29. 8. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 218/15 
(a) the private ECU should be recognized as a currency and 
admitted to official listing in all Member States where 
this practice exists; 
(b) a start should be made on the gradual liberalization of 
capital movements, by laying down rules for free access 
to certain financial instruments expressed in ECU 
(issues by Community institutions, bonds issued by 
European firms), and authorizing the opening of current 
and term accounts in ECU by resident citizens; 
(c) use of the ECU should be encouraged: 
— for intra-Community invoicing, 
— for intra-Community contracts, 
— by starting a dialogue with the oil-producing and 
raw-material producing countries with which the 
Done at Brussels, 4 July 1985. 
1. Social and economic trends 
1.1. The Committee notes that in 1984 the Community 
recorded an economic growth rate of over 2 %, which is the 
highest rate since the end of the 1970s. Inflation continued to 
fall, public expenditure in real terms declined, productivity 
rates rose, wage restraint was maintained and profits went 
up. 
Yet, in spite of these trends, unemployment continued to rise 
to reach an average 12,7 million, 11 % of the workforce. Community has the largest trade deficits, with a view 
to concluding contracts invoiced in ECU; 
all obstacles to the free use of the ECU in the Member States 
must be eliminated so that everyone can benefit from the 
same conditions; 
(d) the possibilities offered by use of the ECU for 
commercial transactions in agricultural products in the 
Community should be examined; 
(e) data collection on the commercial and financial 
development of the ECU should be more systematically 
organized; 
(f) the multilateral settlement of bank transfers in ECU 
should be encouraged in association with the Bank for 
International Settlements. 
The above proposals could be implemented within the 
existing institutional framework. 
1.2. This rise in unemployment together with 
demographic trends has led to further increases in inequality 
as growing numbers and proportions of the population 
become dependent on the social protection systems oi the 
Community. The emergence of poverty associated with 
long-term unemployment is particularly noted (1). 
1.3. This trend towards greater inequality has been 
emphasized moreover by the way in which reductions in 
public expenditure have led to the incomes of many who are 
(*) See ESC opinion on specific action to combat poverty (OJ No 
C25,28. 1. 1985). The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR 
Opinion on social developments in the Community in 1984 
(85/C 218/09) 
Procedure 
On 3 June 1985 the Commission decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee on the social 
developments in the Community in 1984. 
The Section for Social Questions, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the 
subject, adopted its opinion on 23 May 1985 in the light of the report by Mr Roycroft. 
At its 228th plenary session (meeting of 4 July 1985) the Economic and Social Committee adopted the 
following opinion by 75 votes to 10, with 13 abstentions. 
No C 218/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 8. 85 
dependent on social service systems being reduced in real 
terms or to their falling wholly or partially outside the net of 
social protection systems in some instances. It has also 
stunted EC innovatory action and capital projects designed 
to alleviate social and regional disparities. 
1.4. In some countries the widening gap between the 
employed and the unemployed is paralleled by evidence of 
increasing inequality amongst wage earners. Generally, wage 
restraint has brought down the real purchasing power of 
workers, although in some countries real wages have gone up 
in spite of reductions in money wage increases. 
1.5. In this context, the Committee positively notes the 
achievement of some negotiated agreements on wages and 
working arrangements, in particular where these: 
• — afford protection to the lower paid and vulnerable, 
— relate to job creation. 
The Committee endorses this joint approach, in contrast to 
the unilateral imposition of changes which worsen working 
conditions and social standards for some groups. 
2. Economic policy considerations 
2.1. The conclusions of the Commission's Annual 
Economic Report for 1984 (*) set out an economic policy 
framework providing for further wage restraint, more real 
reductions in public (and therefore social) expenditure and 
the introduction of deregulation of conditions of 
employment, recruitment and dismissal, all as an attempt at 
promoting further enterprise growth, the maintenance and 
continuation of economic recovery and with it job 
creation. 
2.2. The Committee stresses in particular that a new 
positive social dialogue and a pulling together of democratic 
society are the prerequisite means for promoting sustained 
industrial/economic growth which should give top priority 
to job creation. 
