Amended proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community incentive measures in the field of employment
Date: 2001-02-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU action, EU employment policy, EU financing, cooperation policy, labour market

C 180 E/182

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Official Journal of the European Communities

26.6.2001

Amended proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community
incentive measures in the field of employment (1)

(2001/C 180 E/14)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(2001) 124 final (cid:151) 2000/0195(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty on 28 February 2001)

(1) OJ C 337 E, 28.11.2000, p. 242.

INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Unchanged

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 129 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee,

the Economic and Social

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

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

(1) Article 3 of the Treaty sets out that the activities of the
Community shall include the promotion of co-ordination
between employment policies of the Member States with a
view to enhancing their effectiveness by developing a
co-ordinated strategy for employment.

(2) Title VIII of

the Treaty, and particularly Article 127
thereof, establishes that the Community shall complement
the action of Member States where necessary; and that the
objective of a high level of employment shall be taken
into consideration in the formulation and implementation
of Community policies and activities.

(3) Title VIII of

the Treaty, and particularly Article 128
thereof, establishes the procedures by which Member
States and the Community shall work towards developing
a co-ordinated strategy for employment and particularly
for promoting a skilled, trained and adaptable workforce
in
and labour markets responsive to economic change;
for
particular,
achieving the objective of developing a co-ordinated
strategy for employment and may make recommendations
the Council and the
to the Member States; and that
Commission make
to the
report
European Council on the employment situation.

the Council

guidelines

annual

adopts

joint

that

a

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

(4) The

Extraordinary

European Council Meeting

on
in Luxembourg, 20 and 21 November
Employment
1997,
launched an overall strategy for employment, the
European Employment Strategy, encompassing the coor-
dination of Member States’ employment policies on the
basis of commonly-agreed employment guidelines (the
Luxembourg process), the continuation and development
of a co-ordinated macro-economic policy and an efficient
internal market, with a view to laying the foundations for
sustainable growth, new dynamism and a climate of
confidence
this
strategy also involves the harnessing in a more systematic
way of all Community policies in support of employment,
both framework policies and support policies.

to boosting employment;

conducive

(5) The European Council of Lisbon has agreed a new
strategic goal for the Union to build a competitive and
dynamic knowledge-based economy capable of sustaining
economic growth with more and better jobs and greater
social cohesion and so to regain the conditions for full
employment. To this end, it has set a new range of targets
and benchmarks and introduced them in a new open
method of coordination at all
levels coupled with a
stronger guiding and coordination role for the European
Council, to ensure more coherent strategic direction and
it requested
effective monitoring of progress. Moreover,
that
the Luxembourg process
should give a new impetus by enriching the guidelines
with more concrete targets establishing closer links with
other relevant policy areas.

the mid-term review of

(5a) A specific strength of the European Employment Strategy
is that Member States co-operate on employment policy,
while retaining the right to take decisions appropriate to
their individual circumstances. Another strength is that
they learn from the experiences of others, including the
ways in which they involve the social partners, local and
regional authorities and the general public.

Unchanged

(6) Article 129 enables

to adopt

incentive
the Council
measures designed to encourage co-operation between
Member States and to support their action in the field
of employment through initiatives aimed at developing
exchanges of information and best practices, providing
comparative analysis and advice as well as promoting
innovative approaches and evaluating experiences,
in
particular by recourse to pilot projects.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

(7) In the past,
supported
employment.

the European Parliament has
activities

Community

in

support

strongly
of

(7) The European Parliament which has in the past strongly
supported Community activities in the field of employment
plays an important role in European employment policy
and is consulted in accordance with Treaty provisions.

(8) The European Council has determined that comparable and
reliable statistics and indicators in the field of employment
and the labour market should be defined and collected.

Unchanged

(9) Council Decision 2000/98/EC of 24 January 2000 estab-
lished the Employment Committee on the basis of Article
130 of the Treaty to promote co-ordination between the
Member States on employment
and labour market
policies (1).

(10) A financial reference amount has been included in this
the

Decision, without prejudice
budgetary authority as they are defined by the Treaty.

to the powers of

(11) Council Decision 98/171/EC of 23 February 1998 on
Community activities concerning analysis, research and
co-operation in the field of employment and the labour
market which currently provides for such activities will
cease to apply on 31 December 2000 (2).

(12) The present Decision shall provide for the continuation
and development of the activities launched on the basis of
Council Decision 98/171/EC.

(13) In compliance with Article 2 of Council Decision
1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the
implementing powers
procedures
conferred on the Commission (3), measures
the
implementation of this Decision should be adopted by
use of the advisory procedure provided for in Article 3
of that Decision,

the exercise of

for

for

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Establishment of Community activities

Community activities concerning analysis, research and
1.
co-operation among the Member States
in the field of
employment and the labour market shall be carried out in
the period from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2005.

the co-ordinated strategy for employment

These activities shall also contribute to the development
2.
through the
of
analysis, monitoring and support of actions carried out
in
the Member States, with due regard for the latter’s responsi-
bilities in this field.

