeCommunityeconomy.Thischangedenvironmentmeansthatworkersmust
bemorehighlytrainedandemploymentconditionsand
practiceschangedtoreflectthis.
CommunityGNProsebyonly1,3%in1991,compared
with2,8%in1990.AccordingtotheCommission's
estimatestheeconomywillonlystarttopickupslightly
towardstheendof1992,achievingarateofaround
1,7%fortheCommunityasawhole.Agrowthrate
ofabout2,3%isexpectedin1993.Thetwosidesofindustrymustseektostrikeabalance
betweendemandsandtheresourcesavailable.
2.1.5.Thisimportantobjectivecanonlybeachieved
if:
—governmentsconsolidatenationalbudgetsbetter;
—anappropriateindustrialandstructuralpolicyis
drawnupandconsistentlyimplementedasindicated
above.2.1.1.AssomeMemberStatesdidnotcarryout
properadjustmentmeasuresinthe1980ssomemajor
structuralchangeswerenotaccomplished .TheMember
Stateshavedonetoolittletoprotectthemselvesagainst
thepainfulconsequencesofaworldwiderecession,
particularlyasregardscombattinginflation,consolidat­
ingnationalbudgets,reducingpublic-sectordeficitsand
dismantlingsubsidies.
2.2.OntheEuropeanlabourmarketthesupplyof
jobshasincreased,whilsttherehasbeenashiftinthe
demandforlabourtotheservicessectorandawayfrom
agricultureandindustry.2.1.2.Unemployment isstillextraordinarily highat
around9%,or12million.Thepositionisworsethan
inpreviousyears.Asfurtherjoblossesaretobeexpect­
ed,thisisabadstartingpoint.TheCommissionthere­
foreassumesthatfurthernegativeeffectsaretobe
expectedandthatunemployment willrisetoabout
9,5%by1993.
Alargeproportionofjoboffersareforpart-timeor
temporarywork.
TheCommitteepointsoutonceagainthatthistrend
couldleadtosocialtensionintheCommunity .Social
cohesionthereforeneedstobereinforcedtogivepeople
intheCommunitybetterprospectsforthefuture.2.2.1.Asbefore,boththeunder-25sandwomenare
particularlyhard-hitbyunemployment .Youngpeople

4.11.92 NoC287/50 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities
long-termunemployment inordertoinducetheMem­
berStatestoadoptamoreactivelabourmarketpolicy.
TheCommitteethinksitisinadmissiblethatinmany
ECMemberStatesthelong-termunemployedarestill
onlycompensatedfinancially.Aswellasfinancialhelp
provisionmustbemadeforincreasedtraining,re-train­
ingandfurthertrainingsothatthelong-termunem­
ployedcanhaveachanceofbeingre-integratedinto
workinglife.
Long-termunemployment oftenleadstopovertyfor
thepeopleconcernedandtheirfamilies.TheESChas
specificallytakenapositiononthisissue,mostrecently
initsOpinionof12July1989(CES834/89).Asbefore,
themostimportantdemandshavenotbeenproperly
tackled.
2.2.5.Asbefore,itisevidentthatintheCommunity
thereisasupply-demand mismatchonthelabourmar­
ket,since,despitethehighnumberofunemployed,
thereisacertainshortageofskilledworkers.While
prognosesmaydiffer,theneediorunskilledlabour
will,inalllikelihood,furtherdecreaseandthedemand
forskilledworkers,especiallythosewithscientificand
technicaltraining,willincrease.makeuparound35%ofallunemployedand,at30%,
arethelargestgroupamongthelong-termunemployed .
TheCommitteefeelsthatunderthecircumstances the
Commissionmustadoptmoreenergeticmeasures:
—toimprovethebasicandvocationaltrainingof
youngpeople;
—infavourofethnicminorities,whichhaveaparticu­
larlyhighproportionoflong-termunemployed ;
—tomonitortheeffectivenessandoperationofits
measuresinfavourofdisabledworkersandtostep
upeffortstoimprovethese.
