27. 9. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 252/39 
Opinion on the social developments in the Community in 1981 
The text referred to the Committee has not yet been published in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 21 June 1982 the Commission referred the abovementioned matter to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 199th 
plenary session held in Brussels on 30 June and 1 July 1982. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 198 
thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Commission of 
the European Communities on 21 June 1982 for an 
opinion on the social developments in the Community in 
1981, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 14 
December 1981, instructing the Section for Social 
Questions in anticipation of the consultation to draw up 
an opinion and a report on the matter in accordance with 
Article 22 of the Rules of Procedure, 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by the Section for 
Social Questions at its meeting on 10 June 1982, 
Having regard to the report submitted by the rapporteur, 
Mrs Engelen-Kefer, 
Having regard to the discussions during the 199th plenary 
session held on 30 June and 1 July 1982, 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
by 45 votes to 11, with 15 abstentions: 
I. Introduction 
1. The Committee is very concerned to note that, after 
a period of slight improvement in the economic and 
employment situation in the Member States, a fresh 
deterioration began in 1980 and gathered momentum in 
1981 as unemployment rose sharply. 
A detailed description of economic developments in the 
Member States is to be found in the Section for Economic 
and Financial Questions' Report on the mid-1982 
economic situation in the Community. 2. The Committee notes that wage and salary earners 
and the jobless are the main victims of the cuts in social 
welfare benefits now being made as a move to save 
money. This is especially true in Belgium, the Federal 
Republic of Germany, Italy and Luxembourg. There are 
also more and more cases of bankruptcy and insolvency in 
the self-employed and small/medium business sectors, 
and the profits of firms in these sectors are plummeting. 
The Committee would stress that basic social welfare 
provisions should not be threatened, especially in view of 
the problems in the fields of employment and finance and 
in particular in the budgetary sector. 
3. It is realized that there are major economic and 
financial difficulties at domestic and international level 
and savings may also be made elsewhere if urgently 
needed employment measures are to be financed. The 
disputes about where such savings are to be made must 
not, however, be resolved one-sidedly at the expense of 
the lower and middle income brackets, since (a) the need 
for social balance must be taken into account and (b) 
purchasing power would be siphoned off in this way and 
the threat to economic growth and employment thus 
increased. 
4. The Committee would stress the need for an active 
labour market and employment policy in order to combat 
the persistently high and ever rising unemployment and 
counter the fact that underprivileged groups of persons 
are being hit more and more. There is little point, not only 
from the social angle but also in terms of employment and 
financing, in making considerable cutbacks in measures 
which demonstrably help to reduce or even avert 
unemployment. The savings made with regard to such 
labour market policy measures are cancelled out in part 
by the extra expenditure on unemployment. 
Cuts in the level of unemployment benefits or greater 
restrictions on eligibility for unemployment benefits, 
would not only increase social imbalances at the expense 
No C 252/40 Official Journal of the European Communities 27. 9. 82 
of the unemployed, but would also erode their purchasing 
power, thereby having an adverse effect on the economic 
and employment situation. 
5. Making up the deficits in one sector of social 
security - in particular unemployment insurance - by 
transferring money from another sector, is a ploy for 
evading the urgently required employment and labour 
market policy and is by no means a satisfactory answer to 
the budgetary problems. 
6. The Committee thinks that unemployment benefits 
and labour market provisions should not be abused. 
Illegal labour subcontracting should be combatted 
further and something should be done about undeclared 
work. However, this should not detract from the fact that 
the employment and funding crisis cannot be resolved 
until a sufficiently effective employment policy has been 
introduced. 
7. Considerable cuts in social welfare benefits and 
hence the risk of vital social needs not being satisfied 
would intensify the conflict between social groups and 
thus make it even more difficult, if not impossible, to lay 
the foundation for an effective employment policy and to 
create the conditions for eliminating the economic, 
employment and funding crisis. 
II. Diagnosis of the employment situation and 
outlook 
8. The scale and pattern of unemployment are clearly 
described in the Commission Report on the Social 
Developments in 1981. The number of registered 
unemployed in the Community rose to over ten million by 
the end of the year, roughly a third more than in 1980. 
Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and Luxembourg in 
particular recorded an even greater rate of increase. The 
unemployment figures would be even higher if they 
included the unregistered and the underemployed, i.e. 
those people who do not register as unemployed because 
they see no chance of finding work. In particular, young, 
elderly and disabled persons as well as women fall into 
this category. 
