No C 124/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 5. 83 
is important relative to other economic activities and /or 
which have been most seriously affected in an adverse 
fashion by Community policies which promote the 
restructuring of the textile industry. The Committee 
however feels that it is not in a position to express an 
opinion on the areas actually selected because it is not 
sufficiently informed of all the criteria which the 
Commission has applied throughout the Community. 
Done at Brussels, 23 March 1983. 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 126 and 
127 thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 11 November 1982 for an 
opinion on the review of the European Social Fund. 
Having regard to the decision taken by the chairman, 
confirmed by the Bureau, instructing the Section for 
Social Questions to draw up an opinion and a report on 
the matter (decision of 28 July 1982), 
Having regard to the opinion drawn up by the 
aforementioned Section on 10 March 1983, 5. Proposed amending Regulation on certain zones 
adversely affected by the restructuring of (a) the 
shipbuilding industry and (b) the steel industry 
5.1. The Committee considers that there are 
some areas other than those identified in the 
proposals which should qualify for inclusion in the 
special measure. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francis CEYRAC 
Having regard to the report submitted by the rapporteur, 
Mr Beretta, 
Having regard to the discussions on 23 March 1983 at its 
206th plenary session held on 23 and 24 March 1983, 
Whereas the progressive deterioration of the 
international economic situation has had a dramatic 
effect on the social situation, and more especially on the 
labour market, 
Whereas Community social policy has proved 
inadequate, due both to its limited scope and to the 
problems faced by Member States, 
Whereas the rise in unemployment is particularly 
alarming and coincides (a) with the introduction of Opinion on the review of the European Social Fund 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 308 of 25 November 1982, pages 4 to 10: Proposal for I. Council Decision 
82/0000/EEC on the tasks of the European Social Fund. II. a Council Regulation concerning 
the implementation of Council Decision 82/0000/EEC on the tasks of the European Social 
Fund; III. a Council Decision on the rules of the Commitee of the European Social Fund. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 11 November 1982 the Council referred the abovementioned matter to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Articles 126 and 127 of the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 206th 
plenary session held in Brussels on 23 and 24 March 1983. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
9. 5. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 124/5 
austerity measures designed to trim public spending, and 
(b) with the crisis in the various social security 
schemes, 
Whereas the present situation necessitates immediate 
preparation and implementation of a new, concrete social 
policy - coordinated with economic, industrial and 
monetary policies - which will further balance 
development, 
Whereas the Fund can become a key factor in this policy 
and can create employment opportunities despite the 
recession, 
Whereas against this background the Commission must 
firmly and unambiguously back up the revamped ESF 
with a vigorous employment policy which is able not only 
to predict job market trends, but also, by supporting 
innovatory measures, to create new jobs in services of 
benefit to society, 
Whereas such measures require systematic coordination 
between the Community financial instruments, and an 
appropriate investment policy on the part of the EIB, 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
with no votes against, and two abstentions: 
The Committee welcomes the new guidelines for the 
European Social Fund (ESF). However, it deplores the 
fact that the Council did not succeed in defining the norms 
and procedures for the review by 31 December 1982 as 
scheduled. 
The Committee also regrets that no analysis has been 
made of the impact of ESF grants on the Community to 
date. This would have made for a more informal 
assessment of the Fund review. 
The Committee notes that the lack of a social policy 
founded on solidarity between the Member States creates 
the risk that ESF resources will in practice be 
concentrated on palliative measures, or on schemes 
designed simply to ensure that national 'quotas' are taken 
up. 
Having examined the Commission documents and 
weighed up the aims being pursued, the Committee would therefore make the following comments and 
proposals: 
1. General comments 
1.1. The ESF is an instrument of the Treaty, and the 
reform must be designed to make it an effective tool for 
fighting unemployment. 
1.2. The ESF is to continue to concentrate on 
vocational training geared to mobility. However, by 
anticipating labour supply and demand trends and by 
taking a more active part in measures to promote 
training, particularly for new skills of benefit to society, 
the ESF can help safeguard employment and indirectly 
create jobs. This course requires stuctural measures. 
