Amended proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on Community incentive measures in the field of employment (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

I. INTRODUCTION

On 20 July 2000, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community incentive measures in the field of employment. Art 129 TEC provides the legal basis for the Decision. The Committee of the Regions adopted its opinion on 14 December 2000 and the Economic and Social Committee adopted its opinion on 31 January 2001. Following the adoption by the European Parliament of its opinion on [14 February 2001] the Commission has now modified its original proposal in accordance with Article 250 TEC.

II. AMENDMENTS

The reference to cooperation and information exchanges between Member States as a strength of the Employment strategy has been emphasised (Recital 5). The role of the European Parliament in European employment policy is clarified (Recital 7).

A series of amendments relate to the role of the social partners and relevant local and regional authorities. These relate to the way in which Member States cooperate with them and how they implement an active information policy (Article 2 (2)); in relation to evaluation of the National Action Plans (Article 3 (1) 2). The methods for pursuing such an active information policy have been specified (Article 4). The accessibility of the general public to this evaluation and the Joint employment report is clarified (Article 4 2a).

A specific focus on analysis of the local employment dimension of the Employment strategy has been introduced (Article 3(1)3, 3 (1) 6).

The relationship between this programme and other Community programmes has been made clearer, in particular avoiding the subordination of the Employment strategy to general economic policy. In addition, those programmes which are particularly relevant here have been mentioned specifically (Articles 3 (1) 2a, 5). These amendments also recognise the need for a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the effects of the European employment strategy.

The gender specific elements of the programme have been strengthened, while avoiding duplication and too much detail on specific projects, with a reference to the particular elements of equal opportunity policy which are relevant (Article 3.2).

2000/0195 (COD)

Amended proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on Community incentive measures in the field of employment

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 129 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission [1],

[1] OJ C

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee [2],

[2] OJ C

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions [3],

[3] OJ C

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty [4],

[4] OJ C

Whereas:

(1) Article 3 of the Treaty sets out that the activities of the Community shall include the promotion of co-ordination between employment policies of the Member States with a view to enhancing their effectiveness by developing a co-ordinated strategy for employment.

(2) Title VIII of the Treaty, and particularly Article 127 thereof, establishes that the Community shall complement the action of Member States where necessary; and that the objective of a high level of employment shall be taken into consideration in the formulation and implementation of Community policies and activities.

(3) Title VIII of the Treaty, and particularly Article 128 thereof, establishes the procedures by which Member States and the Community shall work towards developing a co-ordinated strategy for employment and particularly for promoting a skilled, trained and adaptable workforce and labour markets responsive to economic change; in particular, that the Council adopts guidelines for achieving the objective of developing a co-ordinated strategy for employment and may make recommendations to the Member States; and that the Council and the Commission make a joint annual report to the European Council on the employment situation.

(4) The Extraordinary European Council Meeting on Employment in Luxembourg, 20 and 21 November 1997, launched an overall strategy for employment, the European Employment Strategy, encompassing the coordination of Member States' employment policies on the basis of commonly-agreed employment guidelines (the Luxembourg process), the continuation and development of a co-ordinated macro-economic policy and an efficient internal market, with a view to laying the foundations for sustainable growth, new dynamism and a climate of confidence conducive to boosting employment; this strategy also involves the harnessing in a more systematic way of all Community policies in support of employment, both framework policies and support policies.

(5) The European Council of Lisbon has agreed a new strategic goal for the Union to build a competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy capable of sustaining economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion and so to regain the conditions for full employment. To this end, it has set a new range of targets and benchmarks and introduced them in a new open method of coordination at all levels coupled with a stronger guiding and coordination role for the European Council, to ensure more coherent strategic direction and effective monitoring of progress. Moreover, it requested that the mid-term review of the Luxembourg process should give a new impetus by enriching the guidelines with more concrete targets establishing closer links with other relevant policy areas.

(5a) A specific strength of the European Employment Strategy is that Member States co-operate on employment policy, while retaining the right to take decisions appropriate to their individual circumstances.Another strength is that they learn from the experiences of others, including the ways in which they involve the social partners, local and regional authorities and the general public.