9. The Committee is particularly concerned about the 
increasingly intractable problem of hard-core 
unemployment. More and more groups are joining the 
pool of 'disadvantaged problem groups' and thus being 
condemned to long-term unemployment, since they are 
actually or supposedly less capable. Particularly affected 
are young people, women, the elderly and disabled, the 
low skilled, migrant workers and workers in structurally 
weak branches and regions. (Often an unemployed 
person falls into more than one of these categories, which makes his employment much more difficult.) Measures 
must be taken to ensure that workers in these categories 
are re-integrated into working life (or remain in 
employment, as the case may be). Long-term 
unemployment is already widespread. It imposes major 
financial sacrifices on its victims, and involves health 
hazards whose extent has still to be fully recognized. 
Society is having to pay large and increasing amounts to 
finance unemployment and meet the costs of the physical 
and psychological damage done to the jobless and their 
families. The proportion of long-term unemployed differs 
from Member State to Member State. The Committee 
would advise the Commission to carry out a comparative 
analysis whose results would enable the governments to 
take specific action to help the long-term unemployed. 
10. Forecasts hold out little hope of a substantial 
improvement in employment in the medium or longer 
term. For demographic reasons, the working population 
will continue to increase till the end of the decade. 
Technological change will continue to eliminate jobs not 
only in industry, but also on an increasing scale in the 
office and administrative sectors too. It should also be 
borne in mind that the level of investment and 
forward-looking innovation vital for the creation and 
safeguarding of jobs is inadequate. In addition, the size of 
the population from non-member countries is increasing 
sharply. It follows that the unemployment problem is 
unlikely to be eradicated this decade. Indeed, high 
unemployment levels could persist beyond the end of the 
eighties, unless there is adequate level of investment and 
support is given to forward-looking innovation. 
11. With the prospects on the labour market being as 
they are, it will be necessary to come up with an 
employment policy which creates the maximum possible 
number of jobs in all regions and for each age group. In 
practice, it must be borne in mind, however, that young 
job-seekers are given some priority and that this has led to 
a shift in the pattern of unemployment, with more elderly 
people now being out of work and faced with the prospect 
of no job. The abilities and experience of these many 
elderly people without a job, including a good many 
pensioners, are not put to use by society. Some thought 
should be given to the problems of this group of people 
and, in particular, whether by working for their local 
community or in an advisory capacity they could not find 
some self-satisfaction and be of benefit to society. 
12. In Germany each unemployed person costs the 
public purse DM 28 000 (approximately 11 800 ECU) 
per year. It is reckoned that the average unemployment 
figure for 1982 as a whole will be 1-75 million or so -
over 1 million of whom will draw unemployment 
benefits. It will thus cost between DM 30 000 and DM 
40 000 million (approximately 12 600 to 16 800 million 
ECU) just to finance unemployment (payment of 
unemployment benefits and offset loss of taxes and social 
insurance contributions). In the UK each of the more than 
3 million registered unemployed last year cost £ 4 380 
(approximately 7 680 ECU) on average as a result of the 
27. 9. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 252/41 
payment of unemployment benefits and the loss of taxes 
and social insurance contributions. The cost of the mass 
unemployment to the State totalled £12 000 million 
(approximately 21 000 million ECU) in 1981 and will 
rise to £ 14 000 million (approximately 24 500 million 
ECU) this year. The loss to the economy as a whole 
reached the record level of £ 20 000 million (35 000 
million ECU) in 1981. The Committee recommends that 
the Commission make a study of the various measures 
taken in the Member States which have led to the creation 
of permanent, productive jobs. This could contribute 
towards a general raising of the Community's 
competitiveness. 
13. Apart from the financing aspect, unemployment is 
developin more and more into a menacing social problem 
- especially in view of the high percentage of the jobless 
who are young (40 % average throughout the 
Community). 
HI. Need for national and Community employment 
measures 
14. The longer unemployment remains at a high level, 
the clearer it becomes that there is no simple solution. 
What is needed is a coordinated approach using all the 
economic, structural, financial, technological, training, 
labour-market and collective-agreement measures 
available at national and Community level which 
influence employment. It is crucially important to 
implement a short-, medium- and long-term employment 
strategy and not just rely on short-term economic 
programmes. In addition, the encouragement of 
investment could help to increase the world-wide 
competitiveness of the Community's economy. It is 
necessary in this connection to boost qualitative 
economic growth and hence private and public 
investment and employment in, for example, the 
following areas: construction, safeguarding and 
conservation of energy, expansion of local transport, 
improvement of housing, urban renewal, education and 
training, protection of the environment. All governments 
in the Community have, in the face of the rising 
unemployment in their countries, planned or 
implemented a whole host of economic measures 
designed to improve the employment situation. These 
include the employment programmes that have recently 
been worked out in some countries. The Commission, 
which has referred to these programmes in its Report on 
the Social Developments in 1981, should devote its 
special attention to these programmes' practical effect. 
