2.  European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication on the Draft Joint Employment Report 2001 (COM(2001) 438 - C5-0423/2001 - 2001/2168(COS))
Date: 2001-10-24
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU Member State, EU employment policy, employment policy, entrepreneurship, gender equality, job creation, labour flexibility, labour market, vocational training

9.5.2002

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Wednesday 24 October 2001

2.
European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication on the Draft Joint Employ-
ment Report 2001 (COM(2001) 438 # C5-0423/2001 # 2001/2168(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2001) 438 (cid:1) C5-0423/2001),

(cid:1) having regard to the proposal for a Council decision on Guidelines for Member States’ employment

policies for the year 2002 (COM(2001) 511 (cid:1) C5-0498/2001 (cid:1) 2001/0208(CNS)),

(cid:1) having regard to the draft recommendations to the Member States,

(cid:1) having regard to the conclusions of the European Councils of 23/24 March 2000 in Lisbon, of
7-10 December 2000 in Nice, of 23/24 March 2001 in Stockholm, and of 15/16 June 2001 in Göte-
borg,

(cid:1) having regard to Council Decision 2001/63/EC of 19 January 2001 on guidelines for Member States’

employment policies for the year 2000 (1),

(cid:1) having regard to the communication from the Commission on Employment and Social Policies:

a framework for investing in quality (COM(2001) 313),

(cid:1) having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 128(2)

thereof,

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

(cid:1) having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the opinions of
the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities and the Committee on Economic and
Monetary Affairs (A5-0360/2001),

A. whereas, given that the Commission has adopted and forwarded to the European Parliament the
‘employment package’,
i.e. the proposal for a Council decision on guidelines for Member States’
employment policies for the year 2002, the joint report on employment for the year 2001 and the
proposal for a recommendation to the Member States, and given that a joint consideration of the three
documents is essential in order to ensure their political coherence,

B. whereas the gross national product in the European Union and the United States is forecast to grow at

a perceptibly slower rate than in previous years,

C. whereas rationalisation of the various processes involving the employment guidelines (cid:1) including the
European social agenda, the outlines of the economic policy of the Member States, the report on
structural reforms, the macroeconomic dialogue and the annual meeting of the European Council in
the spring provided for in the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council (cid:1) is necessary in order to
ensure a uniform commitment to economic policy, employment policy, sustainability and social
policy,

D. whereas in this connection it would be prudent to drawn up an ‘annual report on the economic and
social state of the Union’ containing the main components of the Commission analyses in the annual
economic report, the report on employment and the reports on competition, economic reforms and
the position of SMEs and in the scoreboard outlining progress made in implementing the social
agenda,

E. whereas the involvement of the Council of Employment and Social Affairs Ministers in drawing up
macroeconomic guidelines and the involvement of the Ecofin Council in drawing up employment
guidelines would ensure greater consistency of the EU’s economic and employment policies,

F. whereas a common approach to drawing up economic and employment policy guidelines must not
lead to a situation in which labour market considerations are subordinated to economic policy;
whereas labour market issues should be dealt with within the framework of employment guidelines,

(1) OJ L 22, 24.1.2001, p. 18.

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G. having regard to quantitative targets adopted by the European Councils of Lisbon, Stockholm and

Nice, and which are strongly supported by the European Parliament,

General economic background

1.
Takes the view that the social market economy which forms the basis of a proven economic and
social system combining freedom and responsibility provides the right framework for the European
Union’s economic policy; considers that the social market economy should therefore be adopted as the
norm with regard to the European Union’s economic and monetary policy and should be embodied in the
Treaty at the forthcoming intergovernmental conference;

Points out that price stability, sound budgetary policies and resulting low long-term interest rates
2.
stimulate investment and hence generate sustainable employment; accordingly takes the view that the
provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact should be steadfastly adhered to;

3.
Stresses that competition between companies is central to the social market economy; points out,
however, that this can only have positive social consequences if it is not distorted as a result of monopolies
and concerted practices or by inappropriate state aids; supports therefore the European Union’s competi-
tion policy; takes the view, however, that, with a view to the upcoming intergovernmental conference,
democratic control through the codecision procedure remains necessary when general competition policy
rules are established;

