2000/98/EC: Council Decision of 24 January 2000 establishing the Employment Committee
Date: 2000-01-24
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU employment policy, EU institution, committee (EU)

4. 2. 2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 29/21

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DECISION

of 24 January 2000

establishing the Employment Committee

(2000/98/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 130 thereof,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Whereas:

the Council Decision 1999/207/EC of 9 March 1999 on
the reform of the Standing Committee on Employment
and repealing Decision 70/532/EEC (2);

(6)

the Employment Committee is to replace the Employ-
ment and Labour Market Committee, set up by the
Council Decision 97/16/EC (3); Decision 97/16/EC
should therefore be repealed,

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Article 3 of the Treaty states that the activities of the
Community is to include the promotion of coordination
between employment policies of the Member States with
a view to enhancing their effectiveness by developing a
coordinated strategy for employment;

Part III, Title VIII of the Treaty establishes the procedures
by which Member States and the Community should
work towards developing a coordinated strategy for
employment and particularly for promoting a skilled,
trained and adaptable workforce and labour markets
responsive to economic change; that Title provides for
the establishment of an Employment Committee with
advisory status (‘the Committee’);

in fulfilling its tasks, which include advising and contri-
buting to the work of the Council and the Commission,
the Committee should contribute to ensuring that the
European Employment Strategy, macroeconomic policy
coordination and the process of economic reform are
formulated and implemented in a consistent and mutu-
ally supportive way;

it is desirable that the Committee and the Community
bodies involved in the coordination of economic poli-
cies,
Financial
Committee and the Economic Policy Committee, should
work closely together;

Economic

particular

and

the

in

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Institutions and functions

An advisory Employment Committee (hereinafter referred
1.
to as ‘the Committee’) is hereby established by the Council to
promote coordination between Member States on employment
and labour market policies, in full compliance with the Treaty
and with due regard for the powers of the Community's insti-
tutions and organs.

2.

The tasks of the Committee shall be:

— to monitor the employment situation and employment
policies in the Member States and the Community,
— without prejudice to Article 207 of the Treaty, to formulate
opinions at
the
Commission or on its own initiative, and to contribute to
the preparation of the Council proceedings referred to in
Article 128 of the Treaty.

the request of either

the Council or

To this end, the Committee should also,

in particular:

the Committee should collaborate closely with the social
partners,
in particular with those represented in the
Standing Committee on Employment provided for by

— promote the consideration of the objective of a high level
of employment in the formulation and implementation of
Community policies and activities,

(1) Opinion delivered on 4 November 1999 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(2) OJ L 72, 18.3.1999, p. 33.
(3) OJ L 6, 10.1.1997, p. 32.

L 29/22

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

4. 2. 2000

— contribute to the procedure leading to the adoption of the
Broad Economic Guidelines in order to ensure consistency
between the Employment Guidelines and those guidelines
and contribute to the synergy between the European
Employment Strategy, macroeconomic policy coordination
and the process of economic reform in a mutually suppor-
tive way,

— participate in the macroeconomic dialogue at Community

level,

— promote exchanges of information and experience between

Member States and with the Commission.

Article 2

Membership

1.
Each Member State and the Commission shall appoint
two members of the Committee. They may also appoint two
alternates.

The members of the Committee and the alternates shall
2.
be selected from among senior officials or experts possessing
outstanding competence in the field of employment and labour
market policy in the Member States.

The Committee may call on external experts where

3.
appropriate to its agenda.

Article 3

Operation

1.
The Committee shall elect its chairperson from among
the members appointed by the Member States for a non-renew-
able term of two years.

2.
The Chairperson shall be assisted by four vice-Chairper-
sons, of whom two shall be elected by the Committee from
among its members for a term of two years. The third shall be
a representative from the Member State holding the Presidency
of the Council and the fourth shall be a representative from the
Member State which will hold the next Presidency.

for

The Commission shall provide the analytical and organi-
3.
sational support
It shall designate a
the Committee.
member of its staff as Secretary, who shall act on the instruc-
the Committee when assisting the Committee in
tions of
carrying out its tasks. The Commission shall
liaise with the
General Secretariat of the Council with regard to the holding of
meetings.

4.

The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure.

5. Meetings of the Committee shall be convened by the
chairperson, either on his/her own initiative or at the request of
a majority of the members of the Committee.

Article 4

Working groups

The Committee may entrust the study of specific questions to
its alternate members or may establish working groups to this
end. In such cases, the chair shall be taken by either a member
or an alternate member of the Committee or by a Commission
official, appointed by the Committee. The working groups may
call upon experts to assist them.

Article 5

Liaison with other bodies

In fulfilling its mandate, the Committee shall consult
1.
management and labour.
in this context, establish
It shall,
contacts with the social partners represented on the Standing
Committee on Employment.

The Committee shall work as appropriate in cooperation
relevant bodies and committees dealing with

2.
with other
economic policy matters.

Article 6

Repeal

The Employment and Labour Market Committee established by
Decision 97/16/EC shall cease to exist on the date of the first
meeting of the Committee established by the present Decision.
The first meeting of the Committee shall take place no later
than four months after the date of adoption of this Decision.

Decision 97/16/EC shall be repealed on the date the Employ-
ment and Labour Market Committee ceases to exist.

Article 7

Publication

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

Done at Brussels, 24 January 2000.

For the Council

The President

L. CAPOULAS SANTOS