A4-0251/97

Resolution on the Commission Communication - Incorporating equal opportunities for women and men into all Community policies and activities - 'mainstreaming¨ (COM(96)0067 - C4-0148/96)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission's Communication, COM(96)0067 - C4-0148/96,

- having regard to the new provisions of the Amsterdam Draft Treaty: Articles 2, 3, 6a, 118, 119 and 5 (of the new Title on employment) of the Treaty establishing the European Community,

- having regard to its resolution of 17 November 1995 on the proposal for a Council Decision on the Fourth Medium-Term Community Action Programme on equal opportunities for men and women (1996-2000) ((OJ C 323, 4.12.1995, p. 167.)),

- having regard to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, Beijing, 15 September 1995,

- having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No. 2081/93 amending Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2052/88 on the tasks of the Structural Funds ((OJ L 193, 31.7.1993, p. 5.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Women's Rights and the opinions of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on Regional Policy and the Committee on Institutional Affairs (A4-0251/97),

A. whereas the Commission first introduced the concept and policy of 'mainstreaming¨ in the Third Action Programme for Equal Opportunities in 1990,

B. whereas this policy was further developed as a strategy with concrete means in the Fourth Action Programme, which constituted a more positive policy approach rather than proposing measures to solve a problem,

C. whereas the Commission presented its policy on 'mainstreaming¨ as its main contribution to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995,

D. whereas, pending the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty, Article 119 of the Treaty establishing the European Community is the only specific reference, with direct implications, to equal opportunities for men and women,

E. whereas six directives and recently other agreements concluded under the Social Protocol have increased the areas of policy at European level in which equal opportunities and anti-discrimination have been important elements,

F. whereas the implementation of any Community action on equal opportunities for men and women requires clear legal bases,

1. Welcomes the Commission's Communication on 'mainstreaming¨ as a huge step forward in recognising that women, who make up over half of the European population have so far not enjoyed, except perhaps in the letter but certainly not in reality, their full share of society's benefits;

2. Notes the following changes made by the Amsterdam Draft Treaty:

- the addition in Article 2 of the EC Treaty of equality between men and women to the tasks of the Community,

- the addition of a new subparagraph to Article 3 of the EC Treaty, specifying that in all activities referred to in that article the Community has the aim of eliminating inequalities and promoting equality between men and women,

- the insertion of a new Article 6a in the EC Treaty allowing the adoption of measures aimed at outlawing all discrimination, including gender-based discrimination,

- the insertion of a new Title on employment, Article 5 of which provides a new legal basis for the adoption of incentive measures,

- inclusion of the Social Protocol and, more specifically: Article 118(1), fifth indent (equality between men and women with regard to labour market opportunities and treatment at work) and Article 119 on equal pay for male and female workers;

3. Notes that the incorporation of equal opportunities for men and women into all Community policies and activities should be pursued as a principle which now forms part of the Amsterdam Draft Treaty;

4. Welcomes the insertion of a new non-discrimination clause in Article 6a of the Amsterdam Treaty, but deplores the fact that the procedure referred to requires unanimity in the Council and consultation only of the European Parliament;

5. Stresses the fact that in the area of social and employment policy the new provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty require the codecision procedure for the application of the principle of equality of opportunity (Articles 118 and 119) and for the adoption of incentive measures in the field of employment (Article 5 of the new Title on employment);

6. Takes the view that, in accordance with the concept of transparency and improved quality of Community legislation vis-à-vis citizens, a clear definition of the expression 'mainstreaming' (which has been adopted only in English) should be supplied, possibly in the form of 'policies for equality';

7. Calls for an interinstitutional working party to be set up in order to make the objective of equality between men and women a concern in all Community activities;

8. Agrees with the Commission that to put 'mainstreaming¨ into effect will require abolition of century-old conceptions and prejudices concerning women's contribution to society, in particular in their professional activities;

9. Is aware that the concept of mainstreaming is still unfamiliar to all but a small minority already working on equal opportunities between women and men;