This is why concern must be registered at some of the 
tendencies imlicit in the policy approach of the Commission's 
economic report: reduced domestic demand; more 
reductions in public expenditure, leading to further increases 
in inequality and greater 'marginalization' of vulnerable 
groups dependent on social protection systems; the 
worsening of working conditions and industrial relations 
through the imposition of changes which may cut across the 
joint development of mutual rights and responsibilities 
through collective negotiation procedure. 
(!) OJ No L 45, 14. 2. 1985. The Committee none the less welcomes any fresh thinking on 
the crucial issue of unemployment. It therefore supports the 
need to identify and promote by joint agreement factors 
conducive to enterprise growth, e.g. removing the market 
impediments of 'non-Europe', providing selective fiscal 
measures to alleviate pressures on job creative small or 
expanding enterprises, etc. 
In all this a positive approach would be to build on the 
achievements of the first and the consensual socio-economic 
strategy of the second EC social action programmes. 
3. The social policy view 
3.1. In considering the pursuit of social policy objectives 
the key elements of the Treaty of Rome need to be restated as 
contained in Article 2: the pursuit of harmonious 
developments providing accelerated living standards for all 
citizens of the Community. 
3.2. The Committee reiterates the importance, stressed in 
the opinions of previous years, of the interdependence 
between economic and social policy and, in particular, the 
need to maintain social cohesion and solidarity as a 
precondition for successful qualitative economic 
growth (*). 
3.3. The Committee draws attention to the threats to 
social order and democratic institutions arising from 
growing and long-term unemployment, particularly amongst 
the young. The costs and consequences of high and sustained 
unemployment have been noted before (2) but benefit from 
repetition: 
— increasing poverty and the erosion of social and family 
cohesion, 
— increasing isolation and despair resulting in higher rates 
of suicide, drug abuse and criminality, 
— the risk of endangering the political stability of Europe, 
and the recognition that extreme and violent responses 
cannot be excluded. 
4. Conclusions 
In reviewing social developments during 1984, seven 
conclusions are drawn: 
4.1. Social cohesion and solidarity are essential elements 
of a policy for sustained qualitative economic growth. 
(a) See ESC opinion on social developments in the Community in 
1983 (OJ No C 307, 19. 11. 1984). 
(2) See ESC opinion on social developments in the Community in 
1982 (OJ No C 286, 24. 10. 1983). 
29. 8. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 218/17 
4.2. The maintenance of collective social responsibility, 
particularly for the weak and vulnerable, the development of 
the practice of collective agreements and, on a more general 
level, the development of consultations, are part of the 
consensual framework necessary for a dynamic jointly 
supported policy which gives the highest priority to the 
reduction of unemployment. 
4.3. Little progress has been made on the 
recommendations of last year's opinion on social 
developments in 1983 which are still relevant today. The 
preconditions set out for an effective EC social strategy are 
particularly valid notably: 
— the need to recognize the financial costs of 'non-Europe' 
and the positive 'multiplier' effects that concerted 
economic and social action at EC level could have in 
encouraging broader, faster and more reliable growth; 
— the build-up and utilization of the EC's 'own 
resources'; 
— assuring an effective EC policy decision-making 
machinery; 
— the need to construct policy instruments in order to 
maintain and promote social cohesion in the 
Community. 
