NoC19/114 25.1.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities
OpiniononeconomicandsocialorganizationsinthecountriesofCentralandEasternEurope
—consultativemechanisms
(93/C19/29)
Inaletterdated2June1992,MrsVassoPapandreouinvitedtheEconomicandSocial
CommitteeonbehalfoftheCommissiontodrawupanOpiniononEconomicandSocial
Organizations intheCountriesofCentralandEasternEurope:ConsultativeMechanisms .
TheSectionforExternalRelations,TradeandDevelopmentPolicy,whichwasresponsible
forpreparingtheCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon5November
1992.TheRapporteurwasMrMasucci,theCo-Rapporteur MrPompen.
Atits301stPlenarySession(meetingof25November1992),theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.Introduction b)hostedatwo-dayhearingofrepresentatives ofthe
socialpartnersandinterestgroupsofBulgaria,
Czechoslovakia ,Poland,RomaniaandHungary.
1.1.Earlyin1992,theCommittee—throughits
Chairman—wrotetotheCommissionremindingitof
therecommendation (inpoint4.9ofitsAdditional
Opinionof26September1991onECrelationswith
thecountriesofCentralandEasternEurope)thata
consultativecommitteebesetupwithintheinstitutional
framework...consistingofmembersoftheEconomic
andSocialCommitteeandmembersofsimilarbodies
intheassociatedcountries .1.4.Thehearing,heldattheESCbuildingon29
and30September1992,wasattendedbyabout
35representatives ofsocio-economic organizations
fromthefivecountries,diplomaticrepresentatives of
thosecountries,andrepresentatives ofmanyEuropean
andinternationalorganizations .
1.5.Theywereaskedanumberofspecificquestions,
relevanttotheDraftOpinion,andusefulforforming
asrealisticapictureofthesituationaspossible.1.1.1.TheCommission subsequently responded
—throughCommissioners AndriessenandPapan­
dreou—totheCommittee'sletter,takingnoteofit
'withinterest'(LetterfromMrAndriessendated
26June1992)andagreeingwiththeproposaltosetup
'aconsultativemechanismwhichwillalsohavetobe
officiallyprovidedforinfutureagreementsstilltobe
negotiated'(LetterfromMrsPapandreoudated23June
1992).Suchaconsultativebody—byanalogywiththe
compositionoftheEC'sEconomicandSocialCom­
mittee—willhavetoberepresentativeofalltheecon­
omicandsocialorganizations .2.Generalcomments
1.2.TheCommission alsoaskedtheCommitteeto
drawupanOpinionthisautumnonthe'potential
opportunities forstrengtheningstructuredrelations
betweenrepresentatives ofemployersandworkers'
(LetterfromMrsPapandreoudated2June1992).2.1.TheanalysisintheattachedReport—basedon
theavailabledata,ontherepliesofthesocio-economic
organizationstothequestionnaireandonthehearing
oftheeconomicandsocialinterestgroupsfromthe
CEEC(CentralandEasternEuropeanCountries)on29
and30September1992—confirmscertainmisgivings
abouttheprocessofconstructingamarketeconomyin
theCEECanditssocialrepercussions ,anduncertainties
astothetypeofsocietywhichisestablishingitself.
However,theprocessvariesfromonecountrytoanoth­
er.Itisthereforedifficulttodrawconclusionswhich
canapplyexactlytoeachofthecountriesconcerned .1.3.Inordertodosoinfullknowledgeofthefacts,
theCommitteehas:
a)sketchedoutthemainaspectsofthesocialand
economicsituationinthecountriesinquestion,
partlyonthebasisoftherepliesgivenbytheirsocial
partnersandsectoralassociationstoaquestionnaire
(theanalysiscanbefoundintheReportattached
tothisOpinion);2.2.Theshocktherapiesandshortdeadlinesfor
establishingamarketeconomy,apartfromintensifying
therecessionanddisappointingexpectationsaroused
bythereturntodemocracy,turnedouttobeunrealistic,
becausethereformwilltakealongtimeandischarac­

25.1.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC19/115
toworkers'andemployers'organizationsortoindus­
trialrelations.terizedbyalackofabilitytocopewiththeserious
socialrepercussions .Thispoint,however,mustnotbe
confusedwiththepositionsofpeopleinleadingpos­
itionsinindustryandpolitics—comingfromtheranks
ofmembersoftheformerCommunistpartiesandman­
agersofstate-ownedenterprises—who,fordifferent
reasons,seektohindertheeconomicreformsand
exploitpopulardiscontent .Thetransitionfromacom­
mandtoamarketeconomyhasprovedtobefarslower
andmoredifficultthanforecast.Ithasnowreacheda
criticalpoint,manifestingitselfinadeclineinGross
DomesticProduct(GDP),adeteriorationinagricultural
production,industrialoutputandthetradebalance,a
consumerpriceexplosion,decreasesinrealwagesand
livingstandards,andincreasesingrossforeigndebt
andunemployment .2.5.2.Yettheaimsoftheagreementsincludethe
desiretoensuretheeconomicintegrationoftheCEEC
inordertosafeguardpeaceandstability,whilstthe
targetofPoliticalUnionisalsohintedat.