1.3. The ESF must increasingly become an instrument 
of Community solidarity and should consequently be 
used to help those hardest hit by unemployment; the ESF 
must therefore give greater priority to the campaign 
against youth unemployment, and to equal opportunities 
for women. In the present situation, the Community must 
also (a) assist regions with declining industries, and (b) 
continue to provide effective support in the less developed 
regions. The Community must take due account of the 
structural lag of the top-priority regions, which will 
hamper rapid attainment of the targets set in the 
Commission opinion. 
1.4. The reform should lead to the establishment of a 
Community employment policy, committed to greater 
solidarity, in which national priorities can find a place. 
1.5. In the present situation it is no longer enough to 
press in general terms - as has been done on several 
occasions, with little result - for an increase in the ESF 
resources. The ESF should be allotted 10% of the 
Community's budgetary resources. 
1.6. Measures which will ensure rational 
coordination of the various Community support 
instruments must be adopted as soon as possible, and 
their funding guaranteed. This again brings up the need to 
increase the Community's resources. 
1.7. Given the nature of the reform's aims, it is 
necessary to ensure involvement of the two sides of 
No C 124/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 5. 83 
industry in the ESF Committee and in the preparation of 
programmes at national and local level. 
2. Comments on the Commission opinion on the 
review of the Fund 
2.1. In order to concentrate ESF aid in those areas of 
the Community where it is most needed, it will be allotted 
to level III regions in the light of their unemployment rate 
and their economic resources. 
The level III classification is to be based on a statistical 
index comprising four components. The 'new index' to 
replace criteria for geographical selectivity will give equal 
weight to its four components: per capita GDP, total 
unemployment, long-term unemployment, and youth 
unemployment. The aim is to identify these components 
for geographical units smaller than those currently used 
for Community purposes. 
2.2. It is however difficult to- define sub-regions, 
because of differences between Member States' territorial 
and administrative divisions. The matter is further 
complicated by the lack of adequate statistics for level HI 
regions. 
2.3. The Member States calculate their 
unemployment figures in different ways. The statistics for 
individual countries and regions which the Commission 
would have at its disposal are thus not comparable. Care 
must be taken to ensure that the data used for calculating 
the components of the 'new index' are comparable, not 
least to ensure that equally deserving cases have equal 
access to Fund support. 
2.4. This cannot, however, be achieved immediately. 
Transitional measures are therefore needed to allow the 
Fund to act with maximum speed, effect and objectivity in 
tackling the widespread training requirements and the 
serious employment situation. 
2.5. Training and occupational needs must not be 
identified solely on the basis of the index. The general 
situation must be taken into account, and the index used 
for guidance only. The two sides of industry must also be 
involved so that they can brief the Community authorities about the individual situations the Fund will have to 
tackle. 
2.6. For the first time the new Fund refers specifically 
to the need to support innovation by developing a more 
effective Community policy on employment and 
vocational training. If this is to be implemented as 
effectively as possible, it will be necessary to upgrade the 
role and tasks of the European Centre for the 
Development of Vocational Training and to specify what 
funds are to be devoted to these innovatory 
operations. 
2.7. The percentages of ESF resources to be devoted 
to ordinary measures and to special measures could be 
reviewed annually, with the participation of the Fund 
Committee, in the light of the programmes and 
experience. 
3. Comments on the proposal for a Decision on the 
tasks of the fund 
3.1. Article 1(1) states that the ESF is to help equip the 
'workforce' with the skills required for stable 
employment. The wording here should be clarified, to 
show that it covers the economically active population as 
a whole, at all levels and in all production and service 
sectors. 
3.2. Article 1 (2) empowers the ESF to part-finance 
recruitment and wage support schemes. In order to secure 
a real, lasting improvement in employment, aid should 
only go to schemes which provide genuine vocational 
training, and which have the prior agreement of the two 
sides of industry. 
Steps must also be taken to ensure that aid for technical 
services and for advice on job creation does not go (a) to 
private bodies whose objectives are not in line with 
vocational guidance policies defined at national and/or 
Community level, or (b) to schemes falling within the 
standard employment programmes of public 
authorities. 
3.3. Article 3 (1) proposes aid for training 
school-leavers. Current youth unemployment 'levels 
provide a cast-iron case for expanding the proposed 
measures. Aid should be linked to specific training 
9. 5. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 124/7 
programmes, and should be reviewed after a suitable 
period. This would make it possible to assess the impact 
on the basic training of young people in general -
although in principle this is the responsibility of the 
Member States. 
