A4-0291/97

Resolution on the Commission communication on modernizing and improving social protection in the European Union (COM(97)0102 - C4-0143/97)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication (COM(97)0102 - C4-0143/97),

- having regard to Articles 2, 3, 117 and 118 of the Treaty establishing the European Community,

- having regard to the Agreement on Social Policy concluded between the Member States of the European Community with the exception of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and especially Articles 1 and 2 thereof, and having regard to the statement made by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the European Council in Amsterdam declaring its willingness to accede to this Agreement,

- having regard to the draft Treaty of Amsterdam,

- having regard to Council Recommendation 92/441/EEC of 24 June 1992 on common criteria concerning sufficient resources and social assistance in social protection systems and Council Recommendation 92/442/EEC of 27 July 1992 on the convergence of social protection objectives and policies ((OJ L 245, 26.8.1992, pp. 46 and 49.)),

- having regard to its resolutions of 16 January 1996 on the Medium-Term Social Action Programme 1995 to 1997 ((OJ C 32, 5.2.1996, p. 24.)), 28 November 1996 on the report from the Commission on 'Employment in Europe - 1996' and the communication from the Commission on the Action for Employment in Europe: a confidence pact ((OJ C 380, 16.12.1996, p. 84.)) and 19 February 1997 on the Commission communication - The Future of Social Protection: A Framework for a European Debate and the report from the Commission on social protection in Europe 1995 ((OJ C 85, 17.3.1997, p. 63.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the Committee on Women's Rights (A4-0291/97),

A. whereas the many differences among the Member States' social security systems will persist in the future,

B. whereas there is an indissoluble link between economic growth, social stability and security systems based on solidarity,

C. whereas, on the one hand, reforms are needed to safeguard the funding of social systems and, on the other hand, many people are unable to live in dignity, despite the existing systems,

D. whereas the idea of solidarity has a key role to play in coping with all the basic social issues,

E. whereas effective social protection also includes employees' rights; whereas these rights should be strengthened in the areas of employee participation and data protection enshrined in the Treaty of Amsterdam,

1. Takes the view that the Council and Commission should seize the greater opportunities presented by the Treaty of Amsterdam for a common European social policy to take fresh initiatives aimed at advancing social convergence; regrets, however, that the Treaty does not eliminate the unanimity requirement for Council decisions on social protection and taxation;

2. Points out that, in view of its historical development and the differences between national financing systems, social protection must continue to be the responsibility of the Member States, in accordance with the subsidiarity principle;

3. Stresses that in parallel with Member States' efforts to meet the convergence criteria for economic and monetary union, the European social protection model based on solidarity and ensuring the protection of citizens against social exclusion must be constantly updated;

4. Highlights the need to consolidate public finances in all Member States in order to avoid growing deficits and heavy debt services in the future, which otherwise would pose a great threat to social protection for future generations; stresses therefore that the fulfilment of the Maastricht EMU criteria is not inconsistent with strong social protection systems, but will support the Member States in achieving lower interest rates and higher economic growth, which through a higher tax basis has a potential for improving social protection systems; expects nonetheless that the Commission and Council will adopt an immediate position on the challenges that arise from economic and monetary union for social benefit systems and employment;

5. Calls for the Commission, when investigating the costs and benefits of social protection, to make clear the importance of a high standard of social protection for European competitiveness;

6. Takes the view that only an active employment policy can provide the basis for preserving or strengthening social security and calls on the Commission to join with the new Employment Committee in analysing how the future development of social protection systems can be used to create new jobs;

7. Supports the efforts to make taxation and social security systems more conducive to employment, but rejects strategies which would combat unemployment and poverty traps by means of cuts in benefit; advocates, instead, that benefits be activated in connection with a general policy of counselling, training and work experience for the unemployed;

8. Emphasizes that the medium-term increase in Structural Fund resources must benefit initial and continuing training schemes in particular and expects the Commission to suggest how greater private-sector involvement in vocational training can be achieved;

9. Calls on the Commission to examine whether social security systems do enough to prevent social exclusion and promote reintegration into the labour market;

10. Calls on the Commission to submit proposals in accordance with Council Recommendation 92/442/EEC referred to above;

11. Calls on the Commission and the new Employment Committee to work out a social convergence strategy with the aim of linking the European Union's employment policy to proper social protection;

12. Calls on the Commission to join with the Employment Committee in continuing the evaluation of the reforms undertaken in the Member States and identifying good practices; also calls on the Commission to develop new approaches and strategies capable of responding to the current economic, social and demographic challenges; not least, the possibility of introducing flexible systems for the transition from employment to retirement and the financing of public pension schemes should be considered;

13. Calls on the Commission to submit a biennial report on trends in poverty and affluence in the EU;

14. Calls on the Commission to submit a Green Paper on 'social protection and the public interest - common ethical principles';

15. Considers that additional appropriations should also be used to finance the third system so that organizations' opportunities to produce innovative services to complement public-sector social and health services can be improved;

16. Welcomes the progress made at the informal ECOFIN meeting of 12-14 September 1997 towards agreement on a code of conduct aimed at eliminating unfair tax competition between Member States; also takes the view that tax burdens should be shifted from labour to other factors;

