Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the "Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Scoreboard on Implementing the Social Policy Agenda"
Date: 2002-10-10
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European social policy, enlargement of the Union, foreign policy, gender equality, job creation, social change, social security

19.3.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

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II

(Preparatory Acts)

COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Communication from the Commission to the
Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the
Regions “Scoreboard on Implementing the Social Policy Agenda”’

(2003/C 66/01)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: ‘Scoreboard on Implementing the
Social Policy Agenda’, COM(2002) 89 final;

having regard to the decision taken by the European Commission on 19 February 2002 to consult the
Committee under the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

having regard to its Bureau’s decision of 6 February 2002 to instruct the Commission for ‘Economic and
Social Policy’ to prepare the Committee’s work on this subject;

having regard to the Communication from the Commission: ‘Social Policy Agenda’, COM(2000) 379
final;

having regard to the Communication from the Commission: ‘Scoreboard on Implementing the Social
Policy Agenda’, COM(2001) 104 final;

having regard to the Committee of the Regions opinion on the Social Policy Agenda, (CdR 300/2000
fin) (1);

having regard to the draft opinion CdR 167/2002 rev. of the Commission for Economic and Social
Policy, adopted on 11 June 2002 (rapporteur: Mr Gustav — S — EPP, Member of Solna municipal
council),

adopted the following opinion unanimously at its 46th plenary session on 10 October 2002.

1. The Committee of the Regions’ views on the Com-

munication

1.1.
The Committee of the Regions regards it as very
positive that the process instigated in Lisbon is continuing. It
is pleased to note that the link between economic policy,
employment policy and social policy is highlighted and that a
European policy of solidarity is being established. The annual
scoreboard on implementing the social policy agenda is one
of the instruments for monitoring the development of this
process.

( 1) OJ C 144, 16.5.2001, p. 55.

1.2.
The Committee of the Regions welcomes the change
to the structure and content of the scoreboard made by the
inclusion of a list of planned initiatives. This gives a better
overview of the progress of work. The CoR is also very pleased
that a considerable part of the scoreboard is devoted to the
follow-up to social questions.

1.3.
The CoR regrets that the scoreboard has reached the
Committee so late: the Committee feels that the scoreboard
should be sent in good time to allow an opinion to be issued
before the spring meeting of the European Council.

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1.4.
The CoR welcomes the planned assessment of the
social policy agenda. It is important to study how far the work
on the social policy agenda has progressed and to review
possible changes in the future. This is one aspect of that
agenda’s flexibility.

1.5.
The Committee of the Regions welcomes the fact that
the key role of the regional and local authorities is emphasised
in the work on the social policy agenda. To bring Europe
closer to its citizens and to make it more democratic and open,
there is a need for continuing active cooperation on the part
of regional and local authorities, and it is desirable for their
role to be further strengthened, at local, regional, national
and Community levels, particularly in the open method of
coordination. In this way the EU would give practical appli-
cation to the subsidiarity and proportionality principles. This
also guarantees a varied approach to implementation, thereby
supporting the public in their dealings with local and regional
democracy. Exchange of experience and good practice at local
and regional level ought to be encouraged.

2. The Committee of the Regions’ recommendations on

the Communication

General recommendations

2.1.
The Committee feels that the scoreboard should give a
clearer presentation of progress made in relation to the Lisbon
strategy’s objectives. Such a presentation would facilitate
follow-up and focus attention on the practical results, besides
making it easier for the individual citizen to study the result of
the work on the social policy agenda.

2.2.
The Committee welcomes the wide-ranging thrust of
the social policy agenda, but the priorities must be clarified to
ensure that the agenda can lead to practical results. There are
still too many of them and they are expressed in too general
terms. This also impedes follow-up as well as the possibility of
interpreting the results.

The Committee of the Regions therefore proposes that the
priorities in the agenda be clarified in the review of the agenda
in 2003.