___________
(1) OJ L 29, 4.2.2000, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 63, 4.3.1998, p. 26.
(3) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

Article 2

Objectives

AMENDED PROPOSAL

The activities referred to in this Decision are those
1.
the Employment
directly linked to the implementation of
the development,
the TEC. Their main task is
Title of
planning, monitoring,
the
European Employment Strategy with a strong forward-looking
emphasis.

follow-up to, and evaluation of,

In particular,

2.
it aims at fostering co-operation between
Member States in analysis, research and monitoring of labour
and promoting
identifying best practices
market policy,
information and experience,
exchanges
developing the approach and contents of
the European
Employment Strategy, and enacting an active information
policy in this domain.

and transfers of

In particular,

and transfers of

2.
it aims at fostering co-operation between
Member States in analysis, research and monitoring of labour
and promoting
identifying best practices
market policy,
information and experience,
exchanges
developing the approach and contents of
the European
Employment Strategy,
including ways of co-operating with
the social partners and relevant local and regional authorities
information
and implementing an active and transparent
policy.

Article 3

Community measures

Unchanged

1. With a view to achieving the objectives referred to in
Article 2, The Community measures will cover the following
activities:

1. Activities which, within the agreed policy aim of raising the
employment rate, underpin a more strategic approach to
employment policy in the EU through analysis and
evaluation of
framework policy
conditions, assessment of policy options and the impact of
community policies. To the maximum possible extent,
analysis will be gender-specific.

employment

trends,

2. Activities aimed at providing support for Member States
efforts
in a
in evaluating their National Action Plans
consistent and co-ordinated manner; a special evaluation
exercise will be completed by the 5-year anniversary of
the Luxembourg Job Summit, at
the first
period of the implementation of the guidelines.

the end of

2. Activities aimed at providing support for Member States
efforts
in evaluating in a consistent and coordinated
manner their National Action Plans including the way in
which the Social Partners and relevant regional and local
authorities have been involved in their implementation; a
special evaluation exercise will be completed by the 5-year
anniversary of the Luxembourg Job Summit, at the end of
the first period of the implementation of the guidelines.

2a. A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the effects of
the European Employment Strategy in general, and analysis
of the consistency of the European Employment Strategy
with general economic policy, as well as other policy areas.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

3. Activities aimed at bringing together and exchanging
experiences in Member States, both in terms of the pillars
individual guidelines, as defined in the annual
and of
the Member States.
for
Employment Policy Guidelines
Increasing this cooperation will help Member States in
developing their employment policies in the light of the
lessons learned.

in Member States,

3. Activities aimed at bringing together and exchanging
experiences
local and
regional level, both in terms of the pillars and of individual
guidelines, as defined in the annual Employment Policy
Increasing this coop-
Guidelines for the Member States.
eration will help Member States
in developing their
employment policies in the light of the lessons learned.

including at

4. Activities aimed at

the monitoring of

Employment Strategy in the Member States,
through the European Employment Observatory.

the European
in particular

Unchanged

5. Technical

and scientific work needed for developing
common indicators,
improving and completing statistics,
benchmarking
performances
and
of
the
inasmuch as this is more
information on best practices,
cost effective to undertake at Community level rather than
at the level of individual Member States.

exchange

6. Prospective analysis on policy areas of importance to the
Commission and Member States, for the development of the
European Employment Strategy, through forward analysis,
new fields of
the
employment impact of Community policies.

research and the mainstreaming of

6. Prospective analysis on policy areas of importance to the
Commission and Member States, for the development of the
European Employment Strategy, including studies on local
employment
through forward
analysis, new fields of research and the mainstreaming of
the employment impact of Community policies.

strategies and initiatives,

7. Activities

the

to support

input of European Union
presidencies to create a special focus on priority elements
events of high international
of
special
importance or of general
interest to the Union and the
Member States.

the Strategy,

Unchanged

2.
Under the above activities, attention will be paid to the
efforts of the Member States with regard to equal opportunities
for men and women in employment and labour markets
including efforts with regard to the integration of men and
women into working life on a
and
promoting family-friendly employment policies.

continuing basis,

In implementing the measures referred to in paragraph 1,
2.
the Commission shall take into account the statistical data,
studies and project reports available from international organi-
sations such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) and the International Labour Organi-
sation (ILO).

In implementing the measures referred to in paragraph 1,
3.
the Commission shall take into account the statistical data,
studies and project reports available from international organi-
sations such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) and the International Labour Organi-
sation (ILO).