(6) Article 129 enables the Council to adopt incentive measures designed to encourage co-operation between Member States and to support their action in the field of employment through initiatives aimed at developing exchanges of information and best practices, providing comparative analysis and advice as well as promoting innovative approaches and evaluating experiences, in particular by recourse to pilot projects.

(7) The European Parliament which has in the past strongly supported Community activities in the field of employment plays an important role in European employment policy and is consulted in accordance with Treaty provisions.

(8) The European Council has determined that comparable and reliable statistics and indicators in the field of employment and the labour market should be defined and collected.

(9) Council Decision 2000/98/EC of 24 January 2000 established the Employment Committee on the basis of Article 130 of the Treaty to promote co-ordination between the Member States on employment and labour market policies. [5]

[5] OJ L 29 of 04.02.2000, p. 21-22.

(10) A financial reference amount has been included in this Decision, without prejudice to the powers of the budgetary authority as they are defined by the Treaty.

(11) Council Decision 98/171/EC of 23 February 1998 on Community activities concerning analysis, research and co-operation in the field of employment and the labour market which currently provides for such activities will cease to apply on 31 December 2000 [6].

[6] OJ L 63 of 04.03.1998, p. 26-28.

(12) The present Decision shall provide for the continuation and development of the activities launched on the basis of Council Decision 98/171/EC.

(13) In compliance with Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission [7], measures for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted by use of the advisory procedure provided for in Article 3 of that Decision.

[7] OJ L 184 of 17.07.1999, p. 23.

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1 (Establishment of Community activities)

1. Community activities concerning analysis, research and co-operation among the Member States in the field of employment and the labour market shall be carried out in the period from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2005.

2. These activities shall also contribute to the development of the co-ordinated strategy for employment through the analysis, monitoring and support of actions carried out in the Member States, with due regard for the latter's responsibilities in this field.

Article 2 (Objectives)

1. The activities referred to in this Decision are those directly linked to the implementation of the Employment Title of the TEC. Their main task is the development, planning, monitoring, follow up to, and evaluation of, the European Employment Strategy with a strong forward-looking emphasis.

2. In particular, it aims at fostering co-operation between Member States in analysis, research and monitoring of labour market policy, identifying best practices and promoting exchanges and transfers of information and experience, developing the approach and contents of the European Employment Strategy, including ways of co-operating with the social partners and relevant local and regional authorities and implementing an active and transparent information policy .

Article 3 (Community measures)

1. With a view to achieving the objectives referred to in Article 2, The Community measures will cover the following activities:

(1) Activities which, within the agreed policy aim of raising the employment rate, underpin a more strategic approach to employment policy in the EU through analysis and evaluation of employment trends, framework policy conditions, assessment of policy options and the impact of community policies. To the maximum possible extent, analysis will be gender specific.

(2) Activities aimed at providing support for Member States efforts in evaluating in a consistent and coordinated manner their National Action Plans including the way in which the Social Partners and relevant regional and local authorities have been involved in their implementation; a special evaluation exercise will be completed by the 5-year anniversary of the Luxembourg Job Summit, at the end of the first period of the implementation of the guidelines.

(2a) A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the effects of the European Employment Strategy in general, and analysis of the consistency of the European Employment Strategy with general economic policy, as well as other policy areas.

(3) Activities aimed at bringing together and exchanging experiences in Member States, including at local and regional level, both in terms of the pillars and of individual guidelines, as defined in the annual Employment Policy Guidelines for the Member States. Increasing this cooperation will help Member States in developing their employment policies in the light of the lessons learned.

(4) Activities aimed at the monitoring of the European Employment Strategy in the Member States, in particular through the European Employment Observatory.

(5) Technical and scientific work needed for developing common indicators, improving and completing statistics, benchmarking performances and the exchange of information on best practices, inasmuch as this is more cost effective to undertake at Community level rather than at the level of individual Member States.