10. Realises therefore that 'mainstreaming¨ involves a most necessary awareness and information process, which will necessitate an active, perhaps even combative and permanent dialogue with decision-makers in all policy areas in order to achieve equal opportunities and equal rights;

11. Believes, however, that the Commission and Member States should pursue a two-pronged approach promoting mainstreaming of gender and equal opportunities alongside positive action measures for women where they are still disadvantaged;

12. Reminds competent authorities, whether at local, regional or national level, that European efforts, while important as a catalyst and in providing a model, remain nevertheless limited to areas of competence enshrined in the Treaties and derived legislation , and therefore calls on the Member States to implement a policy of mainstreaming in their local, regional and national policies;

13. Stresses that equal opportunities must necessarily start in the private and professional lives of citizens and warns against seeing women as those willing to pick up the pieces left over, be it on the labour market when crises hit, be it in private responsibilities for family life and its organisation, or in being viewed as a reserve to draw on when necessary or when space is available;

14. Calls on the European Commission to define assessment criteria and instruments for the promotion of equality between the sexes;

15. Notes that there is an economic need for greater participation in the workforce, particularly by women, to compensate for the expected ageing of the EU population; notes this must not result in a further increase in the double burden borne by women;

16. Warns that considerations of cultural values and traditions, rigid societal structures, or the demands of competitiveness must not be allowed to stand in the way of a proper follow up to 'mainstreaming¨;

17. Underlines that the priority area for women in which to obtain equal rights remains that of occupational and professional activities so as to achieve financial independence; experience shows blatantly that dependence results too easily in further disadvantage to the more vulnerable sections of society;

18. Regrets in this context that spouses who work in family businesses still do not enjoy full status in all Member States; urges that the Member States should rapidly take steps to remedy this situation and that they should, in anticipation of the introduction of such full status, in cooperation with women's organizations and associations of those working in the liberal professions, the self-employed and SMEs, organize campaigns to inform the women concerned and their spouses of their legal status and about any voluntary arrangements based on company law, marital property law and the laws of inheritance which might improve their legal situation;

19. Is therefore convinced that far more investments, financial investments included, must be made to improve considerably the availability of support structures (like care for dependents, means of communication including transport, educational and learning facilities in general) in order to enable women to play a more active role professionally and not least to enable women to reintegrate in the labour market when they have chosen or been forced to take a break in their careers;

20. Considers that, in order to break down the divisions in the labour market, it is just as important to encourage men to enter the caring and child- rearing sectors dominated by women as it is to encourage women in the areas of technology and science;

21. Notes that in order to reconcile family and working life there is a need for social services, such as care for children and the elderly, school meals and public transport;

22. Draws attention to the fact that the combination of family and professional life requires a genuine sharing of tasks; as well as increasing women's participation in employment, attention must equally be paid to men's involvement in work in the family, so that the responsibility for caring for others does not devolve exclusively on women and the authorities and policies on care also take account of men's personal responsibility;

23. Insists that substantial efforts must be made as regards education and training in order to increase the qualification of women and facilitate their access to employment; remains preoccupied at the insufficient learning and reeducation facilities specifically geared to women's needs with a view to facilitating reintegration into the labour market following career breaks, which women, to a much larger extent than men, have to accept for family reasons; proposes that the Community give priority to women's access to re-integration measures when deciding on financial support under structural funds and when deciding on criteria for funding;

24. Calls on the Commission to devote careful attention, as a matter of priority, to be assessed by means of specific indicators of mainstreaming policy, to the programming of the Social Fund, calling on the Member States to incorporate mainstreaming in their priorities;

25. Considers that structural policy measures and the eligibility criteria for all programmes should take account of women's particular interest areas, estimates concerning the attainment of quantity and quality objectives and efforts aimed at broadening the professional choices of women and dismantling the gender division of the labour market; and that studies and research should be carried out to assess the effects of applying mainstreaming;

26. Urges the Commission to set a good example by increasing women's participation in structural policy and by making recommendations to the Member States on increasing women's participation both at national and at regional level in the planning, adoption and assessment of projects supported by the structural funds;

