WRITTEN QUESTION E-0664/01 by Philip Bushill-Matthews (PPE-DE) to the Council. Lisbon European Council and the promotion of inclusion.
Date: 2001-03-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Council, European social policy, employment policy, marginalisation, poverty, public health

C 340 E/64

Official Journal of the European Communities

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4.12.2001

2003. At present Member States are in the process of preparing these and a series of national seminars to
inaugurate the process that is being held.

(1) COM(1999) 347 final.
(2) Council Conclusions of 17 December 1999 on the strengthening of co-operation for modernising and improving

social protection (OJ C 8, 12.1.2000).

(3) OJ L 172, 12.7.2000.

(2001/C 340 E/073)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0664/01

by Philip Bushill-Matthews (PPE-DE) to the Council

Subject: Lisbon European Council and the promotion of inclusion

(8 March 2001)

The 2000 Lisbon European Council
invited (cid:145)the Council and the Commission to mainstream the
promotion of inclusion in Member States(cid:146) employment, education and training, health and housing
policies.(cid:146) What specific steps have been taken in this regard and what action has been taken at Community
level by action under the Structural Funds?

Reply

(13 July 2001)

With the assistance of the Social Protection Committee, the Council already:

(cid:129) adopted in October 2000 objectives for combating poverty and social exclusion which were
subsequently endorsed by the Nice European Council; on the basis of those objectives, the Member
States were invited to submit by June 2001 national action plans covering a two-year period;

(cid:129) adopted in October 2000 conclusions on structural indicators for employment and social cohesion,
and invited the Social Protection Committee and the Employment Committee to press ahead in the
future in a concerted manner with their work on this subject;

(cid:129) adopted in November 2000 a progress report on the future evolution of social protection (pensions),
which was subsequently submitted to the Nice European Council, and in March 2001 a preliminary
study on the long-term viability of pensions, which was subsequently submitted to the Stockholm
European Council; a more comprehensive report on the sustainability of pensions will be presented to
the Gothenburg European Council in June 2001.

During 2001, work will be initiated on the remaining priority areas of modernising and improving social
protection which were identified in the Council conclusions of 17 December 1999, namely:

(cid:129) to make work pay and to provide secure income, and

(cid:129) to ensure high-quality and sustainable health care.

As regards the Structural Funds, the Regulation on the Economic and Social Fund provides for supporting
and complementing the activities of Member States directed towards developing the labour market and
human resources in the fields mentioned in Article 2(1)(a) to (e). These concrete measures are to be defined
by each Member State in accordance with its priorities and in cooperation with the Commission, within
their respective Community Support Framework and Operational Programmes and/or Single Programming
Documents.

In general terms, the European Council, at its Lisbon meeting on 23 and 24 March 2000, referred to the
position it had consistently taken, emphasising that people are Europe(cid:146)s main asset and should be the focal
point of the Union(cid:146)s policies. On the same occasion it also stated that investing in people and developing
an active and dynamic welfare state would be crucial both to Europe(cid:146)s place in the knowledge economy
and for ensuring that the emergence of this new economy did not compound the existing social problems

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of unemployment, social exclusion and poverty. In the same spirit, at its Stockholm meeting on 23 and
24 March 2001 the Council also stressed that paid employment for men and women offered the best
safeguard against poverty and social exclusion.

(2001/C 340 E/074)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0666/01

by Philip Bushill-Matthews (PPE-DE) to the Council

Subject: Lisbon European Council and agreed indicators

(8 March 2001)

The 2000 Lisbon European Council
invited (cid:145)the Council and the Commission to promote a better
understanding of social exclusion through continued dialogue and exchanges of information and best
practice, on the basis of commonly agreed indicators.(cid:146) Have these indicators been established, and if so
what are they?

Reply

(16 July 2001)

In response to the mandate given by the Lisbon European Council, the Council has invited the Social
the goal of combating social
Protection Committee to select and develop indicators in support of
exclusion. Given the essentially technical nature of this task, the Social Protection Committee has itself
established a subgroup with the specific aim of addressing this question.

It is envisaged that the subgroup will report to the Social Protection Committee in June and November of
this year, with a view to incorporating proposals into the Committee(cid:146)s reports to be submitted to the
Council in advance of the Laeken European Council in December 2001.

(2001/C 340 E/075)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0668/01

by Philip Bushill-Matthews (PPE-DE) to the Council

Subject: Lisbon European Council and pensions sustainability

(8 March 2001)

The 2000 Lisbon European Council invited (cid:145)the Council to mandate the High Level Working Party on
Social Protection (cid:133) to support (cid:133) [social policy] cooperation and, as its first priority, to prepare, on the
basis of a Commission communication, a study on the future evolution of social protection from a long-
term point of view, giving particular attention to the sustainability of pensions systems in different time
frameworks up to 2020 and beyond, where necessary.(cid:146) Was such a progress report available by December
2000 and what timetable has been established for future work by the High Level Working Party?

Reply

(13 July 2001)

The High-Level Working Party on Social Protection presented a progress report on the future evolution of
social protection (pensions) to the Council (Employment and Social Policy) in November 2000, which
submitted it to the Nice European Council in December 2000.

This Working Party has subsequently been replaced by the Social Protection Committee, which continues
to deal with the sustainability of pensions as a main topic on its agenda.