Proposal for a Council Decision establishing a Social Protection Committee
Date: 2003-06-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, European Commission, Treaty of Nice, advisory committee (EU), cooperation policy, social security

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 24.6.2003
COM(2003) 305 final

2003/0133 (CNS)

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

establishing a Social Protection Committee

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.

INTRODUCTION

The Treaty of Nice came into force on 1 February 2003. It provides, in the new Article 144 of
the  TEC,  for  the  establishment  of  a  Social  Protection  Committee  with  advisory  status  to
promote  co-operation  on  social  protection  policies  between  Member  States  and  with  the
Commission.  A  Social  Protection  Committee  with  similar  status  and  objectives  was
established  by  Council  Decision  of  29  June  2000  (2000/436/EC)  and  has  functioned  since
then. The purpose of this decision is essentially procedural - to establish the Committee in line
with the new legal basis. It proposes, in relation to the body of the Decision, three departures
from the approach taken in the existing decision, for reasons explained in this memorandum.

2.

LEGAL BASIS

The  Social  Protection  Committee  was  established  by  Council  Decision  of  29  June  2000
(2000/436/EC),  under  Article  202  of  the  TEC.  On  adoption  of  the  draft  Decision  now
proposed, the earlier Decision will be repealed.

Article 144 of the TEC as amended by the Treaty of Nice states:

– 

“The  Council,  after  consulting  the  European  Parliament,  shall  establish  a  Social
Protection  Committee  with  advisory  status  to  promote  co-operation  on  social
protection policies between Member States  and with the Commission. The  tasks of
the Committee shall be:

– 

– 

– 

– 

to monitor the social situation and the development of social protection policies
in the Member States and the Community;

to  promote  exchanges  of  information,  experience  and  good  practice  between
Member States and with the Commission;

without  prejudice  to  Article  207,  to  prepare  reports,  formulate  opinions  or
undertake other  work  within  its  fields  of  competence,  at  the  request  of  either
the Council or the Commission or on its own initiative;

in  fulfilling  its  mandate,  the  Committee  shall  establish  appropriate  contacts
with management and labour.

– 

Each  Member  State  and  the  Commission  shall  appoint  two  members  of  the
Committee.”

The draft Decision therefore sets out Article 144 as the legal basis for the proposal.

2

3.

PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE BODY OF THE TEXT

3.1.

Definition of the tasks of the Committee

Article  144  expands  the  definition  of  the  tasks  of  the  Committee  beyond  what  is  stated  in
Decision 2000/436/EC. It states that the tasks of the Committee shall include “to monitor the
social situation and the development of the social protection policies…” (words in italics are
new). The draft Decision uses the Treaty formulation.

3.2.

Formulation regarding the preparation of reports.

Article  1.2  of  Council  Decision  2000/436/EC  outlined  the  tasks  of  the  Social  Protection
Committee as including the following:

– 

without prejudice to Article 207 of the Treaty, to prepare an annual report on social
protection  to  be  submitted  to  the  Council,  reporting  on  policy  developments  in
respect of the achievement of objectives pointed out by the Council.

The reference to the preparation of  an  annual social protection report followed the proposal
made  in  the  Commission's  Communication  “A  Concerted  Strategy  for  Modernising  Social
Protection” (COM(1999) 347 of 14 July 1999) to this effect. In practice, meeting this demand
has  not  been  a  priority  for  the  Committee  in  view  of  other  mandates  it  has  received,  in
particular from the European Council of Lisbon and subsequent European Councils. Only one
report was produced in 2002, referring to the situation as of 2001. Furthermore, in a proposal
going  before  the  Commission  at  the  same  time  as  this  draft  Decision,  the  Commission  will
propose  new  working  arrangements  and  procedures  for  the  organisation  of  policy
co-operation regarding social protection, under which the role of the annual report would be
changed.

The  formulation  regarding  the  preparation  of  reports  in  the  new  Article  144  (see  Section  2
above)  is more  general and would  have  the  effect of  leaving  open  all  questions  regarding  a
future annual report. The Commission proposes, in Article 1.2 of the draft Decision attached,
to follow the Treaty Article in full on this point.

3.3.

Gender balance in the composition of delegations to the Committee

Article 2.1 sets out proposals for the membership of the Committee.  It is proposed  to  add a
new  sentence  inviting  the  Member  States  to  ensure  a  gender  balance  in  the  composition  of
their delegations.