Guidelines for the year 2002

Horizontal objectives

4.
Confirms that full employment is a priority objective of the economic, employment and social policy
strategy pursued by the EU and stresses that this objective can only be attained if, in addition to compre-
hensive and effective implementation of the policies incorporated in the four pillars of the Luxembourg
strategy, there is also an efficient and coherent macroeconomic policy mix, progress in structural reforms,
investments in training and further education, research and innovation to promote the competitiveness of
the system, a regulatory climate conducive to entrepreneurship and an active social state to develop
policies based on integration and that will protect the weaker elements in society;

5.
Insists on the need to adopt European and national targets linked to precise indicators to measure
and monitor Member States’ performance in implementing the Employment Guidelines; points out that it
would be appropriate in some cases to adopt concrete quantitative targets to monitor not only policy goals
but also the measures and the financial means to reach such goals;

6.
Supports the intention of the Council Presidency to scrutinise all employment policy measures to
determine whether they contribute to improvements in the quality of employment, both with reference
to the specific characteristics of the work performed and in the context of the labour market and the
workplace (in other words, introducing quality mainstreaming), and welcomes the introduction of a new
horizontal objective with the same title in the guidelines; calls for the concept of ‘quality’ rapidly to be put
into practice by way of European and national indicators;

Calls for overall consistency with the above objective to be guaranteed in relation to other European
7.
Union instruments and initiatives (directives, open coordination, social dialogue and individual pro-
grammes, in particular those falling within the scope of the ESF);

First Pillar: Improving employability

8.
Endorses the call to the Member States to promote the access of more people to training and further
vocational training and to ensure lifelong education; reiterates the need to set quantitative objectives, to
encourage training in entrepreneurship and deadlines within which training opportunities should be
offered to unemployed persons;

9.
Calls on the Commission and the Member States to draw up comparative statistics on the qualitative
structure of the various forms of part-time working and partial unemployment and to assess the specific
consequences of active employment policies in terms of social inclusion or social exclusion;

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10.
Calls on Member States fundamentally to assess their policy on employability in relation to the
long-term character of the measures adopted and the quality of individual trajectories leading to entry to
the labour market;

Wednesday 24 October 2001

11.
Proposes, in this connection, that Member States should give each employee and job seeker a legal
right to vocational further training; urges the Member States to create an appropriate legal framework for
this right in consultation with the social partners; calls on the social partners to negotiate on a European
framework agreement;

12.
Endorses the Commission’s call on Member States to facilitate the access of women to lifelong
learning and in particular to IT training, and to promote participation by women in all levels of education
and training; stresses in this respect the need to establish national targets for female participation rates in
all levels of education and training; invites therefore the Member States to evaluate regularly the impact of
their policies in this field; recalls the decision of the Stockholm Summit that special attention must be
given to encouraging women to engage in scientific and technical studies, and calls therefore on the
Commission to investigate the reasons for the discrepancy between the number of women graduating in
scientific disciplines and the number who are successful in obtaining professional posts.

13.
Endorses the proposal for guidelines for promoting the continued presence or reinsertion of older
employees in the labour market, offering incentives and improving the framework conditions, using a
including opportunities for continuing education and re-training and
coordinated set of instruments,
experimenting with flexible working arrangements and introducing models of part-time working for
older workers; welcomes in this connection the specific target of the European Council to increase the
employment rate among older workers to 50 %; considers that the above must be done in consultation
with the social partners and by making use of a coordinated package of instruments;

14. Welcomes the guideline aimed at combating all forms of discrimination in access to general and
vocational training; calls on the Council, the Commission and the Member States to adopt appropriate
measures to safeguard the application of EU policy promoting the vocational and social integration of
immigrants, particularly women, who face problems with access to the labour market;

15. Welcomes any measure designed to promote geographical mobility, provided this is based on the
voluntary decision of the worker, taking into account that the priority should be the commitment to
reduce regional imbalances;

16.
Calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt specific policies and measures towards
economic and social cohesion in regions whose development is lagging behind or regions with areas facing
structural difficulties, aimed at increasing investments in infrastructures, in supporting SMEs, research and
development, training and life-long learning, and at reducing non-wage labour costs;

Second Pillar: Development of entrepreneurship and job creation

17.
Calls on the Member States to carry out more stringent controls on moonlighting; calls on the
Commission and the Council to further extend the guideline containing measures to combat unofficial
employment; suggests that it should contain practical measures concerning tax and social security systems
as possible incentives for transforming these irregular forms of employment into official employment;
considers that all measures in the Member States should be taken in consultation with the social partners;