(6) Prospective analysis on policy areas of importance to the Commission and Member States, for the development of the European Employment Strategy, including studies on local employment strategies and initiatives,through forward analysis, new fields of research and the mainstreaming of the employment impact of Community policies.

(7) Activities to support the input of European Union presidencies to create a special focus on priority elements of the Strategy, special events of high international importance or of general interest to the Union and the Member States.

2. Under the above activities, attention will be paid to the efforts of the Member States with regard to equal opportunities for men and women in employment and labour markets including efforts with regard to the integration of men and women into working life on a continuing basis, and promoting family-friendly employment policies.

3. In implementing the measures referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall take into account the statistical data, studies and project reports available from international organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Article 4 (Outputs)

1. The output of the activities mentioned in Article 3 will vary according to the type of activity involved. They will include the Employment in Europe report and other publications, working documents, reports to be submitted to the Council and the Commission - in particular the Joint Employment Report - national seminars for example in preparation of the National Action Plans, seminars on employment policy or the organisation of important international events on priority topics or of general importance. Improved dissemination of results will include making greater use of internet facilities (web publishing, internet chats and seminars) for fostering exchange of information and cooperation.

2.a With a view to improving transparency, the Commission shall ensure that the evaluation of the National Action Plans for employment and the annual employment report are made accessible to the general public.

Article 5 (Consistency and complementarity)

The Commission shall in cooperation with the Member States ensure overall consistency with other Union and Community policies, instruments and actions, in particular the relevant activities relating to research, equality between men and women, social inclusion, culture, education, training and youth policy and in the field of the Community's external relations. Article 6 (Participation of third countries) [elarg]

1. The activities shall be open to participation by:

-the countries of the European Economic Area,

-the candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs), in accordance with the conditions established in the Europe Agreements, in their additional protocols, and in the decisions of the respective Association Councils,

-Cyprus, Malta and Turkey on the basis of bilateral agreements to be concluded with these countries,

-other Mediterranean countries in the context of the European Union's relations with those countries.

2. The cost of the participation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be borne either by the countries concerned or under the Community budget headings covering implementation of the cooperation, association or partnership agreements with those countries in the area concerned.

Article 7 (Implementation)

1. The Commission shall implement these activities in accordance with this Decision.

2. The Commission shall be assisted by an advisory committee composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee").

3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, the advisory procedure laid down in Article 3 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, in compliance with Article 7, paragraphe 3 and Article 8.

4. The representative of the Commission shall in particular consult the Committee on:

-the general guidelines for the implementation of the programme;

-the annual budgets and the distribution of funding between measures;

-the annual plan of work for the implementation of the programme's actions, and the Commission proposals for selection criteria for financial support.

5. To ensure the consistency and complementarity of this programme with other measures referred to in Article 5, the Commission shall keep the Committee regularly informed about other relevant Community action. Where appropriate, the Commission shall establish regular and structured co-operation between this Committee and the committees established for other relevant policies, instruments and actions.

Article 8 (Links to be established)

The Commission shall establish the necessary links with the Employment Committee as well as with the social partners within the framework of the activities referred to in this Decision.

The Commission shall inform the European social partners at their request of the results of its implementing activities.

Article 9 (Financing)

1. The financial reference amount for the implementation of the Community activities referred to in this Decision for the period 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2005 shall be Euro 55 million.

2. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective.

3. The Commission may have recourse to technical and/or administrative assistance, to the mutual benefit of the Commission and of the beneficiaries, as well as to support expenditure.

Article 10 (Evaluation and Reporting)

1. The Commission shall identify performance indicators for the actions, monitor achievement of interim results, and carry out independent evaluations in the third year (mid-term) and early during the last year (ex-post) of the programme. The evaluations shall particularly assess the impact achieved and the efficiency of the use of resources, and provide decision-oriented recommendations for adjustments and the eventual extension of the programme.

2. The Commission shall make the results of actions undertaken and the evaluation reports publicly available.

3. In the light of the evaluations, the Commission may propose an extension of the programme.

4. The Commission shall submit an interim report on the results of the activities to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions by 31 December 2003 at the latest, and a final report by 31 December 2006 at the latest. It shall incorporate into these reports information on Community financing within the framework of the programme and on consistency and complementarity with other relevant programmes, actions and initiatives, as well as the relevant evaluation results.

