WRITTEN QUESTION E-3132/00

by María Valenciano Martínez-Orozco (PSE) and Anna Terrón i Cusí (PSE) to the Commission

(6 October 2000)

Subject: ESF funding for women-only training courses in female-dominated sectors

The Fundació Educació Treball i Societat, the Centre Europeu de Formació, and CEAC (privately run Catalan training centres) are placing advertisements in the Catalan Press for various vocational training courses for the unemployed, which are being jointly subsidised by the European Social Fund and the Generalitat (autonomous government) of Catalonia (specifically by the Directorate-General for Employment, a division of the Department of Labour). The subsidies are explicitly mentioned in the advertisements, which also carry the logos of the Generalitat and the ESF. Among the courses which they are offering, each of the centres includes a women-only course, precisely in sectors in which women are traditionally over-represented (dressmaking, telesales and telemarketing, and childcare specialists respectively).

As stipulated in Articles 2(e) and 3(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1784/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 1999 on the European Social Fund(1), the Fund must be used to support and complement specific measures by the Member States aimed at improving the opportunities for women to enter and take part in the labour market and to reduce the prevailing vertical and horizontal segregation on the basis of sex. The activities eligible for assistance include education, vocational training, rehabilitation in employment, guidance, counselling, and continuing training.

Furthermore, entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, Article 141(4) of the EC Treaty, and the aim of guaranteeing full equality between men and women in working life all imply that a Member State should not be prevented from continuing to enforce or adopting measures providing for specific advantages to enable members of an underrepresented sex to carry on an occupation or to avert or offset disadvantages as regards professional careers.

Does the Commission not believe that ESF funding for the above courses is doing the opposite of ending the traditional horizontal segregation of work and is thus contrary to the EC Treaty, Directive 76/207/EEC(2), and the regulations governing the Structural Funds?

Bearing in mind the general provisions on the Funds (Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999(3)), what forms of monitoring, supervision, assessment, and penalties will it bring to bear to prevent funding being granted for courses that infringe the rules and aims set out in the legislation referred to above?

(1) OJ L 213, 13.8.1999, p. 5.

(2) OJ L 39, 14.2.1976, p. 40.

(3) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(24 November 2000)

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1784/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 1999 on the European Social Fund (ESF)(1), measures part-financed by the ESF must promote equal opportunities for women and men, as stated by the Honourable Members. This implies a wide range of measures designed, on the one hand, to achieve a general improvement in women's employability and, on the other hand, to reduce vertical and horizontal segregation on the labour market. There are two aspects to the Commission's approach to promoting equal opportunities. The first is to incorporate the principle of equal opportunities into all Community policies and measures (mainstreaming). The second is to promote specific measures, which must be consistent with the strategy set out in the programme, taking account of the specific needs of the labour market in the geographical area concerned.

ESF measures are therefore not limited to the sectors in which women are under-represented, but also serve the general improvement of women's employability in order to consolidate their presence on the labour market.

Under the new ESF programme for 2000-2006, the Commission has reinforced the dimension of equal opportunities for women and men, in terms of the planning, monitoring and evaluation of measures. The Community Support Framework (CSF) for Objective 3 for Spain, and in particular the operational programme (OP) for Catalonia, make provision for the horizontal integration of equal opportunities, as well as specific measures for women.

For the first time, the Objective 3 CSF and OP monitoring committees include representatives from organisations responsible for equal opportunities, which should serve the effective application of the principle of equal opportunities in the ESF. There is a commitment in the OPs to observe the principle of equal opportunities, and this principle will also be the subject of thematic evaluations.

In any event, it is the responsibility of the Member State to implement the programme, which must meet the statutory requirements and comply with the principle of equal treatment set out in Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions(2). Measures which do not meet these requirements or comply with the principle of equal treatment cannot be regarded as eligible.

(1) OJ L 213, 13.8.1999.

(2) OJ L 39, 14.2.1976.