3.4. Article 3 (2) empowers the ESF to provide aid for 
innovation, specific operations and the 'dissemination of 
experience'. Up to 20% of the Fund budget should be 
earmarked for this area. The following could then be 
covered: 
— priority support for innovatory schemes drawn up or 
run jointly by the two sides of industry alone or with 
the help of the governments, 
— cross-border and bi/multilateral schemes, 
— projects which are geared to practical innovations and 
which alleviate the plight of particularly disadvan­
taged social groups in regions which would otherwise 
not qualify for ESF aid. 
The proportion of the ESF budget to be earmarked for 
these projects could be reviewed annually in the light of 
experience. 
3.5. Article 4 (la) provides for aid for the unemployed 
and those threatened with unemployment. The Article 
should stipulate that where people lose their jobs through 
restructuring, ESF grants must be used for training or 
retraining which holds out a prospect of genuine, 
constructive re-employment. It should also be clearly 
stated that aid for training or retraining schemes will be 
granted only where the applicant undertakings can 
guarantee re-employment for the workers concerned, or 
are cooperating closely with regional or local authorities 
on training schemes. 
3.6. Article 4 (2a) provides for grants for 
specialization and retraining in small and medium firms. 
This aid could be usefully extended to cooperatives, to 
managers of small firms in the crafts and tertiary sectors, 
and to training centres run jointly by several 
companies. 3.7. The priority given to small and medium firms 
must not preclude support for rolling schemes for 
adjustment to technical progress, which all companies 
can and must organize to secure their future 
competitiveness, and therefore job security. 
3.8. Article 4 (2b) provides for assistance for trainers, 
vocational guidance experts and development agents. 
The nature and duties of the latter should be specified. It 
should also be made clear that development agents enjoy 
priority because they work within public or 
public-interest bodies. The two sides of industry should 
be involved here in order to facilitate the identification 
and rational use of local resources, and make it easier to 
gear services to general needs. 
Moreover, fund aid could usefully be extended to 
managerial staff training in order (a) to help overcome 
barriers to technological innovations, (b) to help make up 
for structural delays in development, and (c) to encourage 
occupational adjustments in small and medium firms. 
3.9. Article S (3) empowers the Fund to cover the 
entire cost of preparatory studies and evaluations. All 
projects covered by Article 3 (2) should be eligible for 
100% aid since innovatory opperations involve a high 
risk. 
3.10. Article 6 (2) gives the criteria for the 
classification of regions. The comments made above 
(points 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3) indicate that: 
— it is necessary to ensure that comparable statistics are 
used for unemployment (total, structural, long-term 
and youth) at sub-regional, regional and national 
level, 
— a date should be fixed by which the individual 
Member States must use Community statistical 
definitions, 
— pending this, the available statistics should be used; 
starting with the current year, they should be 
provided by 31 March of each year. This would help 
the two sides of industry and the governments to 
No C 124/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 5. 83 
analyze results and draw up the following year's 
programme, 
— the statistical indicators should be used purely for 
guidance. 
3.11. Article 6 (3) provides for exceptional aid for 
employment schemes in 'areas' where unemployment is 
three or more times the national average. This criterion 
may well never be satisfied, given the high national 
unemployment levels and the fact that in small countries 
the national average is very similar to that of the regions 
with the worst unemployment. Areas where 
unemployment is twice the national average should 
qualify for aid under this heading. For small countries, a 
rate of twice the average of the other regions of the 
Member State concerned should be applied. 
4. Comments on the draft Regulation 
4.1. Articles 1 and 2 detail the types of expenditure 
eligible for ESF aid, and specify the rates of aid. Bearing in 
mind the comments made on the draft Commission 
decision, it should be stressed that recruitment premiums 
for young people and wages subsidies for schemes to 
assist the long-term unemployed should be payable only 
in respect of courses which provide concrete training and 
should be contingent on a reasonable guarantee of 
sustained employment for the persons concerned. 
Furthermore, the 50 % increases in the flat-rate grants for 
recruitment premiums should be payable only in respect 
of unemployed men and women aged between 
18 and 25. 
