Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:the Communication from the Commission on the European social dialogue, a force for innovation and change, andthe Proposal for a Council Decision establishing a Tripartite Social Summit for Growth and Employment
Date: 2002-11-20
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: economic and social cohesion, employment policy, governance, social dialogue, social dialogue (EU), social partners

26.3.2003

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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 on the European social dialogue, a force for

innovation and change’, and

— the ‘Proposal for a Council Decision establishing a Tripartite Social Summit for Growth and

Employment’

(2003/C 73/01)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission on the European social dialogue, a force for
innovation and change and the Proposal for a Council Decision establishing a Tripartite Social Summit
for Growth and Employment (COM(2002) 341 final — 2002/0136 (COD));

having regard to the Decision of the European Commission of 27 March 2002 to consult it on this
matter, under the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

having regard to the Decision of its President of 7 May 2002 to instruct the Commission for Economic
and Social Policy to draw up an Opinion on this subject;

having regard to the Communication from the Commission adopting and promoting social dialogue at
Community level, and Draft Council Decision amending Decision 70/532/EEC setting up the Standing
Committee on Employment in the European Communities COM(98) 322 final);

having regard to the European Governance: a white paper (COM(2001) 428 final);

having regard to its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission adopting and promoting
social dialogue at Community level, and Draft Council Decision amending Decision 70/532/EEC setting
up the Standing Committee on Employment in the European Communities (CdR 343/98 fin) (1);

having regard to its Opinion on European Governance: a White Paper (CdR 103/2001 fin) (2);

having regard to its Draft Opinion (CdR 250/2002 rev.) adopted on 25 September 2002 by the
Commission for Economic and Social Policy (Rapporteur: Sonny Berthold, Mayor of Egtved, (DK/ELDR));

whereas it seems clear that the traditional models of governance no longer cater for the complex reality
of society today; and whereas political credibility and legitimacy are in deep crisis everywhere;

(1) OJ C 93, 6.4.1999, p. 54.
(2) OJ C 192, 12.8.2002, p. 24.

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whereas the debate on the new forms of governance must bring together the EU Member States and
applicant states;

whereas it is desirable, in terms of the future of European integration, and especially enlargement, to
present a comprehensive strategy on cross-border, inter-territorial and transnational cooperation,

adopted the following opinion at its 47th plenary session of 20 and 21 November 2002 (meeting of
20 November).

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS’ VIEWS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. General comments

Following up previous communications on European
1.1.
social dialogue,
the Commission Communication on the
European social dialogue, a force for innovation and change (1)
sets out a series of concrete measures designed to enhance
social dialogue at all levels.

The CoR sees the continuity and development in the
1.2.
European social dialogue since 1985 as extremely positive,
endorsing the view that social dialogue can be a force for
economic and social reform.

1.3.
The CoR considers the Commission communication
to be a major contribution towards clarifying the increasingly
important role which the partners in the social dialogue have
taken on under the EU’s overall strategic objectives of full
employment and greater cohesion.

1.4.
The CoR welcomes the Commission’s presentation of
possible concrete initiatives designed to enhance social dia-
logue at all levels.

The CoR intends to support the Commission’s efforts

1.5.
to publicise the results of the European social dialogue.

2. The social dialogue as a means to better governance

2.1.
The CoR entirely shares the Commission’s assessment
that it is the social partners’ capacity to enter into a regular,
autonomous dialogue and thereby to negotiate agreements
independently that makes this dialogue unique.

2.2.
The CoR agrees with the Commission’s assessment of
the influence the social partners have in civil society and is
pleased to note the favourable results of partnerships at local
level, especially in the area of employment, which have been
developed as a new form of governance.

( 1) COM(2002) 341 final.

2.3.
The CoR is convinced that the Commission’s objective
to improve the consultation procedure and to draft its own,
internal code of conduct on consultation with the social
partners will be a major contribution to improving the quality
of legislation in the EU, especially in the area of the labour
market. The CoR is also pleased to note the Commission’s
proposed initiatives regarding more effective involvement of
the various levels and greater openness in the dialogue relating
to enlargement.

