European Parliament resolution on the Commission document 'The EU Economy - 1999 Review' (C5-0081/2000 — 2000/2046(COS))
Date: 2000-03-02
Institutions: Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: EU employment policy, Economic and Monetary Union, European Union, economic policy, economic situation, institutional balance (EU), labour market, short-term economic prospects

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7.
Notes the Commission’s intention to promote women’s participation in its committees and working
groups and its commitments to increase the number of women in decision-making within its administra-
tion;

Calls on the Commission to make it a priority to improve the statistical data base to establish and

8.
maintain a full set of regularly updated statistics on women in decision-making throughout the EU;

Concludes that both men and women are necessary in the decision-making process while the special

9.
qualities of both sexes are complementary, which can only lead to better management;

Calls on the Member States to promote training for executives and leaders ) men as well as women

10.
) in order to promote non-discriminatory working relationships;

Calls on the Member States to introduce capacity development with government agencies with a

11.
view to advancing career development for women;

12.
Calls on the social partners to promote balanced participation by women and men in positions of
responsibility and decision-making and, in order to achieve this, to take the necessary steps in the recruit-
ment and professional training of their representatives in the various bodies of the social dialogue;

13.
Calls on the Commission to use the existing Treaty provisions to encourage governments to
develop and implement policies and programmes to establish gender balance in decision-making bodies
and in the bodies and delegations involved in the enlargement process;

14.
Calls on Member States to increase the number of women participating in peace-keeping, peace-
making, peace-building and conflict-preventing activities with which Member States collaborate; instructs
its competent committee to pay special attention to the role of women in these fields, and to make recom-
mendations towards the mainstreaming of gender considerations into all aspects of conflict resolution;

15.
Expects that the position defined by the European Union and the NGOs will play an important role
in the forthcoming UN Conference on the follow-up of the Platform for Action ‘Beijing plus five’ in New
York next June and that this will be decisively implemented by governments in order to fulfil their com-
mitments through concrete measures;

Instructs its President

16.
EU institutions and bodies, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

to forward this resolution to the Council,

the Commission, the other

8. Annual economic report

A5-0041/2000

European Parliament resolution on the Commission document ‘The EU Economy ! 1999 Review’
(C5-0081/2000 ! 2000/2046(COS))

The European Parliament,

) having regard to the Commission document (C5-0081/2000),

) having regard to the Commission report on the review of the single facility providing medium-term

financial assistance for Member States’ balances of payments (COM(1999) 628),

) having regard to Articles 99 and 104 of the EC Treaty,

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) having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1466/97 of 7 July 1997 on the strengthening of the
surveillance of budgetary positions and the surveillance and coordination of economic policies (1),

Thursday 2 March 2000

) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

) having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the opinion of

the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A5-0041/2000),

A. whereas the launch of the euro is a determining event in the integration process of Europe, in the
formation of its home market, the unification of its financial markets and the strengthening of its
international position, thus defining a new regime for economic policy and broader policies for attain-
ing the objectives of the Treaty,

B. whereas the control of inflation, the stabilisation of public finances and wage moderation achieved in
all Member States are positive developments which, taken together with internal monetary stability,
amount to a very significant relaxation of certain important constraints that have so far impeded
growth in Europe,

C. having regard to the risks of deflation arising from an excessively restrictive monetary and fiscal pol-

icy, which mainly pursues the objective of price stability,

D.

E.

contrasting the stabilisation of public finances with factors which might destabilise the economy as a
whole, such as excessive indebtedness of the public sector, or potential fall-out from a collapse of
overvalued capital markets,

appreciating the fact that clear signs of a renewed recovery have emerged faster than anticipated in the
European economy since the second quarter of 1999 and that GDP growth is expected to accelerate
from the close-to-potential rate of 2,1 % in 1999 to 3 % in both 2000 and 2001; if not frustrated by
adverse international developments, this trend opens a window of opportunity for the European econ-
omy to continue to increase its growth, provided that the right policy measures are implemented,

F. whereas the policy of stabilisation adopted by the Union has proven to be right and should therefore
be pursued while emphasising the necessity to make employment a priority for European policy,

G. whereas this forecast of accelerating growth of about 3 % when set against the background of the
sluggish average rate of real GDP growth of 1,9 % which prevailed in the 1990s should be regarded
with guarded optimism,

H. whereas unemployment, having reached historical highs of above 11 % in many Member States in
1997, is forecast to fall to 9,2 % in 1999 in the EU as a whole; whereas, however, high unemploy-
ment, a low labour force participation rate and the lack of flexibility in the labour market remain key
problems in the EU,

I.

recalling the Commission’s earlier estimate of 1995 that, under standard productivity and demo-
graphic evolution assumptions, a sustained 3-3,5 % growth over five years is required for the unem-
ployment rate to be reduced to around 7 % of the active population, which clearly shows that growth
alone cannot pave the way to full employment,

J. whereas any strategy to foster growth has to respect environmental sustainability, in particular the

Kyoto commitments undertaken by the EU,

K. whereas entrepreneurship, as measured by the fast rise and growth of technologically advanced enter-
prises, does not match the scientific and technological potential available in Europe and remains dan-
gerously behind the corresponding entrepreneurial mobilisation evident in the US,

(1) OJ L 209, 2.8.1997, p. 1.