1.6.
The Committee of the Regions welcomes the evalu-
ation of the open method of coordination for which the
Commission planned in its ‘annual policy strategy for 2003’ (1).
The Commission calls for consultation with other institutions
on this evaluation and on future proposals for implementation
of the open method of coordination. The open method is
essentially one of voluntary cooperation, and it is important
for it to remain so.

2.3.
The CoR takes the view that the social policy agenda
and the European welfare model are extremely important
factors within the EU. To ensure that the development of the
agenda and the European welfare model is successful, it is
necessary for local and regional authorities to have the chance
to find the solutions which work best for the citizen. The
citizens’ values and traditions must be taken into account
before the system will be accepted.

1.7.
The Committee of the Regions considers the social
dialogue to be a key instrument, and welcomes the planned
review. The social dialogue has involved closer cooperation
between the social partners and a common platform for
exchanging experiences. It has developed into an important
part of EU development in the social sphere. However, it has
come to be a many-faceted concept encompassing a number
of dissimilar components; this is why the CoR welcomes a
review.

The CoR emphasises the importance of gradually
1.8.
framing qualitative and quantitative indicators for follow-up
and evaluation. Only indicators which are easy for Member
States to interpret should be used. The indicators should be
based as far as possible on already accessible data to avoid
burdening local and regional authorities with further data
collection.

( 1) Annual policy strategy for 2003, SEC(2002) 217, p. 7.

There are substantial advantages to an approach based on
the proximity principle and on decentralised rather than
for centralised
centralised responsibility. One argument
responsibility is that of equality, but equality is not the same
thing as uniformity. Centralised responsibility must build on
generalisations which make the response to local needs less
precise and work against commitment and the taking of
responsibility on the part of the individual. Local responsibility
strengthens the influence over the individual’s own ‘welfare’
and increases the chances of mobilising commitment and
resources.

The Committee of the Regions considers that better conditions
should be created for local and regional solutions. Local and
regional authorities shoulder the practical responsibility for
policy in liaison with the general public. The Committee of the
Regions proposes that this be dealt with in the review of the
social policy agenda.

The Committee of the Regions takes the view that
2.4.
the evaluation of the open method of coordination should
undertake a critical assessment of the overall application of
this method in the social policy agenda. The evaluation should
also pay special attention to local and regional experience
of the method’s application, especially with regard to the
implementation of national action plans. The Committee of
the Regions can contribute material on this experience.

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In many of the Member States the open method of coordi-
nation touches on essential local and regional questions in
terms of responsibility and powers. The subsidiarity principle
should therefore determine how the method is implemented.
There is a very urgent need for local and regional authorities
to be involved nationally in an effective procedure for framing
national positions and action plans and for drawing up
indicators.

All

2.7.
the employment strategy guidelines, possibly
excluding Guideline 12, concern matters for which local and
regional bodies in the majority of the Member States have a
responsibility by virtue of their different roles. The Committee
therefore proposes that the employment guidelines for 2003
should include the role of local and regional bodies among the
points for mainstreaming in the implementation of
the
European employment strategy.

The Committee of the Regions advocates the introduction of a
working method based on local and regional cooperation in a
constructive consultation process at national government and
EU level. This is in line with the Commission’s discussion in
the White Paper on forms of government in the EU (1). In
addition, it encourages lively dialogue on social issues among
democratic representatives at all levels.

The CoR has pointed to the need to develop and boost
2.5.
consultation at Community level with national authorities
which represent local and regional authorities/bodies. There
are more than 80 000 municipalities, county councils and
in the EU, which together employ more than
regions
9,4 million full-time staff. They need to participate, through
their European organisation,
in the European
consultation procedure on labour market questions. It is a
problem that these employers, with their democratic roots in
the local community, are not treated by the Commission as a
fully-fledged partner in the social dialogue. The representa-
tiveness study (2) of public employers which Louvain University
has carried out at the request of the Commission is a major
contribution to increasing understanding of this important
group of employers in the field of public enterprise.

the CEMR,

More and better jobs

2.6.
The Committee of the Regions agrees with the account
given of the employment strategy. However, the Committee
wishes to emphasise that it is important to strengthen the local
and regional dimension and to bear in mind the ‘bottom-up’
approach to the employment strategy. There is a general
feeling among municipal and regional bodies that the Member
States have retained too tight a control on regional and local
development questions. Thus it is not enough to recognise the
importance of the local and regional levels; they must also be
given the authority and tools to participate. Efforts to create
jobs must be differentiated according to regional variations.