Calls on the Member States in cooperation with employers’ organisations to publicise the signifi-

18.
cance of independent activity on a voluntary basis and responsible entrepreneurship;

19.
Calls on the Member States to support job creation in the non-profit sector, the social economy,
ecological production and services, local and regional employment initiatives more strongly; calls on the
Commission to give this aspect of the second pillar of the European Employment Strategy much higher
priority;

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20.
Encourages the Member States to promote closer cooperation between undertakings and univer-
sities, in order to ensure more efficient knowledge transfer, to initiate rapid entrepreneurial innovation
and to enhance competitiveness;

21.
Takes the view that today knowledge is the key to prosperity and employment and that investment
in education, research and development is therefore of fundamental importance; considers therefore it
necessary to improve also, as a matter of urgency, the framework conditions for private investment in
research and development, for example through the creation of a Europe-wide and affordable patent;

22.
Considers it essential to ensure that small and medium-sized companies, which employ two-thirds
of the total work force, have easier access to funding and urges that the directive regarding the capital and
reserves of banks (Basle II) drawn up by the Basle Banking Supervisory Committee should not lead to more
costly credit terms for small and medium-sized businesses;

23. With a view to reducing taxes affecting labour, calls on the Member States to make greater use of
the possibility of applying reduced VAT rates to labour-intensive services, for example the catering and
crafts sector;

Takes the view that tax and welfare benefit arrangements must be such as to stimulate active job-

24.
seeking;

25.
Strongly supports the Commission’s call to Member States to review tax and benefit disincentives
which have a negative impact on women’s participation in the labour market, and to pay attention to
obstacles which hinder women who wish to set up businesses and become self-employed; stresses, in this
respect, the importance, not merely of reviewing, but of adopting specific measures aiming to support and
encourage these women by:

(a)

reducing burdens on businesses at the start-up stage and simplifying the formal procedures required,

(b) establishing funds to stimulate the establishment of new businesses, and offer advice, training courses
and technical assistance, as well as extending such assistance to businesses where there is scope for
further development of investment, and

(c) making it easier at local level for women to obtain access to and information about existing subsidised

programmes;

Third Pillar: Promoting the adaptability of undertakings and their employees

26.
Calls on the social partners to negotiate agreements to modernise labour organisations at all appro-
priate levels (European, national, sectoral, local and company levels); considers such agreements to be a
means to increase both the quality of a job and the competitiveness of the undertakings concerned; takes
the view that such agreements should consider all possible forms of working hours and labour organi-
sation;

27.
Considers that more flexible forms of employment contracts are only acceptable if they give
workers sufficient security; points in this connection to the positive contribution which temporary employ-
ment agencies can make, providing that activities are regulated and regularly monitored so as to provide
workers with sufficient protection; calls also on the Commission to submit a proposal for a directive based
on the principle that temporary workers should receive the same treatment as those in regular employ-
ment with the firms making use of their services;

28.
Urges a constructive interpretation of the concept of ‘flexibility’ whereby it would be made easier
for workers to combine work, training and private life more effectively with each other; calls on the
Commission and the social partners to engage in a searching exchange of views in that connection;

29.
Calls on the Member States to carry out more consistent controls on the application of health and
labour prevention and protection rules; calls therefore on the Member States to lay down specific quanti-
tative objectives to reduce the number of industrial accidents and the incidence of occupational diseases,
with reference not only to traditional risks, but also to new ones such as stress, burn-out syndrome and
muscular skeletal disorders;

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Fourth Pillar: Strengthening measures to promote equal opportunities for men and women

Wednesday 24 October 2001

30.
Highlights that the average employment rate for women is more than 18 percentage points below
the male rate, that labour market segregation remains large, and that women are paid on average 76 % of
men’s hourly wages; regrets therefore that Member States in 2001 placed less emphasis on the Equal
Opportunities Pillar in their NAPs compared to the previous year, and that a coherent and comprehensive
strategy for the implementation of gender mainstreaming across all four Pillars is still lacking in many
Member States;

31.
Highlights that women are over-represented in part-time, precarious and low-skills positions; sup-
ports in this respect the new objective across all the Pillars of the Guidelines to promote high-quality jobs;
regrets, however, that the Guideline proposal does not specifically discuss actions to give women a more
varied range of employment choices, with better wages and with all their rights being guaranteed; calls in
this respect on the Member States to step up actions to create better jobs, better working conditions, and
higher job satisfaction among women, which will dissuade them from giving up their jobs which, fre-
quently, places themselves in social isolation.

