2000/436/EC: Council Decision of 29 June 2000 setting up a Social Protection Committee
Date: 2000-06-29
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: European social policy, committee (EU), cooperation policy, rules of procedure, social security

L 172/26

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

12.7.2000

COUNCIL DECISION

of 29 June 2000

setting up a Social Protection Committee

(2000/436/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 202 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

In its communication ‘a concerted strategy for moder-
nising social protection’ of 14 July 1999, the Commis-
sion made suggestions for the enhancement of coopera-
tion in the field of social protection by, among other
things, setting up a group of high-level officials.

In its Resolution of 16 February 2000 on the communi-
cation from the Commission on a concerted strategy for
modernising social protection, the European Parliament
welcomed the Commission's communication and the
creation of such a group.

In its conclusions of 17 December 1999 on the
strengthening of cooperation for modernising and
improving social protection (1), the Council underlined
the need for cooperation in modernising social protec-
tion, based on a structural and permanent dialogue,
follow-up and exchange of information, experience and
good practice between the Member States.

(4)

The Council,

in the same conclusions:

— supported the Commission's suggestion to establish
a mechanism for enhanced cooperation brought
about by the work of the group of high-level officials
for the implementation of this action,

— underlined that

this kind of cooperation should
cover all forms of social protection and help the
Member States, where necessary, to improve and
strengthen their social protection systems in accord-
ance with their national priorities, and recalled the
competence of the Member States for the organ-
isation and financing of social protection,

— considered it particularly important that this new
cooperation towards improving and modernising
social protection should be a coherent action,
parallel
the European
employment strategy as well as to the macroeco-
nomic dialogue,

to, and interactive with,

— endorsed the four broad objectives as identified by
the Commission, namely: to make work pay and
provide secure income, to make pensions safe and

(1) OJ C 8, 12.1.2000, p. 7.

pension systems sustainable, to promote social inclu-
sion and to ensure high quality and sustainable
health care; and recognised that the aspects relating
to finance are common to all the objectives,

— emphasised that equality between women and men
must be mainstreamed in all activities aiming at the
four objectives, and

— underlined the role of the social partners in the
modernisation of the social protection process.

The Council conclusions of the Lisbon European Council
on 23 and 24 March 2000 acknowledged the impor-
tance of social protection in further developing and
modernising an active and dynamic welfare State in
Europe, and invited the Council to strengthen coopera-
tion between Member States by exchanging experiences
and best practice on the basis of improved information
networks, which are the basic tools in this field.

this cooperation,

To support
the Lisbon European
Council assigned certain key tasks to the group of high-
level officials,

in particular, as a first priority:

— to prepare a study on the future evolution of social
protection from a long-term point of view, giving
particular attention to the sustainability of pension
systems, and

— to be involved in the setting of adequate targets and
in establishing indicators to suport the implementa-
tion of the efforts of the Member States and the
European Union to promote social

inclusion.

It is appropriate to continue the work already begun by
the interim group of high-level officials, established
following the aforementioned Council conclusions, by
replacing it by an advisory Committee in accordance
with this Decision,

(5)

(6)

(7)

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

‘the Committee’)

An Advisory Social Protection Committee (hereinafter
1.
referred to as
is hereby established to
strengthen cooperation between the Member States on social
protection policies, in full compliance with the Treaty and with
due regard for the powers of the Community's institutions and
organs.

12.7.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 172/27

The tasks of the Committee shall be:

2.
— to monitor the development of social protection policies in

the Member States and the Community,

— to promote exchanges of information, experience and good
practice between Member States and with the Commission,
— without prejudice to Article 207 of the Treaty, to prepare
an annual report on social protection to be submitted to
the Council, reporting on policy developments in respect of
the achievement of objectifs pointed out by the Council.

The Committee may, at the request of the Council or the
Commission or on its own initiative, prepare other reports or
opinions or undertake other work in the area of its compet-
ence.

The Committee shall work, as appropriate, in cooperation
3.
with other relevant bodies and committees dealing with social
and economic policy matters,
the Employment
Committee and the Economic Policy Committee.

such as

In fulfilling its mandate, the Committee shall establish

4.
appropriate contacts with the social partners.

Article 2

The Committee shall consist of

two representatives
1.
appointed by each Member State and two representatives of the
Commission. These representatives may be assisted by two
alternates.

The Committee may call on external experts where

2.
appropriate to its agenda.

Article 3

The Committee shall elect its chairperson from among
1.
the representatives of the Member States for a non-renewable
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 Commitee 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 or her own initiative or at
the
request of at least half of the members of the Committee.

Article 4

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

The interim working party of high-level officials, established
following the Council Conclusions of 17 December 1999, shall
the
cease its activity on the date of
Committee set up by this Decision. The first meeting of the
Committee shall take place no later than six months after the
date of adoption of this Decision.

the first meeting of

Done at Luxembourg, 29 June 2000.

For the Council

The President

M. ARCANJO