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

Article 4

Outputs

Unchanged

The output of the activities mentioned in Article 3 will vary
according to the type of activity involved. They will include the
Employment in Europe report and other publications, working
documents, reports to be submitted to the Council and the
Commission (cid:151) in particular the Joint Employment Report
(cid:151), national
the
National Action Plans, seminars on employment policy or the
organisation of
international events on priority
topics or of general importance. Greater use will be made of
Internet facilities for dissemination of results (web publishing,
Internet chats and seminars) and as a tool to foster cooperation
and exchange of information.

for example in preparation of

important

seminars

1.
The output of the activities mentioned in Article 3 will
vary according to the type of activity involved. They will
include the Employment in Europe report and other publications,
working documents, reports to be submitted to the Council
and the Commission (cid:151) in particular the Joint Employment
Report (cid:151), national seminars for example in preparation of
the National Action Plans, seminars on employment policy or
the organisation of important international events on priority
Improved dissemination of
topics or of general
Internet facilities
results will
(web publishing,
for fostering
exchange of information and cooperation.

importance.
include making greater use of

Internet chats and seminars)

2a. With a view to improving transparency, the Commission
shall ensure that the evaluation of the National Action Plans for
employment and the annual employment report are made
accessible to the general public.

Article 5

Unchanged

Consistency and complementarity

this Decision and the other
(such as

The Commission shall ensure that the measures implemented
relevant Community
under
programmes and initiatives
inclusion
the social
programme and the Framework programme for research, tech-
are
nological development
The
each
consistent with
outcomes of other Community initiatives could be used as
inputs into the actions covered by this Decision, and results
from the activities mentioned in this decision could be used as
inputs in other Community initiatives.

and demonstration activities)
complementary.
other

and

The Commission shall in cooperation with the Member States
ensure overall consistency with other Union and Community
instruments and actions,
policies,
in particular the relevant
relating to research, equality between men and
activities
women,
training and
inclusion, culture, education,
social
youth policy and in the field of the Community’s external
relations.

Article 6

Unchanged

Participation of third countries (elarg)

1.

The activities shall be open to participation by:

(cid:151) the countries of the European Economic Area,

(cid:151) the candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe
(CEECs), in accordance with the conditions established in
the Europe Agreements, in their additional protocols, and
in the decisions of the respective Association Councils,

(cid:151) Cyprus, Malta and Turkey on the basis of bilateral

agreements to be concluded with these countries,

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

(cid:151) other Mediterranean countries

in the context of

the

European Union’s relations with those countries.

2.
The cost of the participation referred to in paragraph 1
shall be borne either by the countries concerned or under the
Community budget headings covering implementation of the
cooperation, association or partnership agreements with those
countries in the area concerned.

Article 7

Implementation

1.
The Commission shall
accordance with this Decision.

implement

these activities

in

The Commission shall be assisted by an advisory
2.
committee composed of
the Member
States and chaired by the representative of the Commission
(hereinafter referred to as (cid:145)the Committee(cid:146)).

the representatives of

3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, the advisory
procedure laid down in Article 3 of Council Decision
1999/468/EC shall apply,
in compliance with Article 7,
paragraph 3 and Article 8.

The representative of the Commission shall in particular

4.
consult the Committee on:

(cid:151) the general guidelines

for

the implementation of

the

programme;

(cid:151) the annual budgets and the distribution of funding between

measures;

(cid:151) the annual plan of work for the implementation of the
programme’s actions, and the Commission proposals for
selection criteria for financial support.

5.
To ensure the consistency and complementarity of this
programme with other measures referred to in Article 5, the
Commission shall keep the Committee regularly informed
about other relevant Community action. Where appropriate,
the Commission shall
structured
co-operation between this Committee and the committees
established for other relevant policies, instruments and actions.

establish regular

and

Article 8

Links to be established

The Commission shall establish the necessary links with the
Employment Committee as well as with the social partners
the activities referred to in this
within the framework of
Decision.

The Commission shall inform the European social partners at
their request of the results of its implementing activities.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

Article 9

Financing

1.
The financial reference amount for the implementation of
the Community activities referred to in this Decision for the
period 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2005 shall be
EUR 55 000 000.

AMENDED PROPOSAL

The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the
financial

authority within the

limits of

the

2.
budgetary
perspective.

The Commission may have recourse to technical and/or
3.
administrative
the
Commission and of the beneficiaries, as well as to support
expenditure.

to the mutual benefit of

assistance,

Article 10

Evaluation and Reporting

1.
The Commission shall identify performance indicators for
the actions, monitor achievement of interim results, and carry
out independent evaluations in the third year (mid-term) and
early during the last year (ex-post) of the programme. The
evaluations shall particularly assess the impact achieved and
the efficiency of the use of resources, and provide decision-
oriented recommendations for adjustments and the eventual
extension of the programme.

The Commission shall make the results of actions

2.
undertaken and the evaluation reports publicly available.

In the light of

3.
propose an extension of the programme.

the evaluations,

the Commission may

4.
The Commission shall submit an interim report on the
results of the activities to the European Parliament, the Council,
the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the
Regions by 31 December 2003 at the latest, and a final report
by 31 December 2006 at the latest. It shall incorporate into
these reports information on Community financing within the
framework of the programme and on consistency and comple-
and
mentarity with other
initiatives, as well as the relevant evaluation results.

relevant programmes,

actions

Article 11

Publication

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