Article 11 (Publication)

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1. Title of operation

Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community incentive measures in the field of employment

2. Budget heading(s) involved

B5-5020 Employment and Labour market

B5-502A Employment and Labour market - Administrative costs

3. Legal basis

Article 129 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC).

4. Description of operation

4.1 General objective

The Community incentive measures in the field of employment will cover activities directly linked to the implementation of the Employment Title of the TEC. The main task is the development, planning, monitoring, follow up to and evaluation of the European Employment Strategy with a strong prospective orientation. In particular, it aims at fostering co-operation between Member States in analysis, research and monitoring labour market policy, identifying best practices and promoting exchanges and transfers of information and experience, developing the approach and contents of the European Employment Strategy, and enacting an active information policy in this domain.

These activities would also follow on the activities launched on the basis of Council Decision 98/171/EC of 23 February 1998 on Community activities concerning analysis, research and co-operation in the field of employment and the labour market which established such activities until 31 December 2000.

4.2 Period covered and arrangements for renewal

Period from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2005.

5. Classification of expenditure or revenue

5.1 Non-compulsory expenditure

5.2 Differentiated appropriations

6. Type of expenditure or revenue

-Contracts for studies and 'prestation de services', for expert meetings and organisations of conferences and seminars, as well as for expenditure for publication and dissemination.

-Subsidies below 75% of total costs for joint financing with other sources in the public and/or private sector

7. Financial impact

7.1 Method of calculating total cost of operation (relation between individual and total costs)

Estimates were carried out in relation to the experience of the past and in particular the amounts in budget line B5-5020 in the period 1998-2000. They take account of the new needs deriving from Title VIII of the Treaty. The trend in budget amounts is presented simply for guidance (and is compatible with the ceiling laid down under heading 3 of the financial forecasts).

Breakdown of budget for 2001; EUR million (current prices)

>TABLE POSITION>

Total costs of the operation; EUR million (current prices)

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7.2 Itemised breakdown of cost (heading B5-502)

The breakdown of the cost indicated below refers to expenditures indicated in the proposed Decision, Article 3(1). The specific points of that article are mentioned under each point below.

Commitment appropriations EUR million (current prices)

>TABLE POSITION>

Additional specifications:

Ad 1: based on a cost of EUR 500,000 a year for the production of the Employment in Europe flagship report, and 3 or 4 studies a year at EUR 200,000 each.

Ad 2: consists of financial support to Member States to help them carry out the evaluation of their NAPs in a coherent and co-ordinated manner. For the major evaluation of the first period (1997-2002) of the implementation of the employment guidelines in 2001/2002, an amount of EUR 7.6 Mio is foreseen. For the following years a continued support of EUR 0.8 Mio per year is estimated.

Ad 4: consists mainly of co-operation with Eurostat; an additional yearly amount of EUR 800,000 is estimated for 2003-2005 to prepare new survey instruments (Labour Cost Survey, Structure of Earnings Survey, LFS-modules, labour demand survey).

Ad 5: largely within the context of mainstreaming employment in Community policies (in application of Article 127 b of TEC).

Ad 6: estimated support to 4 conferences at EUR 150,000 each; EUR 200,000 to other important events; to two events on Public Employment Services at EUR 150,000 each; and EUR 200,000 to a major event in the framework of the review of the first period of the implementation of the Employment Strategy in 2001.

Ad 7: based on present cost levels publication of the projects mentioned above (incl. editing, desk-top publishing, printing, preparing for insertion on the net).

7.3 Technical and/or administrative assistance and support expenditure (heading B5-502A)

Commitment appropriations; EUR million (current prices)

>TABLE POSITION>

7.4 Schedule of commitment and payment appropriations

Payment appropriations; EUR million (current prices)

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8. Fraud prevention measures

All the measures funded are subject to ex-ante, in itinere and ex-post analysis by the responsible departments as regards content quality and cost effectiveness. These measures are supplemented by the work, including monitoring in the field, carried out by the financial departments of the Commission and the Court of Auditors. The documents which contractually bind the Commission and the recipients of the payments contain provisions for anti-fraud measures to ensure that the financial contributions of the Community are used correctly.