15. Employment programmes 
Initiatives have been taken in the field of employment in 
many countries. Examples of special employment 
programmes include the plans devised in the Federal Republic of Germany, France, the Netherlands and 
Denmark. The Committee thinks that coordinated action 
would be made easier if governments exchanged more 
information about individual measures taken in the 
employment sector. In this connection the Committee 
would refer to the Commission Report on Social 
Developments in the Community in 1981. 
16. Since it can hardly be expected that sufficient new 
jobs will be created, efforts will have to continue to be 
made to apportion the existing employment 
opportunities more evenly among job-holders and 
job-seekers. In this connection, there are various methods 
for reducing working hours and working life that could be 
applied in keeping with the requirements and possibilities 
of the individual Member States and industries. 
17. These main elements of an effective employment 
strategy have been under discussion for years in the 
various Community institutions, since it is proving less 
and less possible to solve the increasingly difficult 
economic, employment and financial problems at 
national level alone. There is therefore no alternative to 
continued efforts to achieve coordination at Community 
level. Here one must repeat the recommendation made by 
the Committee in previous opinions on the social 
situation, namely that more effective use should be made 
of the existing forums for the discussion of employment 
topics - in particular, the Standing Committee on 
Employment. This will involve further efforts to improve 
the preparation of the Standing Committee's meetings 
and in particular follow-up action on the results. It is also 
necessary to improve cooperation and coordination of 
work between the Standing Committee on Employment, 
the ESC and the sectoral committees, which should be 
made more efficient. 
18. In view of the growing severity of the employment 
problems, one must welcome the fact that the 
Commission is studying how more effective use could be 
made of the European Social Fund. Here support must at 
all events be given to the more concentrated use of the 
increasingly scarce funds for regions and groups of people 
that pose special employment problems. The 
Commission's suggestion that more funds be made 
available in future for training and practical assistance in 
small and medium-sized enterprises and the 
self-employed sector should also be taken up. What is 
crucial, however, is that the real problem regions and 
problem groups in all the Member States should be given 
equal attention in any moves to place greater emphasis on 
employment policy in the ESF. It is questionable, 
however, whether it will be possible to expand the ESF's 
sphere of competence to include measures for the creation 
and safeguarding of jobs without making provision for a 
considerable increase in the ESF's financial resources, as 
the European Parliament has proposed. At all events, 
steps must be taken to ensure that financing is not 
provided simply for measures that would have been 
adopted without ESF participation. The Committee may 
return to this point in work on the reform of the ESF. In 
No C 252/42 Official Journal of the European Communities 27. 9. 82 
general, however, it should be borne in mind that the ESF 
is not endowed with adequate financial resources for this 
purpose and therefore can make only a minor 
contribution in the field of employment policy. 
19. The Committee would point out that its own 
initiative opinion on the coordination of labour market 
instruments (J), which was adopted by a unanimous vote 
recently, contains important suggestions for national and 
European labour market policy, which must be put into 
practice straightaway. 
20. In the face of the deteriorating employment 
situation, the Committee can only encourage the 
Commission to continue with its efforts in the area of 
work sharing. The importance of the initiatives already 
taken in the area of part-time work is not to be 
underrated, but these initiatives alone cannot get at the 
core of the employment problem. 
It would certainly help if the Commission's initiative on 
flexible retirement were followed up. Experience in the 
various Member States has shown that voluntary early 
retirement can help towards improving the situation of 
older workers and provide additional employment 
opportunities for younger unemployed people (2). Some 
of the additional expenditure required for this purpose 
could be offset by the reduction in unemployment, which 
would lead to a reduction in the related costs. 
21. It is also desirable to examine the implementation 
of the Council resolution of 22 November 1979 on the 
adaptation of working time. The shortening of working 
hours in its various forms can help to safeguard jobs and 
under certain conditions can also help to create new jobs. 
The parties to collective bargaining in several countries 
have made efforts to conclude agreements to this effect. In 
France the reduction of the working week to 39 hours has 
been introduced as a general principle. In the United 
Kingdom the 39-hour week is now worked by 6 • 5 million 
workers, that is to say, roughly one half of all workers in 
industry. And in other countries the age of retirement has 
been lowered and more annual leave has been granted. 