27. Recognises that statistics for individual projects within the mainstream structural funds are held at Member States rather than Commission level and calls therefore for improved equal opportunities assessment to be built into all Member State monitoring reports;

28. Urges the Commission to arrange education on equality issues for those responsible for taking decisions on the structural funds at national level, in order to ensure that the mainstreaming principle is put into practice in the funds' operations;

29. Urges the Commission to study the reasons why women are not appropriately involved in the management and the implementation of EU structural policy, and to speed up the development of gender-sensitive indicators to assess the effect which projects have on equality between men and women;

30. Urges the Commission to tackle the problem of discrimination against women in scientific and technical disciplines, high-level intellectual work, and innovative professions - especially when using structural means designed for pilot actions, innovative development programmes and training;

31. Reiterates that women's positions and situation in society should be taken more into consideration when advancing policies to support the internal market, and not least policies to support EMU; recalls that women are more vulnerable than men to policies pursued in order to meet the convergence criteria for EMU, as women face a segregated labour market, horizontally as well as vertically;

32. Calls on the Commission to study ways in which fiscal measures and specific social security benefits could be used to help bring work in the family into the official economy;

33. Considers that the issue of equal pay should continue to be actively promoted - particularly by developing non-discriminatory work assessment procedures - and urges the Commission to adopt binding provisions on the matter if its recommendations have not already been put into effect;

34. Urges the Commission to speed up its measures to enable the family members of EU nationals to be granted an individual right of residence, following a reasonable residence period, where this is not covered by existing legislation;

35. Recalls further that reducing public deficits and striving for increased competitiveness hits women on the labour market to a higher degree than men; remedies for the negative effects of these policies shall not be sought in social policies but rather by integrating women properly into the labour market, with the aim of achieving equal opportunities and equal rights;

36. Is satisfied that the Commission recognises that equal rights and equal opportunities are objectives to be strived for across the board and within the competences given to it; requests the Commission to remind Member States of their obligations in this area as it is recognised that the main bulk of work remains with Member States;

37. Expects the Commission, at the latest in time for the next annual report on equal opportunities, to set up a catalogue of indicators and criteria for formulating, implementing and evaluating equality objectives and results and stresses that the effectiveness of the implementation of policies for equality depends on the existence of statistics at all levels of its application;

38. Considers that statistics and data broken down by gender are an essential instrument in demonstrating the different impact of policy measures on women and men; hopes that the Commission will devote particular attention to this when establishing the forthcoming multiannual programme on statistical information;

39. Requests the Commission to set up proper coordination structures within its services responsible for implementing mainstreaming; proposes that one official in each relevant unit within directorates-general is appointed, who will be entitled to assess whether mainstreaming criteria have been met and to suggest improvements; reminds the Commission that a 'mainstreaming¨ remark was introduced by Parliament to a broad range of relevant budget lines during the budget procedure for 1997;

40. Considers it important that equal numbers of men and women should be elected to the Council and Commission preparatory working groups and committees of experts;

41. Urges the Commission to prepare a proposal concerning special education on equal opportunities for Community decision-makers and officials;

42. Urges the Commission to remove remaining obstacles to women's applications for posts at the Commission, such as for example age limits, which can be a form of covert discrimination, in particular against women who spend time raising children;

43. Expects the Commission to introduce the mainstreaming criterion or the gender perspective in all forthcoming legislative proposals in the future so as also to force Member States to take a position on equality policies;

44. Reminds the Commission that the integration of equal opportunities must be an important aspect in development cooperation agreements; considers that, in the context of strengthening 'partnership', it is essential that women in developing countries should play a larger role in the preparation, devising and monitoring of the measures to be carried out;

45. Calls on the Commission to draw up guidelines for the analysis of legislative proposals in order to ascertain their gender-specific impact, by analogy with the existing impact assessments in the spheres of business and the environment;

46. Reminds the Commission that mainstreaming should be an important element in the enlargement negotiations shortly to be initiated with countries in Central and Eastern Europe; recalls that equality policies, though existing in the letter, have hardly been taken into consideration in these countries during the recent years of structural change and upheaval;

47. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.