17. Draws attention to the fact that, if policies remain unchanged, the ageing of the population may result in substantial additional expenditure in all pension schemes, whether based on capitalization or on redistribution; considers that a transition to capitalization for the financing of statutory pensions would lead to budgetary problems and the levying of larger contributions during the transitional period; in this regard, draws attention to the Green Paper on Supplementary Pensions in the Single Market;

18. Draws attention, once again, to the problems with regard to social security and taxation associated with free movement of persons, particularly frontier working; urges that Regulation 1408/71 be simplified and updated, inter alia by extending its scope to new types of social provision such as combined health and social care insurance, and by making provision for access to health services; urges furthermore that a Directive be drawn up concerning the coordination of supplementary pension systems; calls once again for better coordination of fiscal and social security measures relating to frontier workers by introducing a frontier workers' assessment at an early date and by means of uniform application of the country of employment and country of residence principle;

19. Calls for the review of social protection systems to take account of the current reality of gender inequality on the labour market, particularly in terms of job segregation and unequal pay;

20. Calls on the Commission and Council to eliminate discrimination in the application of actuarial factors to the calculation of supplementary pensions and to amend the relevant Directive;

21. Is aware of the problems encountered by women in particular as regards the recognition of derived social security rights, highlights the vulnerability of women in such systems, in particular following divorce or the break-up of a cohabiting relationship, or in the case of a violent marriage or relationship; is convinced that equal derived rights also interfere with the participation of women in work;

22. Considers that the individualization of social security rights can succeed only through efforts to achieve improved labour market prospects for women which enable them to build up their own social security rights, for example through the introduction of a right to minimum benefits, regardless of length of employment and wage levels, and by securing the link between contributions and performance by allocating more than proportional rights for limited or low-paid employment and by applying equivalent periods to career breaks; calls on the Commission to analyse such mechanisms further on the basis of best practices by the Member States;

23. Points out to the Commission and Council that satisfactory provision has yet to be made for the social protection of workers in 'atypical' employment relationships and, as the majority of people in such employment are women, there is a dual infringement of equality of opportunity (earned income, [company] pension) for women and men;

24. Calls on the Commission to publish the communication on the individualization of social protection and fiscal systems and their relative impact on equal opportunities between women and men, as promised in the Medium-Term Social Action Programme 1995-97;

25. Calls on the Commission to investigate in each Member State whether there are anomalies between married couples and cohabiting couples under social security systems;

26. Calls on the Commission to submit without delay the long-awaited proposal amending Council Directive 86/613/EEC of 11 December 1986 on the application of the principle of equal treatment between men and women engaged in an activity, including agriculture, in a self-employed capacity, and on the protection of self-employed women during pregnancy and motherhood ((OJ L 359, 19.12.1986, p. 56.));

27. Considers that contributory and non-contributory systems in all the Member States should provide for the crediting of years spent bringing up children or caring for elderly members of the family by those who interrupt their careers to do so, in order to enable them to complete trial period requirements or be eligible for old-age or invalidity pensions, and not be penalized as regards the level of benefits because they have taken on family responsibilities;

28. Calls on the Commission, in compliance with Council Recommendation 92/241/EEC of 31 March 1992 on child care ((OJ L 123, 8.5.1992, p. 16.)), to put forward a proposal for legislation at Community level on the creation of a minimum day nursery service and urges Member States to develop comprehensive care systems which will help to ensure:

- that the need to look after dependents does not form a barrier to paid employment;

- that those who choose to provide care for family members are not disadvantaged as regards social protection;

29. Notes that the service sector continues to be the most promising for the creation of quality jobs and, in view of the large proportion of women in this sector, calls on the Commission to collaborate in making the sector a source of new jobs with appropriate and fair social protection;

30. Invites the Member States to stimulate the development of local employment initiatives through the creation of partnerships between local public authorities and private entrepreneurs and through removing the existing regulatory, financial or institutional obstacles; notes that local employment initiatives in the field of everyday services (such as child care and home help services), services improving the quality of life (such as redevelopment of urban public areas), cultural and leisure services (such as cultural heritage and the audiovisual sector) and environmental services not only fulfil existing needs but also create jobs for socially excluded people (thus integrating them in society) and make economic growth more labour-intensive;

31. Calls on the Commission to create a European value added, as provided for in Article 129 of the EC Treaty as amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam, by analysing successful practices in the health sector;

32. Endorses the Commission's intention to study the potential impact of disease prevention and health promotion activities in order to reduce the costs for health care, and to assess to what extent and under which conditions market mechanisms could contribute to lowering costs, ensuring accessibility and improving the quality of health care services;

33. Calls for clear rules to be adopted for the whole sector of health insurance, especially for supplementary schemes, which are assuming growing importance; solidarity should be the essential rule and should be based on non-selection of risks, non-exclusion of bad risks, mutualization of charges and use of non-profit-making organizations; information about care providers and the effectiveness and cost of medical procedures should be facilitated so that competition among care- providers can operate through efforts to seek out quality services;

34. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Economic and Social Committee and the European representatives of the two sides of industry.