The Committee calls on the Commission to keep a watch 
on further developments in the light of employment 
policy objectives. 
IV. Problems facing young people - youth 
unemployment 
The Committee notes that numerous groups of persons 
have been hit by the economic crisis. In accordance with 
(») OJ No C 112, 3. 5. 1982, p. 12. 
(2) Cf. Committee opinion on the draft Council 
recommendation on the principle of a Community policy 
with regard to retirement age (OJ No C 178, 15. 7. 1982, 
p. 30). past practice the Committee's opinion on the social 
developments in the Community in 1981 will concentrate 
on certain specific issues - in this case, the problem 
facing young people and migrant workers. 
22. The employment situation in the Community 
deteriorated sharply last year. Unemployment was 30 % 
up on the previous year. By the end of 1981 there were 
more than 10 million registered unemployed including 
some four million young people. Youth unemployment 
rose very steeply in the course of the year and this trend 
will continue if new measures in the employment sector 
are not taken straightaway. 
23. The scale and special nature of youth 
unemployment calls for special action in the Member 
States and at Community level as a back-up to general 
economic and employment policy. 
24. There must be a consensus between governments, 
employers, trade unions and all other groups in society on 
the urgently required overall strategy for reducing youth 
unemployment. A reduction in youth unemployment 
cannot be achieved by means of temporary or isolated 
measures. 
25. An overall strategy must be guided by the 
following considerations: 
— Vocational training and guidance systems must be 
tailored to the specific requirements (interests and 
attitudes) of young workers of both sexes. At the same 
time, the vocational guidance provided for young 
people should cater for the job openings which will 
exist on the future labour market. 
— Concrete measures must be taken to prevent young 
people from becoming failures at school and leaving 
early, and ensure that the quality of the practical 
training provided is monitored by workers' 
representatives. 
— Very special attention must be given here to measures 
designed to prepare school-leavers - both boys and 
girls - for working life and to ensure that young 
employed persons of both sexes or young people 
wanting to work for themselves are able to acquire 
occupational skills, either at their place of work or 
during their period of unemployment. 
— The job creation schemes for young workers of both 
sexes should be expanded in such a way that the jobs 
created - including jobs with cooperatives (especially 
in the agricultural sector) - are commensurate with 
comparable jobs from the point of view of pay and 
other conditions. 
— The creation of jobs in smaller businesses and 
cooperatives should be encouraged, bearing in mind 
too the initiatives being studied by the OECD. 
27. 9. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 252/43 
26. A number of governments have taken steps in this 
direction or are planning to do so. The Commission 
should make a systematic study of the practical effect of 
these measures and produce a report thereon. 
27. At Community level the Commission's 
employment strategy has been defined and given priority 
in its programme for 1982-83. It provides, inter alia, for 
the introduction of a 'social guarantee' for young people 
covering the first two years after compulsory education. 
The Commission considers that this goal can be achieved 
more readily than in the past by direct job-creating 
measures for young people between 19 and 25. 
This approach is to be welcomed in principle. The 
Commission should, however, give substance to the plan 
in joint consultations with the two sides of industry and, 
in so doing, also indicate the financial, institutional and 
operational requirements for the plan's swift 
implementation. 
These specific employment measures for young people 
must form part of the general Community employment 
strategy, which in turn is part of an economic policy 
geared primarily to reflating the economy and creating 
lasting employment. 
The effectiveness of Community instruments such as the 
European Social Fund, the European Regional 
Development Fund and the European Investment Bank 
should also be considered in this connection. These 
instruments should be better coordinated and there 
should be closer cooperation in specific regions, in order 
to ensure that the funds are used as efficiently as 
possible. 
28. Specific measures have been taken by various 
governments. The main aims of the programmes have 
been to extend and improve training, create places for 
trainers, stabilize existing employment and create new 
jobs for young people. 
There are considerable differences in the forms these 
measures take and the amount of financial aid given by 
the governments. The French Government's 'plan for the 
future of young people' deserves special attention because 
it not only seeks to ease the plight of the young 
unemployed in the short term, but also aims to provide 
permanent jobs after training. 
