Proposal for a Council Decision on guidelines for Member States' employment policies for the year 2000
Date: 1999-12-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: action programme, employment policy, labour market, member country, report

30.5.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 150 E/53

Proposal for a Council Decision on guidelines for Member States’ employment policies for the year
2000

(2000/C 150 E/05)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(1999) 712 final (cid:151) 1999/0277(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 13 January 2000)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 128(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee,

the Economic and Social

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

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

Economic

and

the

taken by the Member States
in implementing their
employment policy in line with the 1999 Employment
Guidelines.

(6) The Cologne European Council of 3 and 4 June 1999
took the initiative for a European Employment Pact,
to
embodying
employment policy by coordinating macroeconomic,
structural and labour market policies.

comprehensive

approach

overall

a

(7) The Commission proposal

for Guidelines for Member
States’ Employment Policies 2000 (3), while recognising
the need to consolidate the framework for employment
policy, introduces a limited number of changes to further
sharpen the guidelines’ focus and aims.

On the basis of
Council of 10 and 11 December 1999,

the conclusions of

the Helsinki European

Whereas:

(8) The need for preventive and active measures should lead
to an effective integration of beneficiaries into the labour
market, and not merely provide temporarily for subsidised
occupation.

by

the

(1) The Luxembourg process, based on the implementation of
the coordinated European Employment Strategy, was
launched
European Council
extraordinary
meeting on Employment of 20 and 21 November 1997.
The Council Resolution of 15 December 1997 on the
1998 Employment Guidelines (1), strongly advocated by
that European Council meeting, has launched a process
with high visibility, strong political commitment and a
wide-ranging acceptance by all parties concerned.

(2) The Council Resolution of 22 February 1999 on the 1999
Employment Guidelines (2) has led to a consolidation of
the Luxembourg process by allowing significant progress
in complying with those Guidelines.

(3) The contribution of the Social Partners in the framework
of the Standing Committee on Employment, the Social
Dialogue and the contacts established with the troika of
Heads of State or Government and the Commission
should be taken into account.

(4) The Council adopted on 29 November 1999 recommen-
implementation of Member States’

dations on the
employment policies.

(5) The 1999 Joint Employment Report drawn up by the
Council and the Commission, describes the employment
situation in the Community and examines the action

(9) There is a need to develop skills in information tech-
computer

nologies
equipment as well as access to the Internet.

schools with

provide

and

to

(10) The role of the social partners as well as that of regional
and local authorities, and of other partners at the regional
and local level, needs to be more fully recognised in the
implementation of the Guidelines.

(11) Public employment services should play an important role
in prevention and activation as well as in the identifi-
cation of
local employment opportunities, to achieve a
better functioning of the local labour market.

(12) The implementation of Employment Guidelines may vary
according to their nature, and the parties to whom they
are addressed, as well as according to the different
situations in the Member States.

(13) There is a need for Member States, in implementing the
employment guidelines in accordance with the subsidiarity
principle, to take regional conditions into account, while
fully respecting the attainment of national targets, and an
equal treatment of citizens.

(1) OJ C 30, 28.1.1998, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 69, 12.3.1999, p. 2.

(3) COM(1999) 441 final.

C 150 E/54

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

30.5.2000

(14) The Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977
on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States
relating to turnover taxes (cid:151) common system of value
added tax: uniform basis of assessment (1), as amended
by Directive 1999/85/EC (2), provides for the possibility
of applying on an experimental basis a reduced VAT
rate on labour-intensive
services. Those provisions
should be followed up, in order to examine, in particular,
the impact of national initiatives in terms of job potential.

(15) The problem of undeclared work should be taken into

account in implementing Employment Guidelines.

(16) There is a need for further development of indicators, by
specifying national objectives and targets,
taking into
account good practice in the Member States, as well as
improving quantitative and qualitative indicators and data
collection systems for impact assessments.

(17) There is a need for a mid-term review of Employment
Guidelines during the year 2000, with a view to further
streamlining and consolidating the Guidelines within the
existing four-pillar structure.

(18) Focused national reports, supported by indicators, are a
key condition for an effective peer-group review by other
Member States and the Commission in order to assess
progress achieved by each Member State in implementing
the Guidelines.

(19) The contribution of

the European Social Fund to the
European Employment Strategy should be highlighted in
the new programming period.

(20) Sustainable development and the integration of environ-
mental concerns
in other Community policies were
endorsed by the Amsterdam European Council of 16
and 17 June 1997 and Member States should therefore
be invited to give effect to this integration within their
national employment strategies by promoting employment
creation in the environmental field,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Employment Guidelines 2000

The guidelines
appended hereto are adopted.

for Member States’

employment policies

Article 2

National Action Plans reports

the 1999 National Action Plans, the most important results
achieved and describing the
to the
National Action Plan to take account of the changes introduced
by the 2000 Guidelines.

adjustments made

These reports shall also describe how the 1999 Council recom-
mendations on the implementation of Member States’ policies
have been attended to.

