Council Resolution of 15 December 1997 on the 1998 Employment Guidelines
Date: 1997-12-15
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU employment policy, aid to undertakings, equal treatment, fight against unemployment, integration into employment, social partners

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(Information)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL  RESOLUTION

of  15  December  1997

on  the  1998  Employment  Guidelines

(98/C  30/01)

THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European
Community,

issue  of  employment 

Whereas  the 
is  central  to  the
concerns  of  Europe’s  citizens  and  every  effort  must  be
made  to  combat  unemployment,  the  unacceptable  level
of  which  poses  a  threat  to  the  cohesion  of  our  societies;

Whereas  pursuant  to  Article  2  of  that  Treaty  the
Community  has  as  its  task  the  promotion,  in  particular,
of  a  high  level  of  employment;

In  accordance  with  the  conclusions  of  the  Amsterdam
European  Council  and  the  Resolution  on  Growth  and
the  procedure  as
Employment  which 
envisaged 
the
Amsterdam  Treaty  and  stated  that  the  Council  should
seek  to  make  those  provisions  immediately  effective;

title  on  employment 

the  new 

referred 

to 

in 

in 

On  the  basis  of  the  conclusions  of  the  extraordinary
European  Council  meeting  on  Employment  of  20  and
21  November  1997;

Having  regard  to  the  draft  from  the  Commission  and  the
Commission  communication  "Proposal  for  guidelines  for
Member  States’  employment  policies  1998’  of  1  October
1997,

regard 

the
Having 
contribution  of  the  European  Parliament  to  the  extra(cid:220)
ordinary  European  Council  meeting  on  Employment,

resolution  embodying 

the 

to 

Having  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  Economic  and
Social  Committee  on  the  Commission  communication,

Having  regard  to  the  contribution  of  the  Committee  of
the  Regions  to  the  extraordinary  European  Council
meeting  on  Employment,

Having  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  Employment  and
Labour  Market  Committee,

Having  regard  to  the  social  partners’  contribution  to  the
extraordinary 
on
Employment,

European 

meeting 

Council 

Whereas  the  Luxembourg  European  Council  marks  a
new  departure  in  the  thinking  and  action  on  which  the
Union’s  Member  States  have  been  embarked  since  the
Essen  European  Council  meeting;

Whereas  the  Luxembourg  European  Council  agreed  on
an  overall  strategy  involving  three  aspects:

1.(cid:217)the  continuation  and  development  of  a  coordinated
macro(cid:220)economic  policy,  underpinned  by  an  efficient
internal  market,

2.(cid:217)the  harnessing  of  all  Community  policies  in  support  of
employment  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the
Treaty,

3.(cid:217)the  coordination  of  Member  States’  employment
policies,  based  on  common  lies  of  approach  for  both
objectives  and  means,  with  a  resolve  to  converge
towards 
set,  verifiable,  regularly  updated
targets  which  should  be  incorporated  in  the  national
action  plans 
the
Member  States;

for  employment  drawn  up  by 

jointly 

this 

coordination 

of  Member 

Whereas 
States’s
employment  policies  should  be  implemented  through  the
adoption  by  the  Council,  having  received  the  opinion  of
the  Employment  and  Labour  Market  Committee  acting
in 
the  Economic  Policy
close 
Committee,  of 
employment  guidelines,  which  are
compatible  with  the  broad  economic  policy  guidelines
and  which  set  specific  targets,  the  achievement  of  which
is  regularly  monitored  under  a  common  procedure  for
assessing  results;

cooperation  with 

Having  regard  to  the  contribution  of  the  Member  States
to 
the  extraordinary  European
Council  meeting  on  Employment,

the  preparation  of 

Whereas  the  implementation  of  the  guidelines  may  vary
according  to  their  nature,  their  impact  on  Member  States
and  the  parties  to  whom  they  are  addressed;  whereas

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they  must  respect 
Member 
employment;

States’ 

the  principle  of  subsidiarity  and
to
responsibilities  with 

regard 

Whereas  these  guidelines  centre  on  four  main  lines  of
action: 
improving  employability,  developing  entrepre(cid:220)
neurship,  encouraging  adaptability  of  businesses  and
their  employees  to  enable  the  labour  market  to  react  to
economic  changes  and  strengthening  the  policies  for
equal  opportunities;

Whereas  the  implementation  of  this  strategy  calls  for  the
combined  efforts  of  all  concerned:  Member  States,
regions,  social  partners  and  Community  institutions,  and
whereas  the  European  Parliament  and  the  European
Investment  Bank  have  demonstrated  their  commitment  in
this  regard;

