A4-0104/95

Resolution on the evaluation of the 3rd Community action programme on equal opportunities for women and men and proposals for the 4th Community action programme

The European Parliament:

- having regard to the Commission White Paper on European Social Policy - A way forward for the Union (COM(94)0333),

- having regard to its resolution of 19 January 1995 on the White Paper on European Social Policy ((OJ C 43, 20.2.1995, p. 63.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 12 July 1991 on the third medium-term Community action programme on equal opportunities for women and men ((OJ C 240, 16.9.1991, p. 247.)),

- having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Women's Rights (A4-0104/95),

A. whereas there is a need to build on the progress made under the three previous action programmes for equal opportunities between women and men and to seek ways to overcome difficulties in achieving all the aims of those programmes,

B. whereas the Commission's White Paper on Social Policy recognized the three most important objectives for future equal opportunities work as being the reconciliation of paid and unpaid work, the ending of segregation in the labour market and greater participation of women in the decision-making process; whereas these objectives, along with the concept of citizenship, will form the basis of the 4th action programme,

C. whereas the concept of citizenship established in the Treaty on European Union needs to be developed in such a way that women not only identify themselves as European citizens but are able to play a full role as citizens,

D. whereas recent years have seen a marked increase in women's participation in the labour market, even in sectors previously dominated by men,

E. whereas the feminization of poverty in the European Union has continued, however, with too many women in precarious, badly paid work or suffering the effects of long-term unemployment,

F. noting also that demographic changes are leading to an ageing population in the European Union and that many older women are also falling into the poverty trap,

G. noting that there has been a shift in the image of women's role in society with increased value placed on the resources and skills women bring to society which improve the quality of life,

H. noting the positive role played by the European Court of Justice in promoting equal opportunities using Article 119 of the Treaty,

I. whereas little progress has been made on the proposed directives on atypical work, reconciliation of work and family life and reversal of the burden of proof; whereas to date no revision has been proposed of the directive on the equal treatment of men and women exercising an independent profession, all initiatives which could vastly improve the situation for women in the labour market and in society in general,

J. whereas the action programmes on equal opportunities are an important means of setting the agenda for the next five years in the Member States,

K. whereas the concept of partnership between Commission, Member States and social partners introduced in the 3rd action programme was not always effective,

L. whereas, in particular, the Commission's information campaign under the 3rd action programme was not always directly relevant to specific activities undertaken at local, regional and national level,

1. Stresses the importance of a binding procedure for the programme's implementation and the provision of adequate financing to undertake all activities proposed in the programme;

2. Regrets the lack of success criteria in the 3rd action programme and calls for the inclusion of clear criteria in the 4th programme by which the success of the programme can be measured;

3. Believes that the concept of mainstreaming or multi-faceted policy, introduced in the 3rd action programme, must be maintained and monitored by means of an equal opportunities impact report and must involve the political and budgetary participation of the relevant Commissioners;

4. Asks the Commission to ensure that the agreements made at the Corfu European Council be respected so as to take account of the gender dimension in the Structural Funds and development funds and give them a legal basis;

5. Welcomes the idea, already put forward by the Commission, of an Annual Report on equal opportunities between women and men;

6. Welcomes the Commission's intention to establish a system of monitoring the implementation of equal opportunities in all areas of EU policy;

7. Takes the view that, in order to monitor the implementation of equal opportunities in all EU policy sectors, an inquiry should be carried out by means of cooperation between departments of women's studies in European universities;

8. Believes that the 4th action programme should focus in more detail on fewer areas and believes that the thirteen issues in the 3rd action programme lead to resources being spread too thinly over too broad an area;

9. Considers that the concept of partnership between Commission, Member States and social partners needs to be developed to give it practical meaning;

10. Believes that, while the Commission can play a strategic role in defining overall principles at Community level, governments and organizations in Member States are in a better position to determine the focus and priority of projects in practice on the ground;

11. Calls for more resources to be channelled into the practical details of the programmes being carried out in the Member States and for the dissemination of information and awareness-raising campaigns to be more tailored to the needs of specific national programmes and to be systematic so as to improve knowledge and understanding of the Community patrimony, including its older aspects;

12. Calls for a thorough analysis of the design and implementation of the national programmes introduced in 1994 under the 3rd action programme and requests that the Commission's report on this be submitted to the European Parliament;

13. Calls on the Commission to work for the establishment of a duty to inform the Member States of this, in the area of equal opportunities, and to press the Union's undertakings to publish information, broken down for each sex, on their wage practices;

14. Stresses the need to implement correctly legislation already existing in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the caselaw built up by the Court of Justice in the area of equal opportunities and for sanctions to be imposed by the Commission on Member States failing to comply;

15. Stresses the importance of a change in attitudes towards women and believes that active participation of women in the decision-making process in political parties and in professional associations and organizations representing employers and employees at all levels could be one of the most effective ways of achieving this, but points out that the education system, which often has a decisive role in forming biased attitudes, is just as important; information campaigns and workshops are also of vital importance in raising public awareness of how to promote equal opportunities;

16. Believes that the concept of 'full citizenship' as discussed at the UN conferences in Cairo and Vienna is useful for the EU and the 4th action programme only if it includes third country nationals residing in the European Union and must moreover include economic, political, social and cultural rights and actions and believes that this could open the way to equal opportunities coming under Article 235 as well as Article 119 of the Treaty;

17. Believes that a fair distribution of both public and private responsibilities is a necessary condition for the realization of full citizenship for both women and men;

18. Calls on the Commission to seek innovative ideas on the reconciliation of private and working life and to promote these in activities under the 4th action programme;

19. Calls on the Commission to promote measures and actions designed to encourage the social partners, trade unions and employers' organizations to promote positive action in their organizations and in the public and private sector in order to guarantee access for female candidates to vacant posts where women are under-represented;

20. Stresses the need to give priority in the 4th action programme to measures and actions meeting the needs of groups at risk, such as one-parent families and women bearing a double burden, such as older women, refugees and migrant women and their children;

21. Calls on all the European institutions to introduce and present positive action policies with regard to their own staff;

22. Proposes that labour inspectors should specialize in issues of equality;

23. Takes the view that responsibility for the implementation of the 4th action programme must lie with the working party which was set up by the Commission to promote equal rights for men and women and requests that the President of the Commission should publicly present the 4th action programme in order to stress the horizontal nature of the programme;

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