9. Elements of cost-effectiveness analysis

The following elements concern only the budget line set up in accordance with this decision. It should be noted however that a number of actions will be promoted in complement to other programmes, in particular those concerning the European Social Fund, other Community Initiatives (EQUAL and Article 13) and in the context of the Fifth Framework Programme for Research and Development.

In view of the limited financial resources, the actions to be promoted under this mechanism will be implemented by favouring, on the one hand the principles of cost-effectiveness analysis and, on the other hand, by selecting the activities rigorously so as to generate an important multiplier effect and a high value added.

9.1 Specific and quantified objectives; target population

The Employment Incentives Measures will cover activities directly linked to the implementation of the Employment Title of the TEC, and will contribute to the development, planning, monitoring, follow up to and evaluation of the European Employment Strategy. In order to ensure the on-going development of the employment strategy, it is important to sustain its forward-looking dimension. The EIM is not intended for financing general research, for which the Commission has other instruments.

In particular, it aims at fostering co-operation between Member States in analysis, research and monitoring labour market policy, identifying best practices and promoting exchanges and transfers of information and experience, developing the approach and contents of the European Employment Strategy, and enacting an active information policy in this domain.

The end-beneficiaries of the Community's financial contribution will be academic or research institutions, consultancies, social partners, project operators, NGOs, local, regional and national authorities, etc... The end users of these activities will be the Commission and the Member States, as well as (for disseminated material) the general public.

9.2 Grounds for the operation

As stated in Art.129 TEC, the Council is empowered to:

"adopt incentive measures designed to encourage co-operation between Member States and to support their action in the field of employment through initiatives aimed at developing exchanges of information and best practices, providing comparative analysis and advice as well as promoting innovative approaches and evaluating experiences, in particular by recourse to pilot projects".

This is a necessary operational tool to develop and support the common Employment Strategy stipulated in the Employment Title of the TEC (Articles 125-130). It will deal with activities where there is clear value added for activities to take place at Community level, thus complementing existing activities in the Member States.

This programme essentially comprises analysis, research and identification and exchange of best practice but it will also draw on other observation tools. In particular the outcomes of other Community initiatives will be used as important inputs into the actions carried out, and results from this programme may be used as inputs in other Community initiatives.

The EIM could include experimental research such as pilot projects and demonstration projects, as these could clearly be financed under Art. 129 TEC. However, similar projects are financed through ESF Art. 6, and to avoid overlap these pilot- and experimental projects are not included in the EIM.

9.3 Monitoring and evaluation of the operation

Given the nature of the programme, the monitoring and evaluation functions are incorporated into the activities implemented, so as to be able to extract the maximum benefit. As regards the evaluation of the contents of the actions, two approaches will be followed:

-an efficiency analysis to compare the results obtained from each activity with the objectives established for it;

-an effectiveness analysis to determine the impact of the activities promoted on policy development.

A mid term and a final evaluation of the overall programme are planned and will be carried out by an external evaluator.

The Commission shall submit an interim report on the results of the activities to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions by 31 December 2003 at the latest, and a final report by 31 December 2006 at the latest.

10. Administrative expenditure (Section III, Part A of the budget)

The mobilisation of administrative and human resources necessary is to be covered by the resources already allocated to the managing service.

10.1 Effect on the number of posts

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10.2 Overall financial impact of human resources

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10.3 Increase in other administrative expenditure as a result of the operation

The management of the actions and the use of their results are ensured by the personnel of Directorate A of the DG Employment and Social Affairs, if necessary, in collaboration with other Commission services concerned.

Additional meetings of a working group in the framework of the Employment Committee are envisaged. As the financial statement of that Committee already provides for the setting up of working groups and the financing of their meetings, no other additional expenditure is to be expected.