Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council of 17 December 1999 on the employment and social dimension of the information society
Date: 1999-12-17
Institutions: Council of the European Union, Representatives of the Governments of the Member States
Subjects: information industry, job creation, social situation

12.1.2000

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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I

(Information)

COUNCIL

RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF
THE MEMBER STATES MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL

of 17 December 1999

on the employment and social dimension of the information society

(2000/C 8/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESEN-
TATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBERS STATES
MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

(1) RECALLING that the Community has among its tasks the

promotion of a high level of employment;

(2) RECALLING that

the extraordinary European Council
meeting on employment of 20 and 21 November 1997,
which launched the Luxembourg process, requested the
Commission to report back to it before the end of 1998
on the results obtained and on the prospects for electronic
commerce, the development of open networks and the
use of multimedia for education and training;

(6) RECOGNISING that these representatives have exchanged
national strategies on the information society within this
forum, and received contributions from social partners,
information society industries and the disability forum,
thereby providing the basis for a fruitful dialogue which
has allowed for the clarification of important actions to be
undertaken in a timely manner;

(7) RECALLING also that the Member States, in drawing up
their national action plans for employment
for 1999,
included exploitation of the new possibilities opened up
by information and communication technologies for job
creation, employability, more flexible and adaptable forms
of work organisation and progress on equal opportunities;

(8) CONSIDERING that the Member States are responsible for
their

teaching and the organisation of

the content of
educational systems;

(3) RECALLING that the Vienna European Council of 11 and
12 December 1998 paid particular attention to fully
exploiting the potential of the service sector and industry-
related services, in particular information technology and
the environmental sector;

(9) RECOGNISING that economic competitiveness is based on
innovative use of human skills and on environmentally
and socially sustainable development and that technology
can be an excellent tool for making this happen;

(4) RECALLING that the Cologne European Council of 3 and 4
June 1999 noted that the jobs of the future would be
created by innovation and the information society, that
Europe has to take a leading role in the information
society, and particularly that all schools must be given
access to the Internet as soon as possible;

(10) CONSIDERING that organisational change and new work
organisation methods need to accompany technological
and
innovation in order
economic growth, and that knowledge is a major factor
of performance,

to generate

employment

CALL ON MEMBER STATES:

in the

the Commission communication (cid:145)Job
(5) RECALLING that
called for
information society(cid:146)
opportunities
concerted action at all
levels to address this challenge,
proposed a timetable for monitoring and benchmarking
progress made to ensure that
the EU derives the full
potential of the information age and established a forum
of high-level representatives of the Member States;

I. To maximise the job potential of the information society, in

particular:

(a) Learning and research in the information society

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1. To promote (cid:145)learning to learn(cid:146) with technology and
learning to use information, to communicate and to
innovate by facilitating student access
to the
Internet by the end of 2002, and where this is
consistent with national priorities and practices to:

working arrangements suited for the information
society, which promote innovation and productivity
whilst securing employment and a high level of
social protection.

(i) provide possibilities for

teachers to gain an
insight
into the new ways of working and
learning that are being created by information
technology; and

7. To help organisations and their workers, especially
micro and small enterprises facing major changes
the
in their business
information society including e-commerce, and
gain full and socially sustainable advantage from
the technology available in the information society.

environment,

to enter

(ii) broaden the integration of

information tech-

nologies in educational curricula.

(c) Public services in the information society

2. In the field of education, training and research, to
increase collaboration between educational
insti-
tutions and research institutes, and the linkages
between them and the world of work,
social
partners and governments.

3. To exploit fully the potential of information tech-
nology in promoting life-long learning at work
including (cid:145)learning by doing(cid:146) by encouraging
together with the social partners the emergence of
(cid:145)learning organisations(cid:146) with human resource devel-
opment at their centre.

