Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the "Proposal for Guidelines for Member States' Employment Policies 2000"

(2000/C 57/04)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Proposal for Guidelines for Member States' Employment policies 2000 COM(1999) 441 fin

having regard to the decision taken by the Council on 6 October 1999, under the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to consult the Committee of the Regions on this matter;

having regard to its Bureau decision taken on 2 June 1999 to draw up an opinion on the subject and to direct Commission 6 - Employment, Economic Policy, Single Market, Industry, SMEs - to undertake the preparatory work;

having regard to The decision of its President of 14 October 1999 to appoint Mr Bodfish UK, PES and Mrs Lund DK, PES as rapporteurs general to draw up an opinion on this subject, in accordance with Rule 39 of the Rules of Procedure of the Committee of the Regions;

having regard to the draft opinion CdR 360/99 rev1, drawn up by the general rapporteurs Mr Bodfish UK, PES and Mrs Lund DK, PES;

whereas the COR has repeatedly underlined the importance the local and regional aspects in the framework of the European employment strategy (the Resolution on the European Employment Pact(1), Rapporteur: Mr Jensen, DK, PES; the Opinion on the European Employment Guidelines(2), Rapporteur: Mr Bodfish, UK, PES and the Opinion on the Territorial Employment Pacts(3), Rapporteurs: Mr Efstathiadis, GR, PES and Mr Virtanen, FIN, PES;

adopted the following opinion at its 31st plenary session on 17 and 18 November 1999 (meeting of 18 November).

1. Background and Introduction

1.1. Following the adoption of the Amsterdam Treaty, which introduced a new title on employment, it was agreed at the Luxembourg Job Summit in November '97 that the European Employment strategy should be built on four main pillars of employability, entrepreneurship, adaptability and equal opportunities. Every year, a set of Guidelines are adopted for each of the pillars, which set out a number of specific targets for Member States to achieve in their employment policies. The Member States respond to these Guidelines on an annual basis via a National Employment Action Plan (NAP).

1.2. On 8 September the Commission adopted its "Employment Package" which sets out the EU key orientations on employment policy and structural reform of the labour markets. This "package" consists of the following:

- The draft report on Member States employment policies(4)

- The Proposal for Guidelines for Member States' Employment Policies 2000(5)

- The proposal for Council recommendations on the implementation of Member States employment policies(6)

1.3. The European Council will discuss and conclude its deliberations of the Employment Guidelines at the Helsinki Summit on 11 and 12 December.

1.4. This Opinion is intended to set out a clear view from the COR as to the importance of the local and regional role in employment; to point to ways in the Guidelines in which this may be carried into effect; suggest that local and regional authorities be enabled to participate in the drafting of the response by each Member State; and, to take the call for greater recognition of the role of local and regional government to the Helsinki Summit on 11 and 12 December.

2. General remarks

2.1. European employment strategy

2.1.1. The COR has participated actively in the process of developing the European Employment Strategy. In its recent opinions the COR has underlined the importance the local and regional aspects in this framework. The COR believes, that the implementation of the employment guidelines requires an active role by local and regional authorities. Furthermore it is important to bear in mind that experiences from local and regional level can be a source of inspiration at National and European levels.

2.1.2. Consequently, in co-operation with the CEMR, the COR has proposed a campaign called "Local Action for Employment" to be launched at the European level in order to foster the local and regional authorities' efforts to transfer the guidelines into action in their own policies. The COR welcomes the fact that the European Commission has supported this initiative and that the European Parliament in its capacity as the Budgetary authority has also taken this initiative on board.

2.1.3. However the COR feels that there is still room for better recognition of the role of the local and regional authorities in the framework of the employment guidelines and their implementation by the Member States. In the current opinion the COR will focus on the draft Employment guidelines for the year 2000. Later the COR would like to continue the debate with the Member States concerning the implementation of the guidelines.