2.5.3.Asthebasisofthisintegration,aseriesof
basicprinciplesarereaffirmed :pluralistdemocracy,the
ruleoflaw,humanrights,basicfreedoms,socialjustice
andtheprinciplesofthemarketeconomy.
2.5.4.Moreover,theConclusionsoftheEuropean
CouncilwhichtookplaceinLisbonon26and27June
1992statethatcooperationwillaimsystematically 'to
assistthemintheirpreparationsforaccessiontothe
Union'. 2.3.Theprivatizationofstate-ownedenterprisesand
theconsequentrestructuringprocesseshavehardly
begun,whilethelegalfoundationsforsomeofthekey
elementsofamarketeconomy—privateproperty,trade
andlabourrelations—arestillinadequate .2.5.5.TheseConclusionsdonotgiveprominenceto
animportantpassageoftheEuropeanCommission's
reportonthecriteriaandconditionsfortheaccession
ofnewMemberStatestotheCommunity ,submitted
totheLisbonEuropeanCouncil,whichstatesthatthe
prospect—albeitnotintheshortterm—oftheaccession
ofCEECcountriestotheCommunityraisestheprob­
lemofupdatingthesocial-dimension andregional­
policyaspectsofassociationagreements (whenthey
comeupforreview).2.4.Thedatawhichwehavecollectedshowthatthe
socialdimensionhasnotbeengivenitsdueimportance :
economicrestructuringhaspriority,andtheauthorities
ofthecountriesconcernedseeindustrialrelationsand
cooperationbetweenthesocialpartnersasapossible
dragoneconomicreform.
2.4.1.TheCommunity ,intheEuropeanAgreements,
hasnotquestionedthisapproach,andonecannotavoid
theimpressionthatitssocialandinstitutionalsystem,
whichiscloselylinkedtothesocialdimension,does
notexercisethesameattractionasitspoliticaland
economicsystem.2.6.Partlywithaviewtotheirfutureaccessionto
theCommunity ,theCommitteeregardsitasimportant
toupdatetheagreementswithPoland,theCSFRand
HungaryontheaspectsproposedbytheCommission
—aswellasonsomeaspectsofcommercialpolicy—
andtotaketheseaspectsintoaccountfromthestartin
negotiatingtheagreementswithBulgariaandRomania.
2.6.1.TheCommitteeputsforwardbelowsome
suggestionsonthepracticalimplementation ofthe
agreementsandassistanceprogrammes ,thepartici­
pationoftheeconomicandsocialorganizations inthe
democratization ofsocietyandtheeconomy,andthe
promotionofanadvancedsystemofindustrialrelations
—theessentialcomplementtoasocialmarketeconomy.2.5.TitleVIoftheassociationagreements (con­
cernedwitheconomiccooperation )coversmanysub­
jects,includingindustry,agriculture,training,the
environment ,regionaldevelopment ,smallandmedium­
sizedenterprises (SMEs)andsocialquestions.Butthe
socialdimensionishardlymentionedbeingconfinedto
thefreemovementofworkers,trainingandeducation.