Whereas  the  differing  situations  of  the  Member  States  in
relation  to  the  problems  addressed  by  the  guidelines  will
result  in  differing  solutions  and  emphases  in  line  with
individual  situations;

Whereas  the  objective  of  these  measures  is  to  arrive  at  a
significant  increase  in  the  employment  rate  in  Europe  on
a  lasting  basis;

are 

in  reversing 

preventive  measures 

Whereas 
particular
of 
trend  of  youth  unem(cid:220)
the 
importance 
ployment  and  long(cid:220)term  unemployment  through  early
tailor(cid:220)made
identification  of 
to  active
responses  systematically  giving  precedence 
employability  measures  rather 
support
measures;

individual  needs  and 

than  passive 

Whereas  common 
indicators,  based  on  comparable
statistics,  are  important  for  the  effective  monitoring  and
assessment  of  employment  policies  and  for  the  identifi(cid:220)
cation  of  good  practices,

HEREBY  ADOPTS  THIS  RESOLUTION:

1.(cid:217)The  1998  Employment  Guidelines  appended  hereto

are  adopted.

that 

2.(cid:217)The  guidelines  will  have  to  be  incorporated  into
national  employment  action  plans  drawn  up  in  a
they  are  given
multiannual  perspective  so 
practical  effect  in  the  form  of  national  objectives
which  are  quantified  wherever  possible  and  appro(cid:220)
priate,  followed  by  their  transposition  into  national
regulatory,  administrative  and  other  measures.  The
differing  situations  of  the  Member  States  in  relation
to  the  problems  addressed  by  the  guidelines  will
result  in  differing  solutions  and  emphases,  in  line
with  individual  situations.

3.(cid:217)National  employment  action  plans  will  set  deadlines
for  achieving  the  desired  result  in  the  light,  inter  alia,
of  the  administrative  and  financial  resources  which
can  be  drawn  on.

and 

4.(cid:217)Each  Member  State  will,  every  year,  send  the
Council 
national
the  Commission 
employment  action  plan,  in  which  it  frames  its  policy
with  regard  to  each  of  the  guidelines,  together  with
a  report  on  the  manner  of  its  implementation.

its 

5.(cid:217)Member  States  are  invited  to  submit  in  1998  their
first  national  employment  action  plan  based  on  these
guidelines  to  the  Council  and  the  Commission  for
examination 
in  sufficient  time  before  the  Cardiff
European  Council.

6.(cid:217)The  Council  undertakes  to:

(a)(cid:217)carry  out  in  the  second  half  of  1998,  on  the  basis
of  the 
information  provided  by  the  Member
States,  and  after  receiving  the  report  of  the
Employment  and  Labour  Market  Committee,  an
examination  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Member
States  have  transposed  the  guidelines  in  their
national  policy;

(b) and, 

jointly  with 

in  parallel,  prepared 

the
Commission, 
that  exam(cid:220)
taking  account  of 
ination,  a  report  on  the  employment  situation  in
the  Community  and  on  the  main  measures  taken
their
by 
these
in 
employment  policy 
guidelines,  which  report  will  be  submitted  to  the
Vienna  European  Council.

implement 
light  of 

the  Member  States 

to 
the 

7.(cid:217)The  Council  notes  that  the  Commission  undertakes
to  prepare  and  submit  in  due  course  the  reports
requested  by  the  European  Council.

8.(cid:217)The  Council  notes  that  the  Commission  undertakes
to  communicate  by  15  October  1998  draft  guidelines
for  Member  States’  employment  policies  in  1999.

9.(cid:217)The  Council  affirms  that  the  social  partners  at  all
levels  will  be  involved  in  all  stages  of  this  approach
important  contribution  to  the
and  will  make  an 
implementation 
the
of 
promotion  of  a  high 
level  of  employment.  That
contribution  will  be  regularly  assessed.

guidelines 

these 

and 

10.(cid:217)The  Council  will  organise  regular  contacts  with  the
social  partners  to  allow  for  proper  preparation  of
their  six(cid:220)monthly  meetings  with  a  troika  of  Heads  of
State  or  Government  and  the  Commission.