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L. whereas the average cost of setting up an enterprise in Europe is € 1 600, as opposed to € 500 in the
United States, and the average time required for setting up an enterprise in the EU is 11 weeks, while
it is one and a half weeks in the United States,

M. whereas short-term economic developments in Europe coincide with the world-wide onset of a tech-
nological revolution leading to a knowledge-based global economy; these new challenges impose the
need for corresponding structural changes in economic organisation, in the labour process and in
wage-setting mechanisms, as well as a re-balancing of the relationship between the public and the
private sector,

N. whereas policy-makers will have to respond to these new developments by creating optimum condi-
tions to enable the private sector to adjust fully to these repeatedly changing economic conditions so
as to allow entrepreneurs likewise to keep one step ahead of developments ) and hence of their
competitors ) by means of innovation and creative entrepreneurship, which requires the formulation
of a new political project involving a dynamically targeted economic policy,

O. whereas a new strategic goal must involve an integrated programme of strengthening and modernising
education at all levels, of re-inforcing entrepreneurship, of initiating and/or modernising basic infra-
structure through projects of European interest conducive to increasing the productivity of the entire
EU economy,

P. whereas larger private investments in Europe must be encouraged by improvements to the investment
climate and the creation of a dynamic enterprise culture, including a structural reform of the labour
market, less red tape, improved access to venture capital for SMEs and a further opening of markets,

Q. whereas such a project can only succeed as a result of joint action at Union level, energetic leadership
by the European institutions, strengthening of solidarity and mobilisation of the vast majority of the
population and that this must be clearly beneficial to all in the context of a social market economy,

1.
States that the recovery of the European economy in terms of GDP growth and company profits is
well under way, while unemployment remains unacceptably high and income inequalities and poverty are
growing;

2.
Calls upon the Council, in setting the Broad Economic Guidelines, to formulate policies, including
microeconomic policies, designed to achieve full employment which are consistent with stable prices and a
balanced budget over the whole economic cycle;

Recalls that attainment of the objective of full employment depends on more sustained growth, as
3.
borne out by international and European experience, and that this growth must be supported by an eco-
nomic and fiscal policy favourable to investment, particularly on the part of small and medium-sized
enterprises, by a wage policy which reflects productivity gains and by a reduction in the rigidity which
still characterises labour legislation in too many Member States;

4.
Believes that an improved investment climate is instrumental to the achievement of higher growth
and recommends that the excessive administrative burden of starting and running businesses is alleviated,
that markets are opened further, and that a structural reform of labour markets is undertaken;

5.
Finds it particularly important to prevent youth unemployment and long-term unemployment; insists
that more is done to give the unemployed enhanced possibilities and incentives to find another job
quickly, including training or retraining in order to become more employable;

6.
Recognises that public sector infrastructure spending may have positive effects on private sector
activity; notes that such investment should be undertaken on its own merits, having been tested against
suitable rates of social and market return, and should not be undertaken as an instrument of demand
management, when experience proves that it may be counterproductive;

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7.
Calls on the Commission to introduce Community support measures for associations of SMEs, as a
way of improving the competitiveness and level of organisation of SMEs; such associations can provide
various support services to their members, such as credit centralisation, information and legal support
services;

8.
Requests the Ecofin Council to reconsider its reluctance to pursue energetically the improvement of
European infrastructure and in view of the progress of privatisation, of scientific advances and of techno-
logical innovation that has taken place, to update the TENs programme proposed in the Commission’s
1994 White Paper on ‘Growth, Competitiveness and Employment’ and to provide for its financing by
means of Eurobonds issued by the European Investment Bank;

9.
Requests the Commission and Council to increase their efforts to make the Trans-European Networks
connect the present EU Member States and candidate countries in central, eastern and southern Europe
and other neighbouring countries, particularly Russia and North Africa, stating that TENs are of particular
strategic importance to future growth and to integration between different parts of Europe and its neigh-
bours;

Calls on the Commission and Council to strengthen modern Information Technology Highways and
10.
networks within the programme of Trans-European Networks in order to give Europe the best IT infra-
structure in the world;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to lend active support to the scientific community and
11.
industry in the formation of a common European research space, supported by increased spending on
R&D to a level similar to that in countries with a comparable level of development;