Noristherea'socialclause'explicitlyreferringto
ConventionsoftheInternationalLabourOrganization
(ILO),andparticularlyNo87ontherightoforganiza­
tionandNo98ontherightofcollectivebargaining .3.Participationandconsultationoftheeconomicand
socialorganizations
2.5.1.AlthoughthedisparitiesbetweentheCom­
munityandtheCEECarenoted,socialconvergenceis
notcitedasanobjectivealongsideeconomiccooper­
ation.NoristhereanyreferencetotheCommunity
CharteroftheFundamentalSocialRightsofWorkers,3.1.Asregardstheimplementation oftheEuropean
Agreementsandtheassistanceprogrammes (Phare,
Tempus),thepresentalmosttotalabsenceofinfor­
mationandinvolvement ofthesocialforcesinthe
countriesconcernedandatCommunitylevelmustbe

NoC19/116 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 25.1.93
groups,itwouldalsobeveryusefultoappointecon­
omicandsocialattachesfortheCommission del­
egationstothosecountries.
3.1.4.Thismodelwillalsobeusefulforanyother
futureassociationagreements .overcome.ItisforthispurposethattheCommittee,in
itsAdditionalOpinionof26September1991,proposes
thesetting-upofaconsultativecommittee,consisting
ofmembersoftheEconomicandSocialCommitteeand
membersofsimilarbodiesintheassociatedcountries.
Thetasksofthisbodyaredescribedasfollows:it
'wouldbeconsultedbytheAssociationCouncilon
economicandsocialquestionswhichrelatetotheEuro­
peanAgreementsandareofcommoninterest.The
consultativecommitteeshouldalsobegiventheright
ofinitiativesothatitsmemberscould,ontheirown
initiative,takeupurgentsocialandeconomicissues
associatedwithpan-European integrationandputfor­
wardconstructiveproposals'.Thehearingof29and
30Septembershowedthatthisproposalhastheunani­
moussupportoftheCEECsocialpartnersandinterest
groups.Suchacommitteewillperformitsfunctionwell
ifitsmembersarerepresentatives ofautonomous ,free,
democraticorganizations—i.e.theymeettheILOcri­
teria.3.1.5.Itisclearthatforsuchabodytofunction
properlyitisessentialfortheeconomicandsocial
organizations intheCEECtobeinformed,consulted
andinvolvedintheimplementation oftheassociation
agreementsandassistanceprogrammes ,eitherdirectly
orthroughtheexistingtripartitebodiesornewcon­
sultativeinstitutions .
3.1.6.Inviewofthespecificproblemsofindividual
CentralandEasternEuropeancountries,intensivepre­
liminarycontactsonabilateralbasisappeartobe
necessary .3.1.1.TheCommitteethereforereaffirmstheneed
tosetupthisjointconsultativecommitteeinthenear
future,withadequatefundstoenableittooperate
properly.
3.1.7.TheCommitteethereforeundertakesto
instructitsSections—eachwithinitstermsofreference
—toevaluatethemesofcommoninteresttotheCom­
munitycountriesandtheCEEC,inordertolaya
practicalfoundationfordialoguebetweenthesocio­
economicinterestgroupsofthetwoareasatfurther
meetingsandwithinthejointconsultativecommittee
proposedinthisOpinion.3.1.2.Thisjointconsultativecommitteecouldalso
havethefollowingtasks:
—receivinginformationandexpressingviewsonthe
operationandtheapplicationoftheEuropean
Agreements ;
—providinginformationonthedevelopmentofthe
socialdialogueandtheconsultativeprocedureat
MemberStateandCommunitylevel;
—exchangingexperienceand,onrequest,makingrel­
evantskillsofitsmembersorconstituentinterest
groupsavailable;
—servingasanintermediarytoprovideskillswhich
arenotdirectlyavailabletoit;
—onrequest,studyingproblemswhichfallgenerally
withinitstermsofreference.3.2.Inthelastfewyearsinternationalbodiessuch
astheILOandtheOrganizationforEconomicCo­
operationandDevelopment (OECD)havelaidcon­
siderablestressontripartism,andthesetting-upof
bodieswhichincludethesocialinterestgroupsinthe
CEECfromthestartofimplementation oftheeconomic
reforms.
