Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Amended proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision adopting a programme of Community action (the DAPHNE Programme) (2000-2004) on measures aimed to prevent violence against children, young persons and women'
Date: 1999-04-28
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU programme, action programme, child protection, violence, woman, young person

16.6.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 169/35

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Amended proposal for a European
Parliament and Council Decision adopting a programme of Community action (the DAPHNE
Programme) (2000-2004) on measures aimed to prevent violence against children, young persons
and women’ (1)

(1999/C 169/13)

On 23 April 1999, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 198
of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 8 April 1999. The rapporteur was Ms Wahrolin.

At its 363rd plenary session (meeting of 28 April 1999) the Economic and Social Committee adopted
the following opinion by 50 votes to three, with eight abstentions.

1.

Introduction

The Commission has concluded that the appropriate
1.1.
legal base for the DAPHNE Programme — ‘a Community
action programme (2000-2004) to prevent violence against
children, young persons and women’ — is Article 129 of the
EC Treaty (Public Health), which will shortly be replaced by
Article 152 of the Amsterdam Treaty.

2.4.
As the Committee pointed out in its earlier opinion,
violence against children, young persons and women is a very
complex issue, and both causes and symptoms need to be
addressed. There are no easy solutions, either for investigating
the causes or for dealing with the resulting damage.

3. Specific comments

1.2.
The proposal has therefore been referred back to the
Economic and Social Committee. In addition to the amend-
ment to the legal base, the text of the amended proposal
contains a number of changes of wording. At its 357th plenary
session on 9 September 1998, the Committee unanimously
adopted its opinion (2) on the previous Commission proposal
(COM(1998) 335 final).

3.1.
Article 1 of the programme includes a reference to the
fact that it ‘further aims to increase knowledge and expertise
at Community level in methods and techniques designed to
prevent and mitigate the effects of violence against children,
young persons and women.’ The Committee welcomes what it
feels is a more forceful wording than that of the previous
version.

2. General comments

2.1.
First of all, the Committee would like to point out that
whilst some parts of the amended proposal are now clearer
and more structured, others are weaker.

2.2.
In changing the legal base to Article 129, the Com-
mittee feels there is a risk of downgrading the issue to a public
health problem. Violence against children, young persons and
women, and sexual exploitation are major problems for society
and do not just concern individuals and families (even though
the family situation is, of course,
in many ways, crucial).
Neither is it merely a question of personal injury. As the
Committee stressed in its previous opinion on the Daphne
Programme, it should be remembered that certain groups are
particularly vulnerable to violence and abuse, e.g. people with
disabilities and older people.

The Committee feels that

‘public health’ must be
2.3.
interpreted in the broad sense, in accordance with the WHO
definition (i.e. including physical, mental and social well-being).

(1) OJ C 89, 30.3.1999, p. 42.
(2) OJ C 407, 28.12.1998.

3.2.
The Committee believes that greater emphasis should
be placed on the perpetrators of violence, and on any initiatives
which might be triggered. In this respect, aspects relating to
the balance of power between men and women must also be
addressed, as advocated by the Committee in point 2.2 of its
September 1998 opinion.

3.3.
The Committee endorses the proposal under Article 1
to set up multidisciplinary networks, and expresses its support
for their declared objectives.

3.4.
In its earlier opinion, the Committee highlighted the
stepping up cooperation between non-
importance of
governmental organizations (NGOs) and the authorities. The
Committee is pleased to note that this has been provided for
in Article 2 of the amended proposal.

The Committee feels that

3.5.
the objective has been
narrowed in the Annex on actions aimed at raising public
awareness and the exchange of best practice. The previous
version also included the need to address sexual exploitation
and other forms of sexual abuse. The Committee calls for a
return to the previous wording of the objective in this Annex.

3.6.
The wording of the objective now includes a reference
to research programmes, which the Committee endorses. The
Committee calls for project resources to be made available for
research into positive ways of dealing with abusers.

C 169/36

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

16.6.1999

3.7.
The Committee feels that the scope for international
cooperation provided for under Article 7.2 of the Com-
mission’s proposal
is far too restricted in terms of which
countries may participate.

4. Conclusion

4.1.
In conclusion, the Committee would stress that, subject
to the above reservations, it welcomes the programme as a

whole. However, it would also point out that the scope of the
amended version is more restrictive. Clearly, there is an urgent
need to put into place measures to combat all mistreatment
such as violence, abuse and sexual exploitation; however, we
must not ignore the need to tackle the causes of violence. A
shortcoming of the programme is also its failure to regard
violence, abuse and sexual exploitation as infringements of
human rights.

Brussels, 28 April 1999.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a European Parliament and
Council Directive on certain legal aspects of electronic commerce in the internal market’ (1)

(1999/C 169/14)

On 23 April 1999 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article
100a of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing
the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 15 April 1999. The rapporteur was
Mr Glatz.

At its 363rd plenary session (meeting of 29 April 1999), the Economic and Social Committee adopted
the following opinion by 115 votes to two, with six abstentions.

1.

Introduction

For the people of Europe and for European business,
1.1.
electronic commerce can create opportunities in terms of
stronger economic growth, job creation, development pros-
pects for new products and markets, more competitive Euro-
pean companies and a wide supply of goods and services for
European consumers.

1.1.1.
However, whether electronic commerce actually has
the impact outlined above, for example on the jobs front, is
contingent on various different factors. The Committee urges
the Commission to carry out more intensive studies into this
issue, particularly with regard to employment.

1.1.2.
Benefits will be felt in particular if Europe manages
to secure a strong global position in this field, especially in

(1) OJ C 30, 5.2.1999, p. 4.

relation to the USA. As things stand, however, around 80% of
electronic commerce is, according to OECD figures, US-
generated. It is therefore vital that Europe take steps to ensure
that, in future, it can utilize the opportunities presented by
electronic commerce, rather than trailing behind the dynamic
performance of the United States.

1.2.
it is
To bring the possible benefits fully to bear,
necessary both to eliminate legal constraints on electronic
commerce and to create conditions whereby potential users of
electronic commercial services (both consumers and business-
es) can have confidence in e-commerce. An optimum balance
must be found between these two requirements. Given the
wide scope of the directive under review and its complex
interrelationship with other areas of regulation, a very careful
and responsible approach will be needed.