Article 3

Indicators

The Commission and the Member States are invited to
continue and to accelerate work on indicators and data
collection systems with the aim of expanding and further spec-
ifying Community and national targets. Good practice from the
Member States should also be taken into account.

Article 4

Joint Employment Report

the Member States’

The Council notes that the Commission will, on the basis of its
implementation reports,
evaluation of
submit its proposal for the Joint Employment Report, a recom-
mendation for Council recommendations to Member States on
the implementation of their employment policies, if necessary,
and draft Employment Guidelines for the year 2001 in the
second half of September 2000.

and having

received the

The Council will, on the basis of the Member States’ implemen-
the
tation reports
views of
Employment Committee, carry out an examination of
the
implementation of the employment policies of the Member
States in the light of
the Employment Guidelines. On the
basis of the results of that examination, the Council and the
Commission shall, on the basis of the Commission’s proposal
referred to in the first paragraph, make a joint annual report to
the European Council
to
consider the employment situation in the Community and
adopt conclusions thereon.

in December 2000,

to enable it

Article 5

Employment Guidelines 2001

The Joint Employment Report, together with the conclusions of
the European Council, shall form the basis for the Employment
Guidelines for 2001.

By 1 May 2000, every Member State shall submit
to the
Council and the Commission one implementation report,
providing a synopsis of the major steps taken to implement

Article 6

Employment Pact

(1) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 277, 28.10.1999, p. 34.

Consistency and synergy between the Employment Guidelines
and the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines shall be ensured in
the framework of the European Employment Pact.

30.5.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 150 E/55

Article 7

Social Partners and Regional Authorities

promoting a high level of employment. That contribution
will be regularly assessed.

The social partners at all levels as well as the regional and local
this
authorities are invited to participate in all stages of
approach and to contribute, in the field of their responsibility,
these Guidelines with a view to
to the implementation of

Article 8

Addressees

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

ANNEX

THE EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES FOR 2000

I.

Improving employability

(cid:151) Tackling youth unemployment and preventing long-term unemployment

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

(cid:151) every unemployed young person is offered a new start before reaching six months of unemployment, in the
form of training, retraining, work practice, a job or other employability measure with a view to effective
integration into the labour market;

(cid:151) unemployed adults are also offered a fresh start before reaching twelve months of unemployment by one of
the aforementioned means or, more generally, by accompanying individual vocational guidance with a view
to effective integration into the labour market.

These preventive and employability measures should be combined with measures to promote the re-employment
of the long-term unemployed. In this context, Member States should pursue the modernisation of their Public
Employment Services so that they can deal with the strategy of prevention and activation in the most effective
way.

(cid:151) Transition from passive measures to active measures

Benefit, tax and training systems (cid:151) where that proves necessary (cid:151) must be reviewed and adapted to ensure that
they actively support employability. Moreover, these systems should interact to increase the incentive to return to
the labour market. Each Member State:

(cid:151) will endeavour to increase significantly the number of persons benefiting from active measures to improve
their employability with a view to effective integration into the labour market. 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:151) will review and, where appropriate, refocus its benefit and tax system

(cid:151) to provide incentives for unemployed or inactive people to seek and take up work or measures to

enhance their employability and for employers to create new jobs, and

(cid:151) in addition, it is important to develop a policy for active ageing, encompassing appropriate measures
such as maintaining working capacity, lifelong learning and other flexible working arrangements, so that
older workers are also able to remain and participate actively in working life.

C 150 E/56

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

30.5.2000

(cid:151) Encouraging a partnership approach

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

(cid:151) 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 of the young and adult unemployed and to promote entry
into the labour market.

(cid:151) In order to reinforce the development of a skilled and adaptable workforce, both Member States and the
social partners will endeavour to develop possibilities for lifelong learning, particularly in the fields of
information and communication technologies, and each Member State will set a target according to
national circumstances for participants benefiting from such measures. Easy access for older workers will
be particularly important.

(cid:151) 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:151) 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. Particular attention should also be given to young people with learning
difficulties.

(cid:151) make sure they equip young people with greater ability to adapt to technological and economic changes and
with skills relevant to the labour market. Member States will give particular attention to the development and
modernisation of their apprenticeship and vocational training systems, where appropriate in cooperation
with the social partners, to developing appropriate training for the acquisition of computer literacy and skills
by students and teachers as well as to equipping schools with computer equipment and facilitating student
access to the Internet by the end of 2002.

(cid:151) Promoting a labour market open to all

Many groups and individuals experience particular difficulties in acquiring relevant skills and in gaining access to,
and remaining in, the labour market. A coherent set of policies promoting the integration of such groups and
individuals into the world of work and combating discrimination is called for. Each Member State will:

(cid:151) give special attention to the needs of the disabled, ethnic minorities and other groups and individuals who
may be disadvantaged, and develop appropriate forms of preventive and active policies to promote their
integration into the labour market.