(b) Work in the information society

In collaboration with the social partners, to make an
effort:

4. To set up new human resources policies, including
the necessary research work, which better prepare
current and future workers and management
to
meet the challenges of the information society so
as to secure and create employment and which
utilise new technologies to enable disabled people
to participate to the fullest extent in working life.

technology,

telecommunications
literacy,

5. To provide basic readiness concerning information
as
and
(both
computer
employed and unemployed) as possible; and to
update training and qualifications
to close the
existing skills gap so as to take account of new
job opportunities in the information society.

for as many workers

such

6. To develop, within an appropriate framework
for
rights
flexible

which guarantees
workers

and obligations

employers,

their

new,

and

the
to

in order

8. To develop the use of information society tools in
to
everyday relations with citizens,
efficiency and quality of public
increase
and
deliver
services,
services when and where citizens want and need
them and set-up as a matter of urgency, citizen-
friendly Internet pages with clear
site maps
providing information about entitlements, social,
services and offering
employment and cultural
links to the relevant public services.

information

public

9. To support entrepreneurship and job creation
through administrative and procedural efficiency
by using information and communication technol-
ogies, prioritising access to public information,
on-line transactions and payments with adminis-
trations,
procedures
whilst ensuring the necessary data protection.

procurement

digital

and

10. To make all public services electronically available,
wherever possible, while reinforcing the human
interface and ensuring the availability of public
by on-site
Internet
local
information society literacy training in all
communities.

access points

supported

(d) Sustainability in the information society

11. To take advantage of information technologies in
developing production and consumption methods
which protect
the environment and strengthen
sustainable ecological development while generating
related services and employment.

II. To confirm and further strengthen social cohesion in the

information society, in particular:

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12.

In order that all citizens can benefit equally from
opportunities offered by the information society, to
raise the awareness and capability of all groups in
low-
society,
in particular long-term unemployed,
elderly,
skilled workers,
the
illiterate,
and other
disabled,
disadvantaged groups.

the
and vulnerable minorities

the

13. To promote

an equal opportunities

approach
between men and women in the use of information
society tools in schools and in all levels of training
and education.

14. To support

the economy, especially micro and
SMEs, as well as non-profit and voluntary organi-
sations,
from the information society,
whilst also gaining from the modernisation of
work organisation so as
to maximise the job
potential and quality of working life.

to benefit

entrepreneurship,

15. To release the innovative capacity in Europe,
through education,
economic
and environmental sustainability and through the
in
promotion
peripheral and less favoured regions. Releasing the
human innovative capacity is a key element for job
creation and a base for social cohesion.

particularly

creative

skills,

of

CALL ON THE COMMISSION:

1. To favour the social and labour market dimension of the
the European

information society across all priorities of
Social Fund.

2. Using information and communication technologies,

to
such as European
the

(EURES) and information at

in services

increase
employment
European level.

transparency
services

3. To support

innovation through the

fifth framework
programme for research,
technological development and
demonstration activities particularly in the application of
new technologies and innovative forms of work organi-
sation in the creation of new products and services thus
leading to new jobs.

4. In collaboration with the forum of high-level representatives
of Members States, and working together with social
partners, information society industries and other groups,
in the
to report on strategies
information society,
extraordinary
in Lisbon, which will
meeting of
focus on this subject by putting high on the European
agenda the goal
(cid:145)Employment, economic reforms and
social cohesion (cid:151) for a Europe of innovation and knowl-
edge(cid:146).

the European Council

for maximising jobs

in advance of

the

5. To inform the Council on the consultations with the social

partners at European level concerning telework.

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 17 December 1999

on the promotion of the free movement of persons working in the cultural sector

(2000/C 8/02)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the first report of the Commission of the
European Communities of 17 April 1996 on the consideration
of cultural aspects in European Community action,

Having regard to the Council Resolution of 20 January 1997
on the
into Community
actions (1),

cultural aspects

integration of

(1) OJ C 36, 5.2.1997, p. 4.

Having regard to the report of the high-level panel on the free
movement of persons of 18 March 1997, the action plan for
the single market of 4 June 1997 issued on the basis of the
report, the more specific action plan for the free movement of
workers of November 1997, and the Commission communi-
cation on the follow-up to the recommendations of
the
high-level panel on the free movement of persons of 1 July
1998,

Having regard to the Commission communication on the first
European Community framework programme in support of
culture (2000 to 2004) of 6 May 1998 and the Commission
orientation decument on the explicit integration of cultural
aspects into community action,