32.
Is encouraged by the innovative approaches adopted by some Member States to diminish gender
segregation in the employment market, but regrets that there are no improvements in gender segregation
from last year and that there are hardly any new initiatives to increase women’s participation in decision-
making; calls in this respect, for regulations on positive measures to secure full equality of women and
men in working life, by providing for specific advantages to increase the proportion of the under-repre-
sented sex in each profession;

33.
Calls specifically for measures to be taken by the Member States, where appropriate in consultation
with the social partners, to implement the principle of equal pay for equal (or equivalent work) without
delay; hopes that Member States will be urged more explicitly to introduce national quantitative objectives
and target dates for reducing pay differentials between men and women; calls for European targets also to
be laid down to close the gender wage-gap and dismantle other features of marginalisation on the labour
market;

Emphasises that the social partners must take an active role in promoting gender equality in the

34.
labour market; calls therefore upon the social partners to:

(a) promote the capacity of women workers to organise and protect their rights,

(b) devote much more effort to tackling the gender pay gap, inter alia by ensuring that there is greater

transparency as regards wage base determination, and

(c)

ensure a balanced participation of women and men in the decision-making bodies of the social part-
ners;

35.
Takes note of the encouraging initiatives taken by Member States to reconcile work and family life,
but considers that progress remains limited; supports therefore the Commission’s call on the Member
States and the social partners to promote family friendly working environments; points out for this pur-
pose the need for the Member States to set quantitative targets for increasing the provision of care services
for children and other dependent persons by defining specific national objectives aimed at reaching within
the next five years the average level of the three Member States with the best performance in this sector;
considers that, to enable fair sharing of family responsibilities, more emphasis must be put on family-
friendly work organisations, operating inter alia at local level, to achieve flexible working time arrange-
ments, to reinforce and reorganise public and private companies, with regard to working hours inter alia,
and on parental leave schemes and reintegration into the labour market after an absence; calls in this
respect on the Member States to ensure that parents (cid:1) women and men (cid:1) are not unfavourably treated
when seeking to combine work and family life or when exercising their rights to parental leave;

36. Welcomes the fact that Member States are urged to develop national objectives before making
available care facilities and hopes in this connection that future guidelines will be able to provide a defini-
tion of ‘European’ objectives in this area;

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37.
Reiterates its call to the Council to recognise household work carried out by a third party in private
households for remuneration as a sector of the employment market; considers that such recognition would
include introducing rules on the social entitlements of these employees, as well as regulating supply and
demand in the sector and the possibility of training;

Procedure and state of implementation

Underscores the call for an increase in political coordination in the Member States between the
38.
individual institutional players (national, regional and local administrations) and with the social partners
in preparing and implementing the Luxembourg strategy; calls, furthermore, for a public debate in the
Member States with a view to securing the participation of all the political players (national and regional)
in this strategy;

39.
Urges the governments of the candidate countries to adapt their labour market policies to facilitate
possible future involvement in the Luxembourg strategy and welcomes, in this connection, the fact that
protocols on this matter have been signed with a number of candidate countries; highlights the problem of
taking into account areas of Community policies which do not form part of the Community ‘acquis’
because they are subject to the method of open coordination but which, nevertheless, should be covered
by the accession negotiations;

40.
Asks to be fully involved in the review and evaluation of the impact of the employment strategy;
calls on the Council Presidency to seek, together with the European Parliament, appropriate forms of
coordination in order to ensure democratic scrutiny of policy areas which are governed by the method
of open coordination;

*

*

*

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

41.
ments of the Member States and the candidate countries.

4. EIB: Community guarantee against lending losses *

A5-0350/2001

Proposal for a Council decision granting a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank
against losses under a special lending action for selected environmental projects in the Baltic Sea
basin of Russia under the Northern Dimension (COM(2001) 297 # C5-0307/2001 # 2001/
0121(CNS))

The proposal was approved.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council decision granting a Com-
munity guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under a special lending action
for selected environmental projects in the Baltic Sea basin of Russia under the Northern Dimen-
sion (COM(2001) 297 # C5-0307/2001 # 2001/0121(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2001) 297) (1),

(cid:1) having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 308 of the EC Treaty (C5-0307/2001),

(1) OJ C 240 E, 28.8.2001, p. 295.