2.2.2.ThesituationofworkingwomenintheCom­
munityisstillworsethanthatofmen.Theproportion
ofunemployedwomenisincreasingatamuchfaster
rate(aboutfivetimesfaster).Womenmakeup51%
oftheEC'stotalpopulationand41%ofitspotential
labourforce;butonly47%ofthemareactually
employed.Amongmenthefigureis75%.
Thelowemploymentrateamongwomenislargelydue
tothenumberandtypeofjobsavailable,ortothelarge
numberofjobsthatarenotsuitablefororwantedby
awifeandmother.Coordinatedactionbyfirmsandall
competentinstitutionsisneededtoprovideanadequate
numberofsuitablekindergartens ,inordertogivethese
womennewopportunities .
2.2.3.Theriseintheamountofpart-timeworkis
duetoanincreaseddemandfrom(a)business,and
(b)workers,especiallywomen,whosefamilysituation
and/orinadequateskillsmeantheyhavefeweroppor­
tunitiesandwhothuscannotfindfull-timeemploy­
ment.Onaverageeverythirdnewly-created job
between1985and1989wasapart-timejob.Thepro­
portionofsuchjobsheldbywomenisaround40%.
TheESChasrepeatedlyissuedOpinionsontheprob­
lemsofpart-timeworkinrecentyears.Mostimportant
amongtheseisthatof30April1982(1).
2.2.4.Asbefore,long-termunemployment isapar­
ticularproblem.Oftheregisteredunemployedinthe
ECmorethanhalf,oraround6millionpeople,have
beenwithoutworkformorethanayear.Despitemajor
changesonthejobsmarketinrecentyears(increasein
employment )thisfigurehasremainedpracticallythe
same.TheESChasrepeatedlycalledupontheCom­
missiontodevotemoreattentiontothequestionof2.2.6.TheCommitteesharestheCommission'sview
thatworkersintheCommunitywillrequireahigh
generallevelofeducationandalevelofvocational
traininginkeepingwiththedictatesofmoderntech­
nologyinordertomeetthedemandsofthefuture.
2.2.6.1.Therearesofarnocomparablenational
trainingschemesintheCommunity .Toovercomethis
deficitwithoutdestroyingthenationalstructureswhich
havegrownupwill,intheCommittee'sview,beone
oftheCommunity'smostimportanttasksinfacingthe
frontier-freeEuropeanlabourmarket.Cedefopshould
playastillgreaterrolehere.
2.2.6.2.Allthesame,itisdifficulttogaugefuture
skillrequirementsandtheireffectsonthecompeti­
tivenessofECfirms,astheeconomy'sdemandfor
skilledworkersdependsstronglyontheproducts,
meansofproductionandproductionprocessesofexist­
ingfirms.
2.2.6.3.Itisalsodifficulttopredicttechnicaldevel­
opment.Theintroductionofnewtechnologyoften
leadstoarestructuringofjob,andthereforeskill,
requirements .TheCommissionisaskedtodevelop
procedures,whilstexercisingduecaution,topermit
suchforecaststobemade.Forwardplanningbyfirms
andvocationaltrainingestablishmentscouldbehelpful
inassessingneeds. (!)OJNoC178,15.7.1982.

4.11.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC287/51
hithertodifferingtreatmentofasylumandimmigration
policyintheindividualMemberStatescanandwill,in
theESC'sview,leadtoconsiderableproblemsforthose
concernedandforthepopulation.Apolicywhichis
fairtoallcanonlybefoundthroughaCommunity
solution.
TheESCisconcernedtoseethatinalmostallMember
Statesthereisanincreasinglyhostilefeelingamongthe
publicagainstforeigners.Itcondemnsanyformof
racismorxenophobia,andcallsupontheCommunity
andalltheMemberStatestotakeappropriatestepsto
combatthesephenomenaand,aboveall,toprevent
theirspreadsociallyandpolitically :agreatdealcanbe
achievedthroughproperinformationandtrainingas
wellasthroughthepromotionofdialogueandmutual
understanding betweenCommunityandnon-Com­
munitycitizens.
2.3.2.TheESCdoesnotthinkthatthetreatywiththe
EFTAcountrieswillleadtoanylarge-scalemigration.