( 1) European governance — a White Paper, COM(2001) 428 final.
( 2) ‘Institutional representativeness of local public sector trade union
and employers’ organisations in the EU’ — Final report, Catholic
University of Louvain, Institute of Labour Sciences (Project V/
001/97)

The CoR shares the Commission’s view that lifelong
2.8.
learning constitutes the tool for creating a high level of
education in Europe, which in turn would lead to increased
growth.

Universities and colleges ought to design courses in close
cooperation with industry to meet the needs of the labour
market. Cooperation should be on a reciprocal basis and form
an integral part of both education and research. Development
of skills tailored to the labour market’s need for them is one
way to reduce unemployment as well as contributing expertise
to sectors lacking in manpower. Lifelong learning for all, from
kindergarten to college and in adult education, is a powerful
force for achieving equality, personal development, democracy,
a balanced labour market and hence increased growth.

The continuing work on lifelong learning requires the involve-
ment of the CoR as representative of the local and regional
levels in Europe.

The Committee of the Regions supports the Com-
2.9.
mission’s drive to encourage mobility of labour. Some regions
in Europe are seriously lacking in manpower while other
regions have high unemployment. The Committee of the
Regions points to the possibility of using e-learning to provide
additional information on labour markets in other countries
(including language training) and thus contribute to increased
mobility in Europe.

Anticipating and managing change

The CoR endorses the objective of developing the
2.10.
Community strategy for the working environment. In that
context, it is particularly important to study not only the
physical working environment, but even more the psycho-
social working environment. The Committee of the Regions
proposes that measures to improve the psycho-social working
environment be strengthened in the social policy agenda when
it is reviewed in 2003.

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The effects of changes in the age pyramid at workplaces,
together with less flexible forms of work organisation, should
be looked at more closely by those concerned. Best practice in
the workplace and cooperation between the social partners to
develop the working environment are essential factors for
success in achieving the goals proposed in the Community
strategy.

Promoting social integration

The Committee of the Regions proposes, before the evaluation
of the social policy agenda in 2003, that this growing problem
should be tackled in the drive to modernise social protection.

Demographic trends in Europe will

2.16.
influence the
pension system, and the Committee of the Regions agrees
there is a need to maintain reasonable pensions, safeguard a
solidarity-based pension system and guarantee financial stab-
ility. The Committee wishes, however, to stress that this is a
national matter, and calls for further discussion before the
open method of coordination is applied in this sphere.

2.11.
The Committee of the Regions supports the Com-
mission’s drive to combat poverty and social exclusion. This
work is particularly important in view of the large number of
people who are dependent on social security benefit for long
periods. The CoR wishes to emphasise that it is important for
the objectives not to be specific.

2.17.
The Committee of the Regions believes that cooper-
ation and exchange of experience are important in the fields
of care for the elderly and the health and medical service. Any
attempts at harmonisation should, however, be ruled out and
Member States should have sole responsibility for provision of
health care, using their own organisational and financial
methods.

2.12.
The Committee wishes to stress the importance of
combating illiteracy as part of the drive to combat poverty and
social exclusion.

2.13.
The Committee of the Regions points out, with
reference to its earlier comments on indicators, that only those
which are easy for Member States to interpret should be used
and that as far as possible the indicators should be based
on already accessible data. The Committee would stress in
particular that the poverty and social exclusion indicators are
interpreted differently in the Member States but that it is
important to develop a set of commonly agreed indicators
bringing in other key stakeholders in the debate, such as the
Committee of the Regions at a European level and regional
and local government at national level. The indicators must be
adapted to each Member State’s requirements.