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ANNEX

THE  1998  EMPLOYMENT  GUIDELINES

I.(cid:217)Improving  employability

- Tackling  youth  unemployment  and  preventing  long(cid:220)term  unemployment

In  order  to  influence  the  trend  in  youth  and  long(cid:220)term  unemployment  the  Member  States  will
develop  preventive  and  employability(cid:220)oriented  strategies,  building  on  the  early  identificatin  of  indi(cid:220)
vidual  needs;  within  a  period  to  be  determined  by  each  Member  State  which  may  not  exceed  five
years  and  which  may  be  longer  in  Member  States  with  particularly  high  unemployment,  Member
States  will  ensure  that:

-(cid:217)every  unemployed  young  person  is  offered  a  new  start  before  reaching  six  months  of  unem(cid:220)
ployment,  in  the  form  of  training,  retraining,  work  practice,  a  job  or  other  employability
measure;

-(cid:217)unemployed  adults  are  also  offered  a  fresh  start  before  reaching  12  months  of  unemployment
by  one  of  the  aforementioned  means  or,  more  generally,  by  accompanying  individual  vocational
guidance.

These  preventive  and  employability  measures  should  be  combined  with  measures  to  promote  the
re(cid:220)employment  of  the  long(cid:220)term  unemployed,

- Transition  from  passive  measures  to  active  measures

Benefit  and  training  systems,  where  that  proves  necessary,  must  be  reviewed  and  adapted  to  ensure
that  they  actively  support  employability  and  provide  real  incentives  for  the  unemployed  to  seek  and
take  up  work  or  training  opportunities.  Each  Member  State:

-(cid:217)will  endeavour  to  increase  significantly  the  number  of  persons  benefiting  from  active  measures
to  improve  their  employability.  In  order  to  increase  the  numbers  of  unemployed  who  are
offered  training  or  any  similar  measure,  it  will  in  particular  fix  a  target,  in  the  light  of  its
starting  situation,  of  gradually  achieving  the  average  of  the  three  most  successful  Member
States,  and  at  least  20(cid:216)%.

- Encouraging  a  partnership  approach

The  actions  of  the  Member  States  alone  will  not  suffice  to  achieve  the  desired  results  in  promoting
employability.  Consequently:

-(cid:217)the  social  partners  are  urged,  at  their  various  levels  of  responsibility  and  action,  to  conclude  as
soon  as  possible  agreements  with  a  view  to  increasing  the  possibilities  for  training,  work
experience,  traineeships  or  other  measures  likely  to  promote  employability,

-(cid:217)the  Member  States  and  the  social  partners  will  endeavour  to  develop  possibilities  for  lifelong

training.

- Easing  the  transition  from  school  to  work

Employment  prospects  are  poor  for  young  people  who  leave  the  school  system  without  having
acquired  the  aptitudes  required  for  entering  the  job  market.  Member  States  will  therefore:

-(cid:217)improve  the  quality  of  their  school  systems  in  order  to  reduce  substantially  the  number  of

young  people  who  drop  out  of  the  school  system  early,

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-(cid:217)make  sure  they  equip  young  people  with  greater  ability  to  adapt  to  technological  and  economic
changes  and  with  skills  relevant  to  the  labour  market,  where  appropriate  by  implementing  or
developing  apprenticeship  training.

II. Developing  entrepreneurship

- Making  it  easier  to  start  up  and  run  businesses  by  providing  a  clear,  stable  and  predictable  set  of
rules  and  by  improving  the  conditions  for  the  development  of  risk  capital  markets.  The  new
facilities  offered  by  the  European  Investment  Bank  combined  with  the  Member  States’  efforts  will
enable  new  businesses  to  be  set  up  more  easily.  The  Member  States  should  also  reduce  and  simplify
the  administrative  and  tax  burdens  on  small  and  medium(cid:220)sized  enterprises.  To  that  end  the
Member  States  will:

-(cid:217)give  particular  attention  to  reducing  significantly  the  overhead  costs  and  administrative  burdens
for  businesses,  and  especially  small  and  medium(cid:220)sized  enterprises,  in  particular  when  hiring
additional  workers,

-(cid:217)encourage  the  development  of  self(cid:220)employment  by  examining,  with  the  aim  of  reducing,  any
obstacles  which  may  exist,  especially  those  within  tax  and  social  security  regimes,  to  self(cid:220)
employment  and  the  setting  up  of  small  businesses.

- Exploiting  the  opportunities  for  job  creation

If  the  European  Union  wants  to  deal  successfully  with  the  employment  challenge,  all  possible
sources  of  jobs  and  new  technologies  and  innovations  must  be  exploited  effectively.  To  that  end
the  Member  States  will:

-(cid:217)investigate  measures  to  exploit  fully  the  possibilities  offered  by  job  creation  at  local  level,  in  the
social  economy  and  in  new  activities  linked  to  needs  not  yet  satisfied  by  the  market,  and
examine,  with  the  aim  of  reducing,  any  obstacles  in  the  way  of  such  measures.