EnquiriescarriedoutsofarintheESC/EFTAJoint
Committeeshowthathardlyanyproblemscanbe
expected.However,onequestionwhichshouldbeclari­
fiediswhattreatmentshouldbegiventopeoplewho
emigratetotheECviaanEFTAcountry.2.2.7.TheCommissionhasinrecentyearsincreased
considerablymutualrecognitionofqualificationsand
diplomas,especiallyintheacademicsector.TheCom­
mitteefeelsthatsuchworkshouldbeacceleratedfor
alloccupations,bearinginmindtheimpendingsingle
marketin1993.
2.2.8.Threecategoriesshouldbedistinguished in
therecognitionprocedures :
—Recognitionofuniversitydiplomas.
TheCommissionhasalreadydoneconsiderablework
inthisarea,e.g.withregardtodoctorsandthenursing
professions,vets,architects,pharmacistsandlawyers.
—Recognitionofprofessionaltrainingcertificates.
Inthisareathe1989recognitionDirective[COM(89)
372final]hasalreadybroughtprogress,albeitsofar
onlyforafewprofessions .
—Correspondence ofprofessionaltrainingcertificates.
Thisisthemostimportantareaforworkers.TheCom­
missionhassofaronlysubmittedsevenCommuni­
cationsonthesubject,coveringonlyasmallpartofthe
trainingprofessions.
2.2.9.TheCommission'sjobclearingscheme
SEDOChassofarhadnoeffect.TheCommittee
believesthatabasicandfundamentalreformisneeded
here.Itsuggeststhatthecross-borderclearingschemes
thatarealreadyoperatinginfrontierareasintheso­
called'Euregions'bedevelopedfurtherandextended.
Theexperiencesgainedhere—exchangesbetween
somefrontier-arealabourofficialsarealreadyinoper­
ation—couldprovideimpetusforareformofthe
SEDOCscheme.
2.3.EmploymentandImmigrationPolicy
2.3.1.TheCommunityasawholeisunderincreasing
pressurefromimmigration,especiallyfromEastern
EuropeandtheMaghrebcountriesoftheMediterrane­
an,ifpeoplecomefromtheretoseekworkintherich
West(orNorth).Ifthesituationremainsoneoflow
employmentgrowthandhighunemployment ,asisthe
caseintheECatpresent,suchpressurewillleadto
enormoussocialandeconomicdifficultieswhichcould
makeanyintegrationofimmigrantsintothehost
countriesproblematic .TheESChasalreadyconsidered
thesequestionsintwoOpinions(!).Itagaincallsupon
theCommissiontodevelopaCommunitypolicystrat­
egyforimmigrationfromnon-ECcountries.Sucha
policyisalsonecessaryforthoseseekingasylum.The3.Prioritiesforagrowth-orientated employment
strategy
3.1.Anyimprovementinthelabourmarketsituation
dependsprimarilyonextranewjobsbeingcreated.The
ESCbelievestheCommunityshouldtakecaretosee
thatconditionsforattractingjob-creatinginvestments
arecreatedinallMemberStates.Thisincludesbetter
infrastructureandclosercooperationbetweengovern­
mentsatCommunitylevel.Thegeneraleconomicsitu­
ationtoohasadecisivebearingonanyattemptto
improvethelabourmarketsituation.TheESChas
issuedaseparateOpiniononthismatter(2).TheCom­
missionshouldmakemoreuseofthepossibilitiesithas
ofsupportingthepoliciesofMemberStates'govern­
ments.GreatercoordinationofinputfromtheSocial
Fund,theStructuralFundandthenewly-created
CohesionFundisneededhere.Wherenecessarythe
conditionsforusingtheSocialFundshouldbechanged.
Thetwosidesofindustrycanplayaparticularrole
here.Theyshouldbeinvolvedmoreinthedistribution
andcoordinationofresources,especiallyintheregions.