4.2. The Committee feels that the Commission should 
press the Member States to observe the deadline for 
submission of their annual reports (31 March). This 
would enable the Commission to make a full assessment 
of the use of the Fund. 
4.3. The new draft Regulation does not have a review 
clause. However, a review clause is vital for safeguarding 
the Fuiid's flexibility, and therefore its effectiveness as an 
active labour market instrument. 
4.4. Consultation with the two sides of industry on 
individual projects should be stepped up in order to 
guarantee the usefulness of the project and the 
effectiveness of Fund aid. The new Regulation should contain the rule originally introduced in Article 5 (2) of 
Regulation (EEC) No 2396/71 of 8 November 1971 that 
applications must include details of the involvement of 
the two sides of industry in the project. It should also be 
specified that projects will only be examined if they are 
accompanied by the opinion of the parties concerned. 
5. Comments on the opinion on the ESF Committee 
5.1. The ESC stresses the need to streamline the ESF 
Committee's examination of applications for grants, 
bearing in mind its proposed new tasks. 
5.2. The Commission proposes that a sub-committee 
be set up to examine applications for ESF grants. This 
would appear to be a good idea, provided it does not 
undermine the role of the Fund Committee proper. The 
Fund Committee's duties should accordingly be 
rearranged to allow more detailed assessment of 
projects. 
5.3. It should be made clear that at its plenary 
meetings the Fund Committee would assess new 
guidelines and could help to work out any changes 
needed. It is particularly important to ensure that these 
meetings are held regularly. 
6. Comments on the draft Council Decision on the rules 
of the Fund Committee 
6.1. Article 1 lists the duties of the Fund Committee. 
These could be amplified to include consultation on the 
preliminary draft annual report on the Fund's activities. 
This would permit an analysis of the Fund's impact over 
the previous year. 
6.2. Article 8 deals with the chairmanship of the 
Committee. The wording should be clarified to specify 
that the Commission member (or official) chairing the 
meeting does not have a vote. 
6.3. Article 10 should specify how often the 
Committee has to meet. 
6.4. Article 11 proposes that, prior to meetings at 
which application for Fund grants are to be examined, 
each Member State should organize a meeting of its 
9. 5. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 124/9 
national delegation in order to consider cases which the 
two sides of industry believe might cause problems. There 
is a strong case for such preliminary meetings since they 
would speed up the whole procedure and also encourage 
Done at Brussels, 23 March 1983. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 198 
thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of the 
European Communities on 11 November 1982 for an 
opinion on the draft resolution of the Council concerning 
vocational training policies in the European 
Communities in the 1980s, 
Having regard to the decision taken by the Committee 
Bureau on 23 November 1982, instructing the Section for 
Social Questions to draw up an opinion on the matter, 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by the Section for 
Social Questions at its meeting on 10 March 1983, 
Having regard to the report submitted by the rapporteur 
Mr Nierhaus, 
Having regard to the discussions on 23 March 1983 
during the 206th plenary session held on 23 and 
24 March 1983, the active participation of both sides of industry. 
Preliminary meetings should accordingly also be held 
before discussions on the general operation of the 
Fund. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois CEYRAC 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
unanimously: 
1. General comments 
1.1. The Committee has read the Commission 
document with great interest and welcomes the proposed 
Community initiatives to improve vocational training. 
1.2. The Committee has already dealt with vocational 
training problems on a number of occasions in the past. It 
would refer in particular to its opinion on vocational 
preparation for young people who are unemployed or 
threatened with unemployment (J), its own-initiative 
opinion on education and vocational training for young 
workers (2), its opinion on the creation of a new 
European Social Fund aid for young people (3), and 
reiterates its previous basic comments. 
(') OJNoC 61, 10. 3. 1977. 
(2) OJNoC 181, 31. 7. 1978. 
(3) OJNoC 283, 27. 11. 1978. Opinion on the draft resolution of the Council concerning vocational training policies in the 
European Communities in the 1980s 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 306 of 23 November 1982, page 6. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 11 November 1982 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic 
and Social Committee in accordance with Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 
206nd plenary session held in Brussels on 23 and 24 March 1983.