2.2. The Draft Joint Employment Report for 1999

2.2.1. The draft Joint Employment Report is based on an analysis of the implementation reports submitted by the Member states as to the 1998 National Action Plans (NAPs) and the measures taken at national level to implement the 1999 employment guidelines. Generally, there is evidence that the Member States have taken on a more preventative approach in combating unemployment by the adoption of new initiatives, the report states that "key policy areas need to be tackled with more rigour, namely by setting national targets".

2.3. The role of local and regional authorities in the development and implementation of the NAPs

2.3.1. Local and regional authorities have a valuable role to play in bringing the NAPs to fruition in the Member States. Previous Opinions of the COR have detailed the benefits which local and regional authority involvement can bring to local job creation.

2.3.2. Local and regional authorities are unique in their dual role as service provider and in many cases, large employers, therefore their role in generating employment is crucial. Working in partnership with local partners and specialist groups, local and regional authorities help to provide an environment that promotes job creation and through local economic strategies actively promote the development of businesses.

2.3.3. Also as the democratically elected body close to its citizens, local and regional authorities take on additional non-statutory responsibilities to enhance the quality of life for all their citizens. Therefore local authorities actively promote policies that generate equality of opportunities for older citizens and disadvantaged groups.

2.3.4. The 1999 joint report shows that only a few countries have decentralised their active labour market politics to the regional or local level. Where it has been done, the positive results indicate that this should be considered in all member states. In an increasingly differentiated and global economy, tailored initiatives - based on a firm knowledge of regional and local business conditions - are crucial for success. Thus, the member states should to a larger extent take the "local in the Global" into account, when drawing up and implementing the NAPs. As the examples included in Annexe A show, the role of local and regional authorities is relevant for all four pillars.

2.3.5. Much can be learned by studying the lessons made by European "Industrial Districts", such as the Italian "Emiglia Romana", the German Baden Württenberg or small scale clusters as the Portuguese Vale Do Ave or the Danish Herning/Ikast. In all these regions, regional and local authorities have joined their strengths and competences with business, the community and trade unions, working for a common interest; that is, the development of regional or local centres of growth and employment, exploiting the "windows of opportunity" that all regions face in the global economy.

2.3.6. The employment initiatives now under way in the 15 Member States as part of the territorial employment pacts promoted by the Commission have been particularly important. In this context, the Commission has promoted the role of consultation and mediation between the local authority and the economic players, social interest groups and the public. These initiatives are producing beneficial effects on both the economic and employment fronts.

2.3.7. An obvious start for the process of supporting the local initiative is mainstreaming the regional and local dimension in the relevant Guidelines in order to make the NAPs, and therefore politicians, take account of local and regional authorities. To this end, the COR calls on the Member States to include representatives of the regional and local authorities on the national committees which are to draw up and implement the national employment plans.

2.4. Recommendations on the implementation of Member States' Employment Policies

2.4.1. For the first time the Commission has proposed to the Council of Ministers recommendations which the Council may make to individual Member States on employment policies. These recommendations have been drawn up on the basis of a comparative analysis of Member State Performance and of the major shortcomings in implementing the 1998 Guidelines and putting into action the 1999 Guidelines.

2.4.2. The COR accepts the principle of the Council making recommendations to individual Member States on their performance. However, Member States should be afforded the flexibility to be creative in the development of employment policies and not be pushed into a particular path of action by the Council. The COR calls for (a) sufficient freedom to be granted for possible regional aid measures and (b) regional and local activities to be facilitated, with a view to providing meaningful employment for all marginalised groups.

2.5. Employment Guidelines for 2000

2.5.1. The Commission has proposed some minor changes to the text of the Guidelines in areas, which it feels, should be more rigorously addressed by the Member States.

2.5.2. The COR welcomes the minor changes as they promote integration of potentially disadvantaged groups and promote the training and retaining in the field of information technology. As mentioned earlier their role as a service provider and an employer affords this sector the unique opportunity to implement these Guidelines.

2.5.3. Such activity can be demonstrated with regards to Guideline 4 where local authorities are active in encouraging the participation of older citizens particularly in lifelong learning. A previous opinion of this Committee(7) clearly expresses the role local authorities may have and can continue to play in support of the older citizen.