2.4.
The CoR declares its full support for the Commission’s
application of the subsidiarity principle in the labour market
field as the principle implies that it is first and foremost a
matter for the social partners to find suitable solutions within
their areas of responsibility.

2.5.
The CoR has taken note of the Commission’s position
on maintaining a clear distinction between the compulsory,
systematic consultation of the social partners on the one hand,
and the consultations which the Commission conducts in its
consultative committees on the other, and the CoR agrees that
there should be no conflation of the two processes, not even
in cases where the social partners might be represented on one
of the consultative committees.

The CoR has some reservations about

the Com-
2.6.
mission’s across-the-board calls on the social partners to
improve their internal decision-making mechanisms in areas
of crucial importance for the social dialogue, as the CoR is
aware that this review process has already been undertaken or
started in the case of several organisations.

2.7.
The CoR fully agrees with the Committee that the
visibility of social dialogue and the role of the social players
should be reinforced. In this connection, it was interested to
note the Commission’s proposal to improve the available
knowledge concerning experience of social dialogue on a
territorial scale in Europe and urges the Committee to provide
that the measures adopted in this connection should especially
allow the identification and diffusion of experiences of resol-
utions on social agreement reached at the local and regional
level, in order to be aware of best practice and to provide for
an exchange of experience between the social agreement
players at both local and regional levels in the Member States.

Furthermore, the CoR is very pleased to see that particular
emphasis will be placed on the participation of the regional
and local social partners in the forum on local development to
be held in 2003.

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2.8.
The CoR has observed the need to develop and improve
Community level consultation with national authorities rep-
resenting local and regional authorities/bodies. Currently there
is no established coordination between the information,
negotiation and decision-making process operating as part of
EU social dialogue and the democratic decision-making process
in Europe’s municipal and regional boards, councils etc. Elected
municipal and regional representatives in the EU can at
present, in their capacity as employers’ representatives, obtain
information on EU labour market issues but as yet have no
genuine possibility of exercising direct influence via their
organisation, the CEMR, at EU level. It is unfortunate that the
Commission fails to treat these employers with democratic
roots in the local community — over 80 000 local authorities
and regions in the EU with more than 9,4 million full-time
employees — as a full partner in the social dialogue.

3.6.
The CoR fully endorses the Commission’s observation
that the social partners could make a major contribution to
change inter alia by committing themselves to take part in the
open method of coordination, which was introduced as a new
political instrument along with the Lisbon strategy.

3.7.
The CoR, which is heavily involved in drawing up
action plans at local and regional level inter alia as part of the
Luxembourg process, is particularly pleased to welcome the
Commission’s clear undertaking to include the field of employ-
ment in the open coordination process and thus to consult the
social partners prior to the drafting of the proposal for the
employment guidelines.

3. The social dialogue, a force for economic and social

modernisation

The CoR endorses the Commission’s positive assess-
3.1.
ment of the potential and development prospects of the social
dialogue, which may lead it to become the modernisation tool
proclaimed by the Lisbon European Council.

3.2.
Bearing in mind the need to develop the best possible
mechanisms to implement the overall European strategies
announced at the Lisbon summit, namely full employment
and the reinforcement of social cohesion, which call for a
process of change through positive management, the CoR was
interested to read the Commission’s proposal to establish a
social tripartite summit on growth and employment.

3.3.
The CoR is pleased to see that the Commission — so
soon after the 1999 review of the Standing Committee on
Employment — has met the demand made by the social
partners in their Laeken contribution that the Standing Com-
mittee be replaced by a new tripartite concertation.

3.4.
The CoR welcomes the Commission’s proposals that
the social partners be involved in the preparatory work on the
new rules for the proposed social tripartite summit and that
they will be associated with the preparation and follow-up of
the tripartite summits.

The CoR is pleased to note that the Commission
3.5.
Communication also contains a description of
the other
forums in which the social partners participate in the context
of tripartite discussions in the EU and which have developed
as a function of economic and monetary integration, the
implementation of the internal market and meetings ahead of
European Council meetings,
i.e. the Cologne process, the
Cardiff process and the troika meetings.