Tradeunionsandemployershavealreadyproduced
jointproposalsatEuropeanlevelforacooperative
growthstrategy.Notonlythequantitative,butalsothe
(*)Own-initiative OpinionontheLegalStatusofMigrantWork­
ersfromThirdCountries,OJNoC159,17.6.1991.Opinion
onImmigrationPolicies,OJNoC40,17.2.1992.(2)OpinionontheEconomicSituationintheCommunity (OJ
NoC79,30.3.1992);AdditionalOpinionontheEconomic
SituationintheCommunity (OJNoC98,21.6.1992).

4.11.92 NoC287/52 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities
qualitativeapplicationofresourcesiscrucial.There
mustbeaguaranteedregularmonitoringofresource
usebyindependentbodiesandthetwosidesofindustry.workers.Thefearhereisthattheabolitionofborder
checksmayleadtoabigincreaseinillegalcross-border
temporarywork.HeretootheESCcallsforthequickest
possibleconclusionofCommunityinstrumentswhich
havebeensubmitted.
3.5.TheESCwelcomestheinitialdecisionsona
fundamentalreformoftheSEDOCscheme.Theexperi­
enceswhichhavebeenacquiredinborderareaswith
thecooperationofemploymentofficesclosetothe
frontiercouldbeusedfortheSEDOCscheme.3.2.Thebasicpreconditionforcombattingyouth
unemployment andlong-termunemployment isbetter
workertraining.IthasbeenshownthatinMember
Stateswhereyoungpeoplearegivenworkorpro­
fessionally-oriented trainingassoonastheyleave
school,theyhavemorechancesonthelabourmarket,
especiallywhenchangingjobs,thanthoseincountries
withoutanysuchbasictraining.TheESCfeelsthat
afterMaastrichttheCommissionhasnowbeengiven
afoundationonwhichtodevelopsuitableinstruments
toensurethatyoungschool-leavers inallMember
Statesaregivenvocationaltrainingwhichequipsthem
tofindskilledjobs.Theso-called'sandwichcourse'
system,wherepracticalon-the-jobtrainingiscombined
withtheoreticalvocationaltrainingincollege,haspro­
vedtobethemostsuccessful.3.6.TheESCcallsupontheCommissiontodevelop
assoonaspossibleCommunitydirectivesonimmi­
grationpolicytowardsnon-ECnationalsandthetreat­
mentofasylum-seekers .
Inaddition,whattheESChassaidmanytimesbefore
alsoapplieshere:morejobsareneededforyoung
people.Abetterdistributionofworkandabetter
organisationofworkthroughre-structuringwouldbe
wise.4.SocialDialogue
3.3.TheCommissionshouldalsotakeappropriate
stepstoensurethatworkersinallMemberStateshave
thepossibility,iftheyareunemployedorthreatened
withunemployment ,ofreceivingfurthereducationand
re-training,soastopreventthemjoiningthelong­
termunemployedorbecomingunemployable .TheESC
believesthereshouldbeapreventivepolicytore-train
workersthreatenedwithunemployment .
Inallthesemeasuresstepsmustbetakentoensurethat
theunemployedreceiveenoughmoneytomaintain
themselveswhiletheyarebeingre-trained.TheESC
recentlyissuedanOpiniononthistoo(1).