2.5.4. The themes education and training discussed in Guidelines 7 and 8 fall within the statutory responsibilities of many local and regional authorities across the Community. Many authorities are actively tackling the issue of early leavers from schools and also have adopted measures to accommodate the Information Society.

2.5.5. The Committee supports the amendments made to Guideline 8 for the coming year but have some added concerns. Initially there will be added costs involved to meet this target in terms of teacher training and equipment, secondly it will produce additional duties on teachers to ensure that pupils do not access inappropriate pages of the Internet. Therefore, although warmly welcomed there may be constraints in achieving this target.

3. Specific comments: Suggested amendments to the Employment Guidelines for 2000

3.1. Recognition of local and regional role in supporting SMEs - Guideline 11

3.1.1. In their role as facilitators for job creation, local and regional authorities extend a number of support services to SMEs. These services include giving advice and guidance, providing premises (including managed workspaces for start up firms) giving grants, and co-ordinating enterprise policy with wider economic development and social inclusion strategies.

3.1.2. In order that the Guidelines should reflect this role, the Committee would propose the following insertion to the end of Guideline 11:

"In respect of the latter training and support, and the removal of any obstacles to self-employment falling within or relevant to their functions or activities, the special role and responsibility of local and regional government, and of the social partners, needs to be more fully recognised and supported."

3.2. The local/regional role in promoting employment creation - Guideline 12

3.2.1. Guideline 12 has been significantly re-written. The Committee feels that the unique position of local and regional authorities is not sufficiently represented by the current text.

3.2.2. The proposed Guideline states:

"promote measures to exploit fully the possibilities offered by job creation at local level and in the social economy, especially in new activities linked to needs not yet satisfied by the market, and examine, with the aim of reducing, any obstacles the way of such measures. In this respect, the special role and responsibility of partners at the regional and local levels, as well as the social partners, needs to be more fully recognised and supported. In addition, the role of the Public Employment services in identifying local employment opportunities and improving the functioning of the local labour markets, should be fully exploited(8)."

3.2.3. In the 1999 guidelines, Guideline 12 specifically said that "the special role of local authorities and the social partners should be taken into account". The COR considers it necessary explicitly to spell out the key role of local and regional authorities, which due to their special tasks and general political responsibilities differs essentially from the roles of other local and regional players. Therefore the COR could propose the following revised text:

"promote measures to exploit fully the possibilities offered by job creation at local level and in the social economy, especially in new activities linked to needs not yet satisfied by the market, and examine, with the aim of reducing, any obstacles the way of such measures. In this respect, the special role and responsibility of local and regional authorities and their partners at the regional and local levels, as well as the social partners, needs to be more fully recognised and supported. In addition, the role of the Public Employment services working in partnership with local and regional authorities in identifying local employment opportunities and improving the functioning of the local labour markets, should be fully exploited(9)."

3.2.4. Partnership between local and regional authorities and public employment services is no less necessary when setting up active job development measures, and in framing and activating vocational guidance and support services to buttress local development initiatives placing priority on the beneficial impact on employment.

3.3. Local and Regional authorities as employers - Guideline 20

3.3.1. In their role as employers and in some instances large employers, local and regional authorities have a responsibility to all their citizens to promote themselves as employers offering equal opportunities with regards to employment, thus ensuring that the make up of the authority reflects the community that it serves. Local and regional authorities have experience of applying this principle of equality as major employers; therefore the Committee would like to propose a further refinement to Guideline 20 as follows:

3.3.2. At the end of Guideline 20, insert:

"Member States shall make joint agreements with local and regional authorities, from their experience as major employers, with a view to responding to and implementing this Guideline."

3.4. Involving local and regional government directly in the production of NAPs - additional Guideline

3.4.1. As indicated in relation to particular Guidelines above, Member States need to recognise and support the special role and responsibility of local and regional government, and of the social partners, in carrying into effect a number of these activities. To that end the Committee would like to propose an additional Guideline:

"23. Member States should invite local and regional government, as well as the social partners, to produce or have a direct input to the preparation and implementation of the national action plans for employment."

4. Recommendation for the Helsinki Summit

4.1. The COR can demonstrate that local and regional authorities have, and continue to actively bring the European Employment Strategy to fruition at the local level.

4.2. The unique role of local and regional authorities as the democratically elected body close to the citizens and as employers and service providers enables authorities to promote and engage in activity concerning the employment of older persons and equality of opportunity between men and women and disadvantaged groups, adding credibility and value to these.

4.3. The COR calls again for National Governments formally to acknowledge and include local and regional authorities in the development and implementation of the NAPs. It calls on the Helsinki Summit and the Council to add this element to the employment guidelines. It also calls on Members of the European Parliament to endorse this call.

4.4. COR would welcome the opportunity to discuss with the Commission the background and rationale of recommendations being made to the Council of Ministers.

5. Conclusions

5.1. The COR continues to call for the involvement of local and regional authorities in the development and implementation of the NAP. Such involvement is necessary given the extent of co-funding provided by local and regional authorities.

5.2. The COR has proposed a number of amendments to the Guidelines that acknowledge the role played by local and regional authorities inter alia in the promotion of employment development policies. It is also important that the national action plans take account of the employment measures introduced by local and regional authorities, as priorities other than those of national governments also need to be reflected.

5.3. The COR has proposed a campaign, "Local Action for Employment" which, at the European level, will foster the local and regional authorities activity in bringing the NAPS to fruition.

5.4. The COR accepts the principle of recommendations being made to Member States on the employment policies.

5.5. The COR calls on the Helsinki Summit and the Council to endorse the role and involvement of local and regional authorities in the NAPs.

Brussels, 18 November 1999.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Manfred DAMMEYER

(1) CdR 156/99 fin - OJ C 293, 13.10.1999, p. 70.

(2) CdR 279/98 fin - OJ C 51, 22.2.1999, p. 59.

(3) CdR 91/99 fin - OJ C 293, 13.10.1999, p. 1.

(4) SEC(1999) 1386 final.

(5) COM(1999) 441 final.

(6) COM(1999) 445 final.

(7) CdR 442/98 fin - OJ C 374, 23.12.1999, p. 36.

(8) The bold text here refers to new elements in the guideline proposed by the Commission.

(9) The bold text here refers to the changes proposed by the COR in comparison to the proposal of the Commission.

APPENDIX A

to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions

Employability

The Danish Government has decided (by law) that each of the 275 local authorities are obliged to form committees in order to combat unemployment and prevent social exclusion. The committees include the local authorities, the social partners and other relevant actors in the labour market. This is done in an attempt to make all relevant actors responsible for this difficult challenge.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is an area where companies face many obstacles from different levels of administration. Local authorities in Italy have taken steps to alleviate some of these obstacles through the "Single Counter" programme promoted by the Catania municipality and subsequently established by national law in all municipalities. The Italian government has undertaken to deregulate and streamline 122 procedures lay down in over 400 administrative provisions. Through the 'Investi a Catania' Project 252 projects have been submitted that have resulted in the creation of 1700 new jobs.

Adaptability

In the UK local authorities cannot directly participate in schemes which provide the opportunity for an unemployed person to be given a work placement. Sandwell Metropolitan authority in the West Midlands in co-operation with the Employment Services has developed a scheme where jobs in the authority are identified for which and unemployed person stands a good chance of obtaining on merit. These posts are available on a six-month basis. A co-ordinator is appointed to provide support to the post holder and existing staff. Using the ESF the authority envisaged that a further 20 placements could be funded over the next three years.

Equal Opportunities

With the legal basis for gender equality being firmly laid down in the Treaty Many proposals and frameworks with regards to childcare have been initiated by national government but implemented by local authorities. Local authorities in Finland spend around 1.3 billion a year resulting in all children under 7 having the right to a full time, municipal child-care place and children attending school receiving a free warm meal at school. These activities have made it possible for both parents to have jobs.