V. Problems of immigration policy 
29. The European Community's immigration policy 
has to distinguish between migration from one Member 
State to another and migration from non-member 
countries. 30. Within the Community there are 1-5 million 
workers who have migrated from one Member State to 
another and a further 4-5 million workers who have come 
from outside the Community. These workers together 
with their families represent a total of nine million 
persons. A large number of these migrants 
(approximately 0-5 million) are unemployed. The 
national origins of the migrant communities, and the 
proportion which they constitute of the labour force of 
the host country, vary sharply from Member State to 
Member State. For instance, workers from non-member 
countries account for 7 % of the workforce in Germany 
and 8 % in France compared with less than 1 % in 
Ireland, Italy and Greece. 
31. There are considerable similarities between the 
problems encountered by migrants throughout the 
Community as regards working conditions, housing, 
education and training (including that of their 
children). 
32. The whole question of immigration policy needs 
to be kept under review in the light of the deteriorating 
economic position and decreasing employment, 
especially for migrant workers in the Community, and the 
difficult economic problems in the countries from which 
the immigrant workers come. The Committee, however, 
considers that the basic principles laid down in previous 
opinions (1), as regards workers migrating between 
Member States and workers coming from outside the 
Community should still stand. 
The Committee notes that the present economic crisis 
encourages the spread of xenophobic tendencies. It urges, 
as it has in previous opinions, that national and 
Community authorities, as well as the two sides of 
industry, take effective action to combat this. 
33. The Committee has constantly supported equal 
rights for Member State workers migrating within the 
Community (precedence for the Community labour 
market), i.e. the freedom of movement embodied in 
Article 48 et seq. of the Rome Treaty should be enjoyed 
by all Member State workers. These rights must not be 
undermined by unjustified administrative provisions. 
34. Often the conditions and rights enjoyed by 
workers from other Community countries are not fully on 
a par with those enjoyed by nationals. The Member States 
and the two sides of industry should ensure that this 
situation is remedied as quickly as possible. 
(*) These include: 
— opinion on the action programme in favour of migrant 
workers and their families (rapporteur: Mr Purpura), OJ 
No C12, 17. 1. 1976; 
— opinion on the combatting of illegal migration and illegal 
employment (rapporteur: Mr Kirschen), OJ No C 77, 
30. 3. 1977 and OJ No C 269, 13. 11. 1978; 
— opinion on the consultation on migration policies 
vis-a-vis third countries (rapporteur: Mr Williams), OJ 
No C 53, 3. 3. 1980. 
No C 252/44 Official Journal of the European Communities 27. 9. 82 
35. First of all everything must be done to stamp out 
illegal immigration from third countries. The measures to 
be taken should include a tighter ban on illegal labour 
subcontracting and effective action against firms 
employing clandestine labour. The Committee will deal 
separately with the question of private employment 
agencies. In the spirit of its opinion adopted on 
23 February 1977 (x) the Committee calls on the Council 
to adopt at the earliest possible opportunity a draft 
Directive on the harmonization of laws in the Member 
States to combat illegal migration and illegal 
employment. 
36. Political refugees are a very special category of 
migrants. The European Community is an advocate of 
human rights and in keeping with this the Member States 
are prepared to grant asylum to political refugees. The 
procedures for determining which applicants are to be 
recognized as refugees should be improved and speeded 
up. 
37. The Committee thinks that all workers from third 
countries who have been working in the Community for a 
certain length of time and who want to stay here should be 
given the chance to remain in the host country. In order to 
encourage the voluntary repatriation of workers from 
third countries great care should be taken to ensure that 
the rights they have acquired in their host countries are 
taken into consideration and that they can obtain a 
training which furthers the economic development of 
their home countries. 
38. As far as integration policy is concerned, migrant 
workers who want to stay in the host country must be 
given the chance to improve their linguistic knowledge 
and occupational skills. This applies in particular to 
Done at Brussels, 1 July 1982. 
(!) Opinion of 23 February 1977 on the draft Directive on the 
harmonization of laws in the Member States to combat illegal 
migration and illegal employment (OJ No C 77, 
30. 3. 1977). migrant workers' children, who must be given the same 
training opportunities as all other school-leavers. 
Schooling itself is a special problem, since foreign 
workers very often settle in areas where many other 
members of the same religion or speakers of the same 
language live already. There are many schools where 
migrant workers' children outnumber native children. 
The Committee therefore calls for the provision of 
adequate housing and schools, which are a major 
prerequisite for integration into society. The drive to 
integrate migrant workers should ensure that ghettos do 
not become a feature of society. 
39. Physical planning and urban development models 
should be studied by the European Commission as a 
matter of urgency with migrant workers' housing and 
social problems in mind. 
