7. ESF
A5-0328/2001
European Parliament resolution on the Communication from the Commission on the implemen-
tation of innovative measures under Article6 of the European Social Fund Regulation for the
programming period 2000-2006 (COM(2000)894 /dash C5-0341/2001 /dash 2001/2141(COS))
The European Parliament,
7dash having regard to the Commission Communication (COM(2000) 894 7dash C5-0341/2001),
7dash having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provi-
sions on the Structural Funds (1),and in particular Article 22 thereof,
7dash having regard to European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1784/1999 of 12 July 1999
on the European Social Fund (2),and in particular Article 6 thereof,
7dash having regard to its resolution of 6 July 2000 on the draft Guidelines for various types of innovative
measures in the context of Article 22 of the General Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 7dash InnovativeMeasures under Article 6 of the ESF Regulation (C5-0235/2000 7dash 2000/2127(COS)) (
3),
7dash having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,
7dash having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A5-0328/2001),
A. whereas innovative measures play an important role in the European Social Fund system by seeking to
identify examples of best practice which may subsequently be further circulated under the other ESFinterventions and under the European Employment Strategy in order to foster economic,social andregional cohesion,
B. whereas a systematic approach is necessary to determine the basic sectors to be promoted and to
evaluate the results in order to achieve optimum use of resources and the greatest possible multipliereffect as regards innovative measures,
C. whereas the EU is lagging behind in the development of innovation; whereas the attainment of the
Lisbon objective 7dash to make the Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economicarea in the world 7dash depends to a great extent on the innovative capacity of Europe’s economy andsociety and in particular its employment policy; whereas the promotion of innovation and qualitymust therefore be the objective of all policies at national and European level,
D. whereas attaining a high level of employment requires the coordination of all policies at European and
national levels,which in turn must be coordinated with corresponding regional and local initiatives,
E. whereas the funding of innovative measures is inadequate,and fewer funds are being made available
for the 2000-2006 programming period than in the previous programming period; whereas the fundsoriginally earmarked for this purpose have been substantially cut through transfers of appropriations,
1. Welcomes the fact that the Commission’s Communication has met the European Parliament’s
demand in its abovementioned resolution for the creation of a framework for the implementation ofinnovative measures; regrets that this framework is still marred by serious shortcomings; calls on theCommission to cooperate closely with the European Parliament to further improve this framework duringthe 2000-2006 programming period in order to attain the objective of optimum use of innovativemeasures in accordance with Article 6 of the ESF Regulation;
(1) OJ L 161,26.6.1999,p. 1.
(2) OJ L 213,13.8.1999,p. 5.
(3) OJ C 121,24.4.2001,p. 343.9.5.2002 EN C 112 E/193 Official Journal of the European Communities
Wednesday 24 October 2001
2. Agrees with the Commission’s approach of focusing innovative measures on specific thematic fields
and projects; believes,however,that there is a lack of clarity in the thematic fields announced and callstherefore on the Commission to be clearer and more precise in its calls for proposals;
3. Calls on the Commission to adopt the following fixed criteria to be taken into account in fixing
support priorities for and selecting projects and to state them clearly in the calls for proposals:
7dash the direct relevance to the European Employment Strategy;7dash innovative features as regards the planning and implementation of the measure;7dash the quality and viability of the measure;7dash the potential for the circulation and dissemination of the results within the framework of the ESF;
4. Regrets that the Commission has set the thematic priorities for 2000-2002 without consulting the
European Parliament; reiterates its desire for a regular dialogue with the Commission; reserves the right tosubmit proposals for financial aid priorities within the framework of its resolution on budget guidelines tothe Commission;
5. Calls on the Commission to redefine the thematic fields for 2002,giving particular attention to
matters directly relating to combating unemployment and promoting social cohesion,such as the mobility
of workers,up-to-date vocational training and retraining; calls on the Commission to take into account in
preparing thematic priorities,as appropriate,the opinion of the parties concerned,the Committee of theRegions,the Economic and Social Committee and the relevant European Institutions;
6. Takes the view that the Commission’s proposals on adaptation to the new economy within the
framework of social dialogue are excessively vague and calls for more particular attention to be paid tocreating the necessary conditions to encourage inter-state dialogue,thereby contributing to the creation ofa genuine European labour market;
7. Regrets that in the Commission’s Communication the principle of complementarity is so unclearly
formulated that it does not result in any specific measures or commitments; calls on the Commission toensure the self-sufficiency of innovative measures and of the budgetary lines with related but separatecontent;
8. Reiterates its request for a report evaluating the implementation of innovative measures during pre-
vious programming periods as a basis for developing a more substantiated and effective approach infuture;
9. Calls on the Commission,in the annual report which it intends to publish in order to ensure broader
dissemination of the results,to undertake a substantive qualitative and quantitative assessment of themeasures funded with the aim of highlighting examples of best practice so that they are subsequentlyadopted in national employment policies;
10. Calls on the Member States to incorporate best practices in their national employment policies;
11. Points out to the Commission that managing innovative measures and disseminating the results
must also be innovative in character; welcomes in this context the fact that the Commission has recentlyset up a special unit to manage innovative measures and expects this unit to be adequately staffed;
12. Suggests that this special unit should be able to play an increased role in coordination between
project holders;
13. Calls on the Member States to give special support to innovative projects by facilitating procedures
for providing information to the persons concerned,by ensuring the introduction of special technical aid,particularly by introducing regional management units,and by guaranteeing that the results obtained willbe exploited;C 112 E/194 EN 9.5.2002 Official Journal of the European Communities
Wednesday 24 October 2001
14. Takes the view that cooperation between scientific research and organisations on the ground is
particularly appropriate with a view to drawing up innovative models; calls on the Commission,therefore,in the context of innovative measures for employment,to provide particular support for cooperationbetween institutes of higher education,research centres and the relevant decentralised bodies on theground (undertakings,the social partners,public services and non-governmental organisations);
15. Appreciates the fact that the Commission has complied with Parliament’s demand not to restrict its
calls for proposals only to a specific circle of players; calls on the Commission to ensure that the pro-cedures adopted are as flexible and unbureaucratic as possible in order to facilitate the access of small,service sector organisations which constitute a substantial source of innovative ideas;
16. Welcomes the specific reference to equality between men and women; believes also that measures
must be taken to ensure equality of opportunity in exploiting innovative measures from a geographicalpoint of view,given the major disparities between the regions of the Union in the field of innovation; callsfor special attention to be given to projects originating from disadvantaged regions,such as island andmountain regions;
17. Notes with great regret that the innovative measures of all the Structural Funds during the 2000-
2006 programming period exist so far only on paper and that resources have been substantially reduced;is therefore adamantly opposed to any attempt to make further cuts,during the present programmingperiod,in the resources set aside for innovative measures in the next few financial years or to cancel anyappropriations which have not been taken up by the end of the year; calls,in this connection,on thecommittee competent for budgetary questions to hold consultations in good time with the relevant parlia-mentary committees in respect of each application by the Commission for transfers of appropriations;
18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission.9.5.2002 EN C 112 E/195 Official Journal of the European Communities
Wednesday 24 October 2001