II. Developing entrepreneurship

(cid:151) Making it easier to start up and run businesses

The development of new enterprises, and the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is essential
for job creation and for the expansion of training opportunities for young people. This process must be
promoted by Member States encouraging greater entrepreneurial awareness across society and in educational
curricula, by providing a clear, stable and predictable set of rules, by improving the conditions for the devel-
opment of, and access to, risk capital markets. The Member States should also reduce and simplify the adminis-
trative and tax burdens on SMEs. These policies will support Member States’ attempts to tackle undeclared work.
To that end the Member States will:

(cid:151) give particular attention to reducing significantly the overhead costs and administrative burdens for busi-
nesses, and especially SMEs, in particular when an enterprise is being set up and when hiring additional
workers;

(cid:151) encourage the development of self-employment by examining, with the aim of reducing, any obstacles which
may exist, especially those within tax and social security regimes, to moving to self-employment and the
setting up of small businesses as well as by promoting training for entrepreneurship and targeted support
services for entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs.

30.5.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 150 E/57

(cid:151) Exploiting new 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:151) promote measures to exploit fully the possibilities offered by job creation at local level and in the social
economy, especially 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. In this respect, the special role and responsibility
of local and regional authorities, other partners at the regional and local levels, as well as the social partners,
needs to be more fully recognised and supported. In addition, the role of the Public Employment Services in
identifying local employment opportunities and improving the functioning of local labour markets, should be
fully exploited.

(cid:151) develop framework conditions to fully exploit the employment potential of the services sector and industry-
related services, inter alia by tapping the employment potential of the information society and the environ-
mental sector, to create more and better jobs.

(cid:151) Making the taxation system more employment friendly

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

(cid:151) 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-wage labour
costs, in particular on relatively unskilled and low-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.

III. Encouraging adaptability of businesses and their employees

(cid:151) Modernising work organisation

In order to promote the modernisation of work organisation and forms of work, a strong partnership should be
developed at all appropriate levels (European, national, sectoral, local and enterprise levels):

(cid:151) The social partners are invited to negotiate and implement at all appropriate levels agreements to modernise
the organisation of work, including flexible working arrangements, with the aim of making undertakings
productive and competitive and achieving the required balance between flexibility and security. Subjects to be
covered may, for example, include training and re-training, the introduction of new technologies, new forms
of work and working time issues such as the expression of working time as an annual figure, the reduction
of working hours, the reduction of overtime, the development of part-time working, and access to training
and career breaks.

(cid:151) 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.

(cid:151) Support adaptability in enterprises

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

(cid:151) re-examine and, where appropriate, remove the obstacles, in particular tax obstacles, to investment in human
resources and possibly provide for tax or other incentives for the development of in-house training; they will
also examine new regulations and review the existing regulatory framework 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 equal opportunities policies for women and men

(cid:151) Gender mainstreaming approach

Women still have particular problems in gaining access to the employment market, in career advancement, in
earnings and in reconciling professional and family life. It is therefore important, inter alia:

C 150 E/58

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

30.5.2000

(cid:151) to ensure that active labour market policies are made available for women in proportion to their share of

unemployment;

(cid:151) to reduce tax-benefit disincentives, wherever identified, because of their negative effects on the female labour

supply;

(cid:151) to give particular attention to obstacles which hinder women who wish to set up new businesses or become

self-employed;

(cid:151) to ensure that women are able to benefit positively from flexible forms of work organisation on a voluntary

basis. Therefore, the Member States will:

(cid:151) adopt a gender-mainstreaming approach in implementing the Guidelines of all four pillars. In order
meaningfully to evaluate progress on this approach, Member States will need to provide for adequate
data collection systems and procedures.

(cid:151) Tackling gender gaps

Member States and the social partners 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 representation of
women or men in certain economic sectors and occupations, as well as to the improvement of female career
opportunities. Member States will:

(cid:151) attempt to reduce the gap in unemployment rates between women and men by actively supporting the
increased employment of women and will take action to bring about a balanced representation of women
and men in all sectors and occupations. They will initiate positive steps to promote equal pay for equal work
or work of equal value and to diminish differences in incomes between women and men. In order to reduce
gender gaps, Member States will also consider an increased use of measures for the advancement of women.

(cid:151) Reconciling work and family life

Policies on career breaks, parental leave and part-time work, as well as flexible working arrangements which
serve the interests of both employers and employees, are of particular importance to women and men.
Implementation of the various Directives and social-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. An equal sharing
of family responsibilities is crucial in this respect. In order to strengthen equal opportunities, Member States and
the social partners will:

(cid:151) design, implement and promote family-friendly policies, including affordable, accessible and high quality care

services for children and other dependants, as well as parental and other leave schemes.

(cid:151) Facilitating reintegration into the labour market

Those returning to the labour market after an absence may have outmoded skills and experience difficulty in
gaining access to training. The Member States will:

(cid:151) 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.