40. The Committee would expressly stress, however, 
that migrant workers must be put on an equal footing 
with nationals as far as possible. It would also confirm its 
earlier statements regarding the granting of full rights to 
migrant workers as members of workers' organizations 
(trade unions, etc.) and the gradual involvement of 
migrant workers in local politics. Within the framework 
of the constitution of his host country, each migrant 
worker should be free to exercise his personal rights with 
regard to political and religious beliefs. 
41. Because of the plight of migrant workers, the 
Committee considers that priority must be given to 
meeting the demands listed above. All Member States 
should work together in liaison with both sides of 
industry to meet these demands. The Commission is 
called on to submit the requisite proposals. The 
Committee may decide to use its power of initiative in this 
field. 
The Chairman 
of the 
Economic and Social Committee 
Tomas ROSEINGRAVE 
27. 9. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 252/45 
APPENDIX 
to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee 
Defeated amendments 
The following amendments, tabled in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, were rejected during 
plenary session discussions: 
Page 12, point 20 
Add the following to point 20: 
'and to take new and more daring initiatives to break out of the impasse as regards a re-distribution of 
work'. 
Voting 
For: 31, Against: 42, Abstentions: 1. 
Page 19, point 36, lines 2 and 3 
Delete the words 'for a certain length of time'. 
Reasons 
As the sentence stands, only migrant workers who have worked for a certain length of time'will be able to 
stay in the host country. 
This means that all those who have worked here for less than this 'certain length of time' will have to leave. 
On the principle that migrant workers who have been admitted to the host country and legally worked there 
must be free to decide whether to stay or leave, the Committee cannot accept a text which would endorse 
their expulsion. 
Voting 
For: 20, Against: 48, Abstentions: 4. 
Page 20, point 39 
Delete 'gradual' in the second sentence. 
Voting 
For: 31, Against: 39, Abstentions: 2. 
The following passages in the Section opinion were modified following the adoption of amendments tabled 
during the discussion: 
Page 2, point 3, first sentence 
'It is realized that there are major economic and funding difficulties, generated by domestic and 
international pressures, so that savings must be made somewhere if urgently needed employment 
measures are to be financed'. 
Voting on the relevant amendment 
For: 37, Against: 9, Abstentions: 5. 
Page 18, point 34, last sentence 
'It calls on the Council to adopt at the earliest possible opportunity the draft Directive on the 
harmonization of laws in the Member States to combat illegal migration and illegal employment 
(Committee opinion of 23 February 1977) (1). 
0) OJ No C 77, 30. 3. 1977. 
No C 252/46 Official Journal of the European Communities 27. 9. 82 
Voting on the relevant amendment 
For: 56, Against: 0, Abstentions: 15. 
The followings words in the Section opinion were deleted following the adoption of an amendment tabled 
during the discussion: 
Page 20, point 39 
'The Committee would expressly stress, however, that in the long term migrant workers must be put on 
an equal footing with nationals as far as possible.' 
Voting 
For: 35, Against: 31, Abstentions: 1. 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending for the second time Directive 
76/118/EECon the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to certain partly 
or wholly dehydrated preserved milk for human consumption 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 84 of 3 April 1982, page 3. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 27 April 1982 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Article 43 of the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 199th 
plenary session held in Brussels on 30 June and 1 July 1982. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 
thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 27 April 1982 for an opinion 
on the proposal for a Council Directive amending for the 
second time Directive 76/118/EEC on the 
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating 
to certain partly or wholly dehydrated preserved milk for 
human consumption, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
25 May 1982, instructing the Section for Agriculture to 
prepare the proceedings of the Committee on the 
matter, 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by the Section for 
Agriculture at its 235th meeting, held on 3 June 1982, 
Having regard to the oral report made by the rapporteur, 
Mr Berns, 
Having regard to the discussions during the 199th plenary 
session held on 30 June and 1 July 1982, HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
with no dissenting votes but with one abstention: 
The Committee approves the proposal, subject to the 
comments set out below. 
I. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 
1. Concerning the requirements for labelling 
1.1. The Committee notes, in the first instance, that 
the new proposal aims to standardize the requirements 
governing the labelling of foodstuffs. The ESC, which 
issued an opinion on the draft version of Directive 
76/118/EEC in September 1976 (*), supports the 
objectives of the new proposal which will improve the 
labelling of the milk products covered by Directive 
76/118/EEC. 
(») OJ No C 285, 2. 12. 1976.