- Making  the  taxation  system  more  employment  friendly  and  reversing  the  long(cid:220)term  trend  towards
higher  taxes  and  charges  on  labour  (which  have  increased  from  35(cid:216)%  in  1980  to  more  than  42(cid:216)%
in  1995).  Each  Member  State  will:

-(cid:217)set  a  target,  if  necessary  and  taking  account  of  its  present  level,  for  gradually  reducing  the
overall  tax  burden  and,  where  appropriate,  a  target  for  gradually  reducing  the  fiscal  pressure  on
labour  and  non(cid:220)wage  labour  costs,  in  particular  on  relatively  unskilled  and  low(cid:220)paid  labour,
without  jeopardising  the  recovery  of  public  finances  or  the  financial  equilibrium  of  social
security  schemes.  It  will  examine,  if  appropriate,  the  desirability  of  introducing  a  tax  on  energy
or  on  pollutant  emissions  or  any  other  tax  measure,

-(cid:217)examine,  without  obligation,  the  advisability  of  reducing  the  rate  of  VAT  on  labour(cid:220)intensive

services  not  exposed  to  cross(cid:220)border  competition.

III. Encouraging  adaptability  in  businesses  and  their  employees

- Modernising  work  organisation

In  order  to  promote  the  modernisation  of  work  organisation  and  forms  of  work:

-(cid:217)the  social  partners  are  invited  to  negotiate,  at  the  appropriate  levels,  in  particular  at  sectoral
and  enterprise  levels,  agreements  to  modernise  the  organisation  of  work,  including  flexible
working  arrangements,  with  the  aim  of  making  undertakings  productive  and  competitive  and

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achieving  the  required  balance  between  flexibility  and  security.  Such  agreements  may,  for
example,  cover  the  expression  of  working  time  as  an  annual  figure,  the  reduction  of  working
hours,  the  reduction  of  overtime,  the  development  of  part(cid:220)time,  lifelong  training  and  career
breaks,

-(cid:217)for  its  part,  each  Member  State  will  examine  the  possibility  of  incorporating  in  its  law  more
adaptable  types  of  contract,  taking  into  account  the  fact  that  forms  of  employment  are
increasingly  diverse.  Those  working  under  contracts  of  this  kind  should  at  the  same  time  enjoy
adequate  security  and  higher  occupational  status,  compatible  with  the  needs  of  business.

- Support  adaptability  in  enterprises

In  order  to  renew  skill  levels  within  enterprises  Member  States  will:

-(cid:217)re(cid:220)examine  the  obstacles,  in  particular  tax  obstacles,  to  investment  in  human  resources  and
possibly  provide  for  tax  or  other  incentives  for  the  development  of  in(cid:220)house  training;  they  will
also  examine  any  new  regulations  to  make  sure  they  will  contribute  to  reducing  barriers  to
employment  and  helping  the  labour  market  adapt  to  structural  change  in  the  economy.

IV. Strengthening  the  policies  for  equal  opportunities

- Tackling  gender  gaps

Member  States  should  translate  their  desire  to  promote  equality  of  opportunity  into  increased
employment  rates  for  women.  They  should  also  pay  attention  to  the  imbalance  in  the  represen(cid:220)
tation  of  women  or  men  in  certain  economic  sectors  and  occupations.  Member  States  will:

-(cid:217)attempt  to  reduce  the  gap  in  unemployment  rates  between  women  and  men  by  actively
supporting  the  increased  employment  of  women  and  will  act  to  reverse  the  under(cid:220)represen(cid:220)
tation  of  women  in  certain  economic  sectors  and  occupations  and  their  over(cid:220)representation  in
others.

- Reconciling  work  and  family  life

Policies  on  career  breaks,  parental  leave  and  part(cid:220)time  work  are  of  particular  importance  to  women
and  men.  Implementation  of  the  various  directives  and  social(cid:220)partner  agreements  in  this  area
should  be  accelerated  and  monitored  regularly.  There  must  be  an  adequate  provision  of  good
quality  care  for  children  and  other  dependants  in  order  to  support  women’s  and  men’s  entry  and
continued  participation  in  the  labour  market.  The  Member  States  will:

-(cid:217)strive  to  raise  levels  of  access  to  care  services  where  some  needs  are  not  met.

- Facilitating  return  to  work

The  Member  States  will:

-(cid:217)give  specific  attention  to  women,  and  men,  considering  a  return  to  the  paid  workforce  after  an
absence  and,  to  that  end,  they  will  examine  the  means  of  gradually  eliminating  the  obstacles  in
the  way  of  such  return.

- Promoting  the  integration  of  people  with  disabilities  into  working  life

The  Member  States  will:

-(cid:217)give  special  attention  to  the  problems  people  with  disabilities  may  encounter  in  participating  in

working  life.