The CoR welcomes the designation of 2003 as the
2.14.
European Year for people with disabilities and will seek to play
an active role in the Year. The CoR considers that
the
opportunity should be taken during the Year to introduce a
specific Directive on equal treatment of people with disabilities,
along the lines of the race Directive.

Modernising social protection

Europe’s social protection is good — one of the best
2.15.
in the world — but there are difficulties which must be
debated. One of these is the large number of people who are
dependent on social security for long periods. At a time when
large parts of Europe are facing a shortage of manpower in
labour
several sectors,
resources to be deployed and for the social security system to
encourage participation in the labour market.

is particularly important for all

it

The Committee of
the Regions calls for a wide-ranging
discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of applying
the open method of coordination in the fields of care for the
elderly and the health and medical service. It is important for
further coordination in this area to lead to positive results. In
many of the Member States, the local and regional authorities
are responsible for public health, care of the elderly and the
health and medical service. The Committee of the Regions and
the local and regional authorities responsible for these fields
wish to participate in and contribute to the development work,
and their influence on Community policy in these fields must
be guaranteed.

2.18.
The Committee of the Regions emphasises that the
wording ‘orientations in the field of health and care for the
elderly’ must not be inconsistent with Article 152(5) (1) which
reads ‘Community action in the field of public health shall
fully respect the responsibilities of the Member States for the
organisation and delivery of health services and medical care.’

Promoting gender equality

2.19.
A sustainable society has to be based on gender
equality. There must be greater involvement of women in
decision-making, and the impact of decisions on women and
men should be assessed. Gender equality is a priority area for
both the CoR and the Commission. The CoR reiterates its call
for annual statistics to be provided on gender-balance in all
spheres of governance, and also asks that gender difference be
included as a parameter in the research and the data analyses
carried out in all the sectors covered, in order that objective
comparisons can be made and best practice be identified.

(1) Treaty establishing the European Community.

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The CoR considers that as well as gender and race, all other
social groups referred to in Article 13 of the EC Treaty should
i.e. on
be afforded legal protection from discrimination,
grounds of age, disability, religion or belief, and sexual
orientation, and calls for specific initiatives to be taken to this
effect.

Strengthening the social policy aspects of enlargement and of the
European Union’s external links

2.20.
The Committee of the Regions feels it is important to
take account of the challenges which the enlargement of the
EU can involve, especially on social issues. It therefore endorses
the work of evaluating and monitoring the social situation and
the adoption of the acquis in the social sphere in the applicant
countries.

Brussels, 10 October 2002.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:

— the ‘Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament:

Towards an integrated European railway area’,

— the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on safety on the
Community’s railways and amending Council Directive 95/18/EC on the licensing of railway
undertakings and Directive 2001/14/EC on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity
and the levying of charges for the use of railway infrastructure and safety certification’,

— the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending
Council Directive 96/48/CE and Directive 2001/16/EC on the interoperability of the trans-
European rail system’,

— the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending

Council Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community’s railways’,

— the ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a

European Railway Agency’, and

— the ‘Recommendation for a Council Decision authorising the Commission to negotiate the
conditions for Community accession to the Convention concerning International Carriage
by Rail (COTIF) of 9 May 1980, as amended by the Vilnius Protocol of 3 June 1999’

(2003/C 66/02)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament:
Towards an integrated European area (COM(2002) 18 final);

having regard to the proposals for Directives on safety on the Community’s railways, (COM(2002) 21
final — 2002/0022 (COD)), the interoperability of the trans-European rail system (COM(2002) 22 final
— 2002/0023 (COD)), amending Council Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community’s
railways (COM(2002) 25 final — 2002/0025 (COD));