3.2.1.TheInternational Confederation ofFreeTra­
deUnions(ICFTU)andtheIOEreachedthesame
conclusionsinajointdocumentoneasternEuropein
April1992.Asthecountriesconcernedhaveratifieda
largenumberofILOConventions ,theapplicationof
whichisjeopardizedbytherestructuringpolicies,the
CommitteewouldliketoseeConventionNo144on
tripartiteconsultationalsoratifiedbythem,andthe
spiritofitrespected.3.1.3.Itwouldbelogicaltoinsertaprovisionfor
suchajointconsultativecommitteeofsocialinterest
groupsunderTitleIX,whichliststheinstitutionsfor
operatingtheassociationagreementstobeconcluded
withBulgariaandRomania.Article107oftheagree­
mentswithPolandandCzechoslovakia andArticle109
oftheagreementwithHungarycanbeusedtothisend,
untiltheseagreementscanberenegotiated .Inorderto
improvetheflowofinformationbetweentheCom­
munityinstitutionsandeconomicandsocialinterest3.2.2.TheCommitteereaffirmstheimportanceof
consultation andoftheinstitutionalized involvement
ofthesocialpartners.Atthesametimeitstressesthat
therearenopreconstituted modelsandthateachofthe
countriesconcernedwillhavetodefineanddevelopthe
formandcontentofthesocialdialogueandconsultative
procedurestobefollowed.

25.1.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC19/117
3.2.3.Theoldcommunistregimesallottedaninap­
propriateroletothetradeunions,butalso—through
itscentralizedcontrolofallaspectsoftheeconomyand
society—destroyedthesocialfabric—sorichandvaried
inwesternsocieties—whereitalreadyexisted,orpre­
venteditsdevelopment .4.2.Thedifficultieswhichthenewtradeunionsmust
faceinthistransitionalphaseareenormous :fromover­
comingtheclimateofdisaffectionanddistrust,tothe
long-standing lackofaworkers'participatoryculture;
fromhavingtooperateunderparticularlyalarming
economicconditions,toacertainlackofexperience ,
andtraininginacollectivebargainingculture.
3.2.4.Whilesomeorganizations—suchasthoserep­
resentingworkersandemployers—areseekingtodefine
theirroleandfunctionmoreclearly,othersectoral
associationsarebeingformedorareasyetinsufficiently
developed.4.3.Evengreaterarethedifficultiesonthe
employers'side.Thehandfuloforganizations rep­
resentingprivateentrepreneursareflankedbythemuch
morenumerousrepresentative bodiesofpublic
enterprisemanagers.Theentrepreneurial class,whether
publicorprivate,facestheproblemsoftheabsenceof
atruemanagerialculture,andlackofexperienceand
ofdecision-making autonomy.3.2.5.Thedemocratization processmustreconstruct
thatfabricinthelongerterm.Itispreciselyforthat
reasonthatduevaluemustbeaccordedtothemain
interestgroupswhicharebeingorwillbeorganized
(consumers,ecologists,cooperatives,artisans,farmers
etc.).
3.2.6.Itisthereforeimportantforthoseinterests
toberepresentedininstitutionalforaalongsidethe
traditionaltwosidesofindustry.4.4.Developmentofasophisticatedcollectivebar­
gainingsystem—structuredatboththenational(inter­
sectoralandsectoral)andtheenterpriselevels,and
essentialforbuildingarational,efficientindustrial
relationsframeworkandalabourmarketregulatedby
socialconsensus—isthuspartofthetransitionalphase.
3.2.7.TheCommitteethereforeregardsitasuseful
tosetupconsultativebodiesanalogoustotheeconomic
andsocialcouncilswhichexistinnearlyalltheCom­
munitycountries.
3.2.8.However,itshouldalsobestressedthattripar­
titecooperationandconsultationdonotprovidean
answertoallproblemsofsocialpolemics,eitherinthe
CommunityorintheCEEC.4.5.Alegalframeworkisanecessarybutnota
sufficientprerequisiteforachievementofthisaim.An
essentialprecondition istheachievementofahigh
degreeofautonomy,throughdemocracywithinthe
organizations ,totallyvoluntarymembershipandgenu­
inelywiderepresentation .Nextinimportancecomes
anadequateknowledgeofthecharacteristics andprob­
lemsofamarket-orientated economy,withparticular
referenceto:
—privatizationpoliciesandpoliciesforrestructuring
enterprises;
—basicprinciplesandtechniqueofcollectivebar­
gaining,andworkers'representation systems;3.2.9.Onthecontrary,thefirstsignsthatwenow
seeconfirmwhatwealreadyknew:thatsuchamodel
canfunctionwellonlyifitisbasedonautonomous ,
wellidentified,organizedforceswhichhavedeveloped
freely.
4.Astructuredindustrialrelationssystem—organizationofthelabourmarketandanactive
employmentpolicy;
—educationandvocationaltraining;
—environment ,andhealthandsafetyatwork;
—socialprotectionandsecurity.4.1.Thedevelopmentofindustrialrelationsbetween
autonomoussocialpartnersthereforetakesonfunda­
mentalsignificanceinsafeguardingtheroleandthe
responsibilities ofthepublicauthorities .
4.1.1.Thetradeunionsandemployers'organiza­
tionsmustpreparetotacklethedifficulttransitional
situationasindependentactors,capableofunderstand­
ingalltheaspectsofacomplexeconomicandsocial
scenario.4.6.TheILOanditseducationprogrammehave
animportantroleinsupportofcentralandeastern
Europeanworkers'andemployers'organizations .The

NoC19/118 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 25.1.93
sameappliestotheactivitiesoftheICFTU,theWorld
Confederation ofLabour(WCL),theTradeUnion
AdvisoryCommittee (TUAC)andtheEuropeanTrade
UnionConfederation andtheiraffiliatednational
organizations .Theemployers'organizations ,both
international [IOE,BusinessandIndustryAdvisory
CommitteetoOECD(BIAC),UnionofIndustriesof
theEuropeanCommunity (UNICE)andUEAPME ]and
national,alsoexchangeinformationtoassistthenew
employers'organizations intheCEEC.TheCommittee
takestheviewthatthesocialdimensionmustbean
integralpartoftheassociationagreements,whichshouldspecificallyrefertothedevelopmentofindustrial
relationsasanessentialcomplementtothemarket
economy,underthesubjectheadingsofparagraph4.5.
4.6.1.InthiscontexttheCommitteestressesitssup­
portfortherequestmadebytheEuropeanTradeUnion
Confederation (ETUC)totheEuropeanParliamentfor
theinsertionofanewbudgetheadingunderChapter
4000forthepromotionofthesocialdialogueinthe
CEEC.ThisappropriationofECU500,000shouldbe
jointlymanagedbytheEuropeansocio-economic inter­
estgroups.
DoneatBrussels,25November1992.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN
OpinionontheCommunityStructuralPolicies—AssessmentandOutlook
(93/C19/30
On28April1992,theBureauoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee,actingunderthethird
paragraphofArticle20ofitsRulesofProcedure,decidedtodrawupanOpiniononthe
CommunityStructuralPolicies—AssessmentandOutlook
TheSectionforRegionalDevelopmentandTownandCountryPlanning,whichwasrespon­
sibleforpreparingtheCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon13October
1992.TheRapporteurwasMrChristie.
Atits301stPlenarySession(meetingof24November1992),theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.Introduction 1.2.TheCommissionCommunication hasbeenpre­
sentedasanintegralpartoftheDelorsIIproposalsfor
thedevelopmentoftheCommunity'sFinancesoverthe
nextfiveyears,onwhichtheCommitteehaspassedan
Opinion(2).1.1.InitsCommunication theCommissionpresents
a'mid-term'assessmentoftheimpactthatCommunity
structuralpolicieshavehadovertheperiodsincetheir
reformin1989.Assuchthisdocumentiscomplemen­
tarytotheAnnualReportoftheImplementation of
theReformoftheStructuralFunds(1990)—COM(91)
400—onwhichtheCommitteerecentlypassedanOpin­
ion(1).ThepresentCommunication focusesindetail
ontheresultswhichthereformedstructuralfundshave
hadintheregionsinreceiptofassistanceoverthe
periodsince1989.1.3.TheCommitteedecidedtodrawupanAdditional
Opinioninordertogiveitsviewsontheguidelinesfor
futurereform.
OJNoC106,27.4.1992,p.20. (2)OJNoC169,6.7.1992,p.34.