Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Council Decision setting up a Social Protection Committee"

(2000/C 204/12)

On 24 May 2000, the Economic and Social Committee, acting under the third paragraph of Rule 23 of its Rules of Procedure, decided to draw up an opinion on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 5 May 2000. The rapporteur was Mrs Cassina.

At its 373rd plenary session (meeting of 24 May 2000) the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 111 votes to one, with five abstentions.

1. Introduction - gist of the proposal

1.1. Following the Commission Communication on A concerted strategy for modernising social protection published on 14 July 1999(1) and the conclusions of the General Affairs Council on 29 November 1999 and the Council on 17 December 1999 endorsing the main aspects of this proposal, the Commission has just published a Proposal for a Council Decision setting up a Social Protection Committee(2) to be known as the "European Social Protection Committee".

1.2. The Committee's opinion on the Communication of July 1999(3) heavily emphasised the need to develop mechanisms capable of involving all relevant players, stressing that there could be no modernisation or improvement of social protection systems without the establishment of a strong consensus at both national and Community level. In particular, the Committee called for the group of high-level national officials responsible for managing the process associated with the concerted modernisation strategy to lay down procedures involving the social partners and other bodies and institutions representing the interests of the various sectors of society.

1.3. The current draft decision proposes that the group of high-level officials be referred to as the "European Social Protection Committee" (ESPC). Its composition and tasks are outlined as follows:

a) the ESPC will be made up of two representatives from each Member State and two Commission representatives;

b) the tasks of the ESPC will be, inter alia, (Article 1 of the draft decision)

- to monitor social protection policies in the Member States;

- to facilitate exchanges of information, experience and good practice between Member States and the Commission;

- to draft an annual report on social protection to be submitted to the Council, reporting on developments in the strategy designed to attain the objectives set out by the Council;

c) the ESPC may, at the request of the Council or Commission, draft opinions or carry out other work in fields within its remit;

d) the ESPC will work where appropriate with other relevant bodies and committees responsible for economic and social matters;

e) the ESPC will establish appropriate contacts with the social partners.

1.4. The Committee believes that the Commission proposal is heading in the right direction, but would benefit from further detail in line with the comments and suggestions set out below.

2. Comments

2.1. The Committee welcomes the three key elements identified in the Commission's explanatory memorandum for achieving the cooperation under the concerted strategy, namely the group of high-level officials (the future ESPC), the systematic use of the report on Social protection in Europe, and the involvement of all relevant actors. This is precisely the approach advocated by the Committee in its previous opinion on the concerted strategy.

2.2. However, the Committee expresses its reservations on the text of the draft decision as it stands insofar as references to the three key elements are either poorly developed or not developed at all and, above all, because no mechanism is proposed to guarantee the contacts with the social partners - the text states only that the ESPC will "establish appropriate contacts" with social partners [Article 1(4)]. The Committee suggests that this Article 1(4) be clarified by adding the following: "in particular by establishing information and consultation procedures and the possibility for delegations of social partners to take part in some of its meetings".

2.2.1. Furthermore, at national level, the Member State governments must provide for procedures whereby and places where the social partners can obtain information, be consulted and take part; with a view to ensuring that they are constantly involved in the debates and activities conducted by the national representatives on the ESPC.

2.3. The Committee welcomes the wording of Article 1(3) which states that the ESPC will "work as appropriate in cooperation with other relevant bodies and committees dealing with social and economic policy matters", as it believes that the Committee fits the profile described. The Committee confirms that it is most willing to share its experience with the ESPC.

2.3.1. The Committee, meanwhile, will follow the establishment of the ESPC and its future work very closely, and will ask to be informed as a matter of course on ESPC activities. This will enable it to make its own contribution both through own-initiative opinions and information reports and by acting as the go-between for the organisations represented by its members, who will press those organisations to take national- or European-level action when appropriate.

2.4. The Committee also hopes that the ESPC will nurture relations with the EP, which has shown itself willing to make an unstinting contribution to the "concerted strategy for modernising social protection".

2.5. The Committee also regrets that there is not the slightest reference to the need to involve the applicant countries in this strategy and is most keen to see this crucial point incorporated into the ESPC's work priorities. The Committee is ready to give the ESPC the benefit of the experience it has gained in working with the socio-occupational partners in these countries.

2.6. The Committee stresses the need for ESPC work to be based on carefully compiled documentation that has been widely circulated and discussed. In this respect, it also highlights the key role of the Commission, responsible for administering the ESPC secretariat, and the importance of the improved annual report on social protection in Europe which will be a key component of the concerted strategy.

2.7. Without prejudging the decisions that the ESPC will take within its remit, the Committee highlights the need for annual reports to address the four objectives of the strategy as well as mainstreaming, as these are all objectives which need to be pursued in tandem and as a matter of equal priority. The four objectives - namely, to make work pay and to provide secure income, to make pensions safe and pensions systems sustainable, to promote social inclusion and to ensure high quality and sustainable health care - are intrinsically linked and progress towards achieving one inevitably means progress towards the others.

2.8. The Committee notes that the secretariat of the ESPC is to be provided by the Commission [Article 3(2)] and is deeply concerned by the discrepancy between the ambitions declared in outlining the strategy and the means made available. The allocated material and human resources are paltry. Point 10,1 of the financial statement allocates two posts, i.e. two A-grade officials on 0,6 time and one C-grade official on 0,8 time. Additional human resources are set aside under 10.2 but there also it amounts to only two posts for a maximum of twice the unit cost/year of EUR 108000.

2.8.1. The Committee takes the view that the total resources set aside are extremely small compared with the tasks which the ESPC is supposed to perform, and calls upon the Commission to review its estimates. The ESPC should be carrying out extensive work and should, for example, be able to commission studies and high-quality research, hold hearings and, where appropriate, carry out on-site visits (in addition to the two meetings per year in the Member State holding the presidency) in order to identify elements for benchmarking.

Brussels, 24 May 2000.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice Rangoni Machiavelli

(1) COM(97) 347 final.

(2) COM(2000) 134 final.

(3) OJ C 177, 26.4.2000, p. 33.