4.4. Emphasis should be given to the importance of a 
'multilateral' approach combining: 
— supply side initiatives with sustained demand and a 
selective boost directed at job creation and social 
need; 
— new positive approaches towards enterprise with the 
maintenance of social protection standards and the use of 
collective bargaining methods at various levels, for 
example: the reduction and reorganization of working 
time, measures to facilitate worker mobility and 
adaptability, etc.; 
— technological transition with proper information and 
consultation procedures, monitoring of the social 
consequences, an effective industrial relations structure, 
and a more positive approach to vocational guidance, 
training and retraining, particularly for the young and the 
long-term unemployed (*); 
— an assessment of tax-related factors which may inhibit 
enterprise along with a consideration of rates of return, of 
(') See ESC opinions on: 
— technological change and social adjustment, OJ No C 307, 
19. 11. 1984; 
— vocational training and new information technologies: new 
Community initiatives during the period 1983 to 1987, OJ 
No C 77, 21. 3. 1983; 
— vocational training policies in the European Communities in 
the 1980s, OJ No C 124, 9. 5. 1983; 
— local employment initiatives, OJ No C 206, 6. 8. 1984. profits and their use for employment-creation 
investment; 
— the job creative role of small and medium-sized 
enterprises with selective, targeted social insurance aid 
especially for the employment of young job-seekers in 
deprived urban blackspots and underdeveloped rural 
areas. 
The Committee reiterates its view that greater cooperation 
and co-responsibility of the two sides of industry also at EC 
level, is needed if current economic and social difficulties are 
to be overcome. The responsibility of the two groups with 
respect to the economic and social conditions of working life 
should be backed up by Community and national 
measures. 
4.5. In addition to the need to maintain proper support to 
the unemployed, there is a need for continuing vigilance to 
maintain the standards of support for the old, the 
handicapped and other vulnerable groups outside the 
employment system in line with the spirit of the Rome Treaty 
and its Paris predecessor. In this context, the Committee 
stresses that an EC policy for the elderly ought to be 
launched. 
4.6. There is an urgent need to develop a set of targets and 
parameters, relating to broad EC social policy objectives, 
which are quantifiable and carry the same weight as 
comparable measures of EC economic development. Such 
data collection and analyses could, for example, cover trends 
in inequality, marginalization, and the living standards of the 
poor; occupational accidents and work-related illnesses in 
the EC and the cost benefits of preventive action (*), 
implementation of EC social legislation; job creation and 
training places, etc. In all this there is a need for concerted 
Community-level action backed by research. 
4.7. The contemporary European Community exists not 
solely to promote joint trade and closer economic links; it 
also has a vital social purpose and role. Founded in order to 
unite peoples around common enterprise and social 
cohesion, it must retain the attention and support of 
vulnerable groups; act on behalf of the weak, the frail, the 
handicapped, the sick and the elderly; and re-establish the 
common social aspirations and responsibilities towards each 
other which were foreseen at the outset. This is why EC 
economic and social policy must move step by step together. 
(*) See ESC opinions on occupational medicine, OJ No C 307, 19. 
11. 1984, and on occupational cancer, OJ No C 188, 29. 7. 
1985. 
No C 218/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 8. 85 
Policies for economic efficiency must be matched by concern 
for the well-being of those less able to protect themselves in 
this age of radical transition. The commitment of the Community to this integral approach, first reflected in the 
Treaties, needs to be reaffirmed even more in times of crisis 
or sluggish growth. 
Done at Brussels, 4 July 1985. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR 
APPENDIX 
to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee 
Rejected amendment 
The following amendment, to the section opinion, tabled in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, was rejected 
by the Committee during plenary session discussions: 
Point 2.1: 
At the end of this paragraph, add the following: 
'They further recommend closer examination of current fiscal and insurance provisions in Member countries 
which act as a disincentive to employers to provide, and potential employees to enter into, new employment. The 
Committee endorses these aims both because the creation of new areas of job opportunity increases employment 
and personal incomes, and at the same time augments the funds availale in social action programmes calling for 
assistance to the more vulnerable members of society.' 
Consequently, the first line of the second paragraph of point 2.2, page 4, should be modified to read as 
follows: 
'It is therefore not inconsistent to register concern at some of the tendencies . . .'. 
Reasons 
Self-explanatory. 
Result of the vote 
For: 28, Against: 48, Abstentions: 13. 
Opinion on the economic situation in mid-1985 
(85/C 218/10) 
Procedure / 
On 20 November 1984 the Economic and Social Committee, acting under the fourth paragraph of 
Article 20 of its Rules of Procedure, decided to draw up an opinion on the Economic situation in the 
Community in mid-1985.