3.8. With regard to the Commission’s overall assessment of
the bilateral social dialogue, its development, implementation
of known legal instruments and the inclusion of new forms of
cooperation, the CoR notes the critical stance taken by the
Commission, especially in the section on the work of cross-
industry organisations in such major areas as the negotiation
and follow-up of agreements/declarations made, as well as
reporting on national implementation. On this point the CoR
would like to draw the Commission’s attention to the results
which the CEEP, UNICE and ETUC have achieved (since they
entered into the Val Duchesse agreement in 1985), through
bilateral negotiation in the form of e.g. European framework
agreements, and most recently, in May 2002, the agreement
on teleworking.

The CoR has followed initiatives to restructure the

3.9.
social dialogue in individual sectors with interest.

3.10.
The CoR calls on the Commission to continue to
monitor the development and ongoing work on setting up
new committees when the necessary conditions are met.

4. The social dialogue and enlargement

The CoR welcomes

4.1.
the Commission’s proposals
regarding the candidate countries, especially the fact that the
Commission wishes to commit itself to make full use of all
financial
instruments to increase the capacity of the social
partners in the candidate countries.

4.2.
The CoR urges the Commission to support the develop-
ment of national structures for the social partners in the
candidate countries, both across industries and at sectoral
level, because such structures are a prerequisite if they are to
take part effectively in European-level social dialogue.

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4.3.
The CoR welcomes the initiatives which the European
social partners have already implemented in the candidate
countries in collaboration with their sister organisations, of
which several have already applied for and gained membership
of the European organisation.

the proposal on technical coordination of

The CoR would once again insist that the Commission
5.5.
reassess
the
employers’ delegation in the tripartite social summits so as to
ensure that employers from the public labour market are on
an equal footing with private employers.

5. The CoR’s views on initiatives to reinforce social

dialogue at all levels

5.1.
The term ‘social dialogue’ is coming to be used for any
kind of activity involving the social partners. The CoR
therefore calls on the Commission to continue to operate clear
distinctions between the social partners’ dialogue with the EU
and bilateral dialogue conducted just between the social
partners.

5.2.
The CoR recognises and respects the role assigned to
the Commission in the Treaty with regard to developing the
social dialogue. However, the CoR would also encourage the
Commission to continue in its future work to respect the
intentions expressed by the cross-industry social partners in
their contribution to Laeken to develop a more autonomous
social dialogue and, in so doing, to set out more concrete
measures in a joint work programme to ensure that the social
dialogue is better organised.

5.3.
The CoR endorses the application of the subsidiarity
principle in EU labour market policy and sets great store by
the social partners being involved when EU legislation resulting
from a negotiated European agreement is to be implemented
nationally. The CoR calls on the Commission to examine
whether the Member States have taken necessary and respon-
sible initiatives to include the social partners in the national
implementation of such legislation.

5.4.
The CoR encourages the Commission to consider how
the CoR, which encompasses a broad range of experience with
job-creation plans at regional and local level, may be involved
in the work surrounding the tripartite social summits which
the Commission proposes to introduce.

Brussels, 20 November 2002.

The CoR calls on the Commission, after discussions
5.6.
with the social partners, to take the initiative to develop further
its ideas on the possible evolution of the social dialogue in the
longer term to a scenario where European collective agree-
ments are used as sources of law, so that this aspect can be
considered in discussions on the coming Treaty reform.

5.7.
The CoR suggests that the Commission collaborate
with the social partners to carry out studies into mechanisms
for settling disputes of interpretation arising from European
agreements negotiated and entered into by cross-industry and
sector-specific workers’ and employers organisations.

5.8.
The CoR supports the Commission’s assessment of
local–level partnerships, which can encompass whole towns
or industrial areas. The CoR has noted the Commission’s
intention to establish a dialogue with the other players in civil
society, including NGOs. The CoR appreciates that, if local
partnerships are to succeed, the social partners should be
involved. The CoR also calls on the Commission to make the
necessary distinction between these players in civil society and
the social partners, as only the latter directly represent the
interests associated with the labour market and have the
necessary capacity to enter into an independent dialogue
which may result in collective agreements.

5.9.
The CoR recommends that the Commission reassess
the composition of a series of consultative committees with a
view to exploring the possibility of giving the social partners
the same status and position as in the Commission’s Advisory
Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, i.e.
direct membership.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE