WRITTEN QUESTION E-1444/97 by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Council (5 May 1997)

Subject: Employment, unemployment and the Maastricht criteria

Unemployment has reached such inconceivable levels in the EU that it is causing social unrest. Unfortunately, however, it has not spurred either conservative or socialist governments in Europe into immediate action to alleviate the situation of the young unemployed.

The Maastricht criteria did not specify an unemployment rate to be attained by each country for participation in the third stage of EMU. In view of this, will the Council say:

1. what measures it will take to give employment policy the same weight as monetary policy in the EU,

2. what measures it will take, if any, to bring about not only economic but also social cohesion in the EU,

3. whether the new Treaty following from the Intergovernmental Conference will add to the existing economic convergence criteria an unemployment rate as a defining indicator of social cohesion, and

4. whether it has considered a scenario in which there is convergence on the economic indicators but not on unemployment between the Member States, resulting in a population shift of jobless people moving from Member States with high levels of unemployment to those with low levels?

Answer (10 November 1997)

The Honourable Member is certainly not unaware of the importance that the European Council and the Council attach to the application of a coordinated strategy to the fight against unemployment in the European Union in the spirit of the relevant conclusions drawn by the European Council meeting in Essen.

It should not, however, be forgotten that it is the Member States that are primarily responsible for fighting unemployment and that measures in that field are matters for them, as is recognized, moreover, in the Amsterdam Treaty.

Nonetheless, the European Council and successive Presidencies have given employment problems an essential place in the programme of the Council's proceedings on social matters, as was shown by the European Council's Dublin Declaration on Employment (13 and 14 December 1996). It is necessary to point out that one of the Netherlands Presidency's first initiatives was set up the Employment and Labour Market Committee that the Council created in December 1996? That Committee has adopted a programme of work for 1997. In particular, it intends to continue its proceedings with a view to planning the further evaluation of such an approach based on the results of employment and labour-market policies. So the theme of economic and social cohesion and future priorities in matters of macro-economic and structural policies retain a fundamental position in the Council's activities and concerns.

As regards the link that the Honourable Member has made between employment policy and monetary policy, it is useful to recall that the Dublin Declaration says:

"The commencement of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the introduction of the euro in line with the provisions of the Treaty, will mean the creation of a zone of which will consolidate and strengthen the single market through the elimination of transaction costs and exchange rate risk for trade, tourism and investment among participating Member States. EMU and the euro will make an important contribution to generating the stable macroeconomic framework necessary for sustainable employment.¨

It will be remembered that at its meeting in Amsterdam on 16 and 17 June 1997 the Intergovernmental Conference agreed on the text of the Treaty of Amsterdam, which includes a new title on employment whereby, inter alia,

- employment objectives are consolidated by the Treaty;

- the Treaty specifies how individual countries' employment policies should be coordinated;

- the Treaty opens up the possibility of adopting recommendations for Member States and incentive measures relating to employment.

Lastly, in Amsterdam on 16 June 1997 the European Council adopted a Resolution on growth and employment and decided to hold an extraordinary summit in November 1997 on fighting unemployment, which should lend fresh impetus to job creation. The Commission and the Council are invited, in cooperation with the EIB, to prepare a progress report on the matter. Other European institutions, such as the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee, are also working on contributions to the debate for the extraordinary European Council meeting.