Asks the Commission to accelerate implementation of its action plan on venture capital, integration
12.
of financial markets and SMEs, strongly encouraging the rapid development of technologically dynamic
small companies into major, world-class enterprises, and to treat the definitive formulation and prompt
introduction of a European company statute as an optional alternative vehicle for incorporation as a mat-
ter of priority;

13.
Calls on the Council and Commission to do everything in their power to render the European
patent application process quicker, simpler, more efficient and cheaper, in order to improve the competi-
tiveness of European inventions and hence Europe’s prospects for the future; insists, however, on better
provisions to secure full respect for ethical standards and consumer interests;

14.
Requests the Commission and Council to propose legislation for setting up a special European
research fund to which the accumulated unspent surplus earnings of the European Steel and Coal
Community, which will be wound up in 2002, should be dedicated;

15.
Asks the Commission to propose an Action Plan on, and thus pursue energetically, the transition
from the existing internal common market to a seamless European home market, to remove any remaining
obstacles and to ensure strict application of the Competition Policy to such a market, while taking into
account Parliament’s position on a reform of Competition Policy as expressed in its resolutions of 18 Jan-
uary 2000 on the 1998 competition report (1) and on the report on state aid (2);

Looks to the Member States to review their tax, contributions, and benefits systems in order to

16.
reduce the burden on labour as a factor of production;

Calls on the Member States to simplify the Luxembourg, Cardiff and Cologne processes, in order to

17.
ensure greater effectiveness and transparency as regards the general public;

Believes that efforts must be undertaken urgently to achieve effective coordination of macroeco-
18.
nomic, employment and social policy; calls on the Member States to develop a social convergence process
along the lines of
including European guidelines, benchmarks,
exchange of comparable data and national action plans on poverty and social exclusion;

the European employment strategy,

Urges the Commission to include proposals for resources to implement the ideas of the e-Europe

19.
initiative, especially regarding education, infrastructure and broad public access to the Internet;

(1) Texts adopted at that sitting, Item 10.
(2) Texts adopted at that sitting, Item 11.

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20.
Requests the Council to respond creatively to the Presidency’s initiative of defining a new economic
and political strategy capable of taking such advantage of the innovation process in a knowledge-based
economy so as to transform Europe into the world’s most dynamic area;

Asks the Commission and the Council, taking into account the changes in skills dictated by emer-
21.
gent technologies to introduce quantitative targets of youth training as well as retraining for long-term
unemployed workers, to which Member States will bind themselves to converge over a fixed time period;

Asks the Commission to initiate studies of the process of, and the institutions for, the negotiation of
22.
terms of employment in the various Member States in order to evaluate whether they are conducive to a
flexible labour market, which will promote employment, both in current conditions as well as in the con-
ditions of the developing knowledge-based economy;

23.
Calls on the Commission to commission an annual report on the economic and social situation in
the EU from independent European economic researchers, to be submitted to the European Parliament;
the report should also take account of the European impact of national policy measures,
in order to
improve the necessary coordination of European economic policies;

24.
Calls on the Council and Commission to eliminate the democratic deficit in economic and employ-
ment policy-making by means of an interinstitutional agreement involving the European Parliament fully
in decision-making on the broad outlines of economic policy and the economic policy guidelines;

25.
Requests the Council to take proper account of the risks implicit in the overvaluation of capital
markets pointed out in the Commission’s Report and to mandate the Commission to initiate negotiations
with the G7 Council in order to formulate appropriate policies and take prompt measures for increasing
transparency and combating the speculative element in the activities of global finance;

26.
Recognises the relationship between education and opportunities for long-term economic growth,
and calls on the Commission to urge all Member States to ensure that general educational standards are
improved, and that all children leave school prepared for life and the world of work and ready to partici-
pate in the shaping of our community;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the govern-

27.
ments and parliaments of the Member States.

9. Fisheries and environment (Bergen, 13 and 14 March 1997): second report

A5-0016/2000

European Parliament resolution on the second report from the Commission to the Council and the
European Parliament on the implementation of the ‘statement of conclusions from the intermedi-
ate ministerial meeting on the integration of fisheries and environmental issues, 13 and 14 March
1997 in Bergen’ (COM(1999) 270 ! C5-0156/1999 ! 1999/2150(COS))

The European Parliament,

) having regard to the Commission’s second report

to the Council and European Parliament

(COM(1999) 270 ) C5-0156/1999),

) having regard to the conclusions of the intermediate ministerial meeting on the integration of fisheries

and environmental issues held on 13 and 14 March 1997 in Bergen,

) having regard to its resolution of 10 March 1999 (1) on the communication from the Commission to
the Council and the European Parliament: report on the implementation of the ‘statement of conclu-
sions from the intermediate ministerial meeting on the integration of fisheries and environmental
issues, 13 and 14 March 1997 in Bergen’ (COM(1998) 326 ) C4-0495/1998),

(1) OJ C 175, 21.6.1999, p. 104.