ThereareparticularproblemsinMemberStateswhich
arestilloverwhelmingly basedonagriculture.TheESC
thinksthataspecialCommunityprogrammeisnecess­
aryforworkerslosingjobsinagriculture.4.1.•TheESCispleasedthattheeffortsofEuropean
tradeunionsandemployerstodevelopthesocialdia­
loguefurtherhavefoundexpressionintheMaastricht
treaty.TheagreementsreachedinOctober1991were
essentialinensuringthatanewformofsocialpolicy
cooperation—agreementsbetweenthetwosidesof
industry—wasincorporatedintotheMaastricht
treaty.Withthisithasbeenrecognisedthatthetwo
sidesofindustryareready,asautonomouspartiesand
ontheirownresponsibility ,totakepartinthesocial
shapingofEurope.TheESCisregardingthefurther
developmentofthiscooperationwithinterestandhop­
ingitwillleadtoEuropeanskeletonagreementswhich
canstandalongsidethelegislationoftheCommunity
institutions .Itconsidersthatitistooearlyforthe
momenttopassjudgmentontherelationshipbetween
thetwosidesofindustryinthenarrowersenseandon
theroleoftheCommitteeinsociallegislation.Butit
doesfeelthattheworkinthesocialdialogueandin
theESCcanbebroadenedandnotberuledoutand
thattherebyaEuropeansocialpolicycanbeimplement­
edbetterandmoreeffectively.Itisimportantthatthe
twobodiesworkwelltogetheranddonotcalleach
otherintoquestion.3.4.Topreventworkers,especiallywomen,whoare
workingpart-timeorunderfixed-termcontractsfrom
beingplacedatadisadvantage ,theCommissionand
Councilareaskedtoconcludeandputintopractice
rightawaythoseCommunityinstrumentswhichare
alreadyonthetable.ThesameappliesfortemporaryThenewcooperationarrangementsbetweenmanage­
mentandlabourareofundoubtedimportance .How­
ever,manyotherinterestgroups(e.g.farmers,
craftsmen,traders,smallandmedium-sized businesses,
theprofessions,consumersandecologicalgroups,and
representatives ofcooperatives ,mutualsocieties,non­
profitassociationsandfamilies)arealsoexpressinga
legitimatewishtoincreasetheircapacityforpartici­
pationindecision-making oneconomicandsocial
development .(*)InformationReportonPoverty(CES421/88);Opinionon
SufficientResourcesandSocialAssistanceintheSocialPro­
tectionSystems(OJNoC14,20.1.1992).

4.11.92 NoC287/53 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities
5.TheRoleofSmallFirmsandtheSelf-Employed ■
Smallandmedium-sized firmsandtheself-employed ,
particularlythecraftssector,-playanimportantrolein
thelabourmarketinallECMemberStates.Their
contributiontocountries'nationalproductisstillextra­
ordinarilyhigh.Abovealltheyplayaspecialrolein
thetrainingofyoungpeopleandshoulderthemain
vocationaltrainingburdeninmanyMemberStates.The
ESCiscurrentlypreparinganown-initiativeOpinionon
theroleofsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises (SMEs)
inwhichtheirimportanceasemployersandtheirrole
invocationaltrainingwillbethoroughlyexamined.6.Environmental ProtectionandLabourMarket
Policy
Environmental protectionistodayinthemindsofall
sectionsofthepopulation.Environmental compatibility
andconsumerfriendlinessaretodayanintegralpartof
aproduct'squality.Industriesactiveinenvironmental
protectionaresectorsofinnovationwithprogressive
technologyinallcountriesoftheCommunity .They
arehelpingmoreandmoretocreatenewjobsand,
aboveall,jobswithafuture.
Anotherimportantsectorforthelabourmarketiswaste
recycling,whichtheESCthinksshouldbegivengreater
attention.Norshouldoneoverlookthegrowing
importanceofsectorsdealingwithenergy-saving .
DoneatBrussels,2July1992.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
MichaelGEUENICH
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDirectiveharmonizingthetermofprotectionof
copyrightandcertainrelatedrights(*)
(92/C287/14)
On23March1992theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle100AoftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforIndustry,Commerce,CraftsandServices,whichwasresponsibleforpreparing
theCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon10June1992.TheRapporteur
wasMrPardon.
Atits298thPlenarySession(meetingof1July1992),theEconomicandSocialCommittee
adoptedbyamajority,with17dissentingvotesand6abstentions,thefollowingOpinion.
1.Generalcomments
1.1.TheaimoftheproposedDirective—tohar­
monizethetermofprotectionofcopyrightandcertain
relatedrights—reflectstheconcernvoicedbythe
Committeeonmanyoccasions.1.1.1.Forinstance,initsOpinion(2)of25January
1989ontheGreenPaperonCopyrightandthechallenge
oftechnology—Copyrightissuesrequiringimmediate
action,theCommitteeregretted(point2.6)the'lackof
uniformityinthecontentofcopyrightandthetermof
copyright'.Itcalled(point3.1.2.3)foranurgentstudy
ofthetermofcopyright:formulaemustbefound'for
(!)OJNoC92,11.4.1992,p.6. (2)OJNoC71,20.3.1989.