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2003/0133 (CNS)

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

establishing a Social Protection Committee

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular
Article 144 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament2,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

In  its  Communication  ‘A  Concerted  Strategy  for  modernising  social  protection’  of
14 July 19993, the Commission made suggestions for the enhancement of co-operation
in  the  field  of  social  protection  by,  among  other  things,  setting  up  a  group  of
high-level officials.

In  its  Resolution  of  16  February  2000,  the  European  Parliament  welcomed  the
Commission's communication and the creation of such a group.

the  Council  supported 

improving  social  protection4, 

In  its  Conclusions  of  17  December  1999  on  the  strengthening  of  co-operation  for
the
modernising  and 
Commission's  proposal  to  establish  a  mechanism  for  enhanced  co-operation  brought
about by the work of the group  of high-level officials for  the  implementation of this
action  The  Council  stressed  that  this  kind  of  co-operation  should  cover  all  forms  of
social  protection  and,  where  necessary,  help  the  Member  States,  to  improve  and
strengthen their social protection systems in accordance with their national priorities.
It  also  recalled  the  competence  of  the  Member  States  for  the  organisation  and
financing  of  social  protection,  and  endorsed  the  four  broad  objectives  within  the
overall  challenge  of  modernising  social  protection  systems  as  identified  by  the
Commission: namely to make work pay and provide secure income; to make pensions
safe and pension systems sustainable; to promote social inclusion; and to ensure high
quality  and  sustainable  health  care.  Finally,  the  Council  recognised  that  the  aspects
relating to finance are common to all the objectives.

1

2

3

4

OJ C …, …, p. …
OJ C …, …, p. …
COM(1999) 347 final.
OJ C 8, 12.1.2000, p. 7.

4

                                                
(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

The  Conclusions  of  the  Lisbon  European  Council  on  23  and  24  March  2000
acknowledged  the  importance  of  social  protection  in  further  developing  and
modernising  an  active  and  dynamic  welfare  state  in  Europe,  and  called  upon  the
Council 
to  strengthen  co-operation  between  Member  States  by  exchanging
experiences and best practice on the basis of improved information networks.

At Nice and at its subsequent meetings, the European Council has regularly endorsed
the  work  done  by  the  Social  Protection  Committee  in  promoting  the  Community
policy exchange on social protection.

The Social Protection Committee established by Council Decision 2000/436/EC5 has
clearly  demonstrated  its  utility  as  an  advisory  body  for  both  the  Council  and  the
Commission and has contributed actively to the development of the Open Method of
Coordination as established in the Lisbon European Council.

Following  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Treaty  of  Nice  on  1  February  2003,  a  Social
Protection Committee with additional tasks should replace the existing Committee of
the same name, in order to permit the work already done by the latter to be continued.
Decision 2000/436/EC should therefore be repealed as from the date on which the new
Social Protection Committee takes up its functions,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

1.

A  Social  Protection  Committee  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  ‘the  Committee’),  with
advisory  status,  is  hereby  established  to  promote  co-operation  on  social  protection
policies between Member States and  with the Commission, in full compliance with
the Treaty  and with due regard  for  the  powers  of  the  Community's  institutions  and
organs.

2.

The tasks of the Committee shall be:

(a)

(b)

to monitor the social situation and the development of social protection policies
in the Member States and the Community;

to  promote  exchanges  of  information,  experience  and  good  practice  between
Member States and with the Commission;

(c) without  prejudice  to  Article  207  of  the  Treaty,  to  prepare  reports,  formulate
opinions or undertake other work within its fields of competence, at the request
of either the Council or the Commission or on its own initiative.

The Committee shall work, as appropriate, in co-operation with other relevant bodies
and  committees  dealing  with  social  and  economic  policy  matters,  such  as  the
Employment Committee and the Economic Policy Committee.

In fulfilling its mandate, the Committee shall establish appropriate contacts with the
social partners.

OJ L 172, 12.7.2000, p. 26.

5

3.

4.

5

                                                
Article 2

1.

The Committee shall consist of two representatives appointed by each Member State
and two representatives of the Commission. The representatives may be assisted by
two alternates.

Member  States  and  the  Commission  shall  use  their  best  endeavours  to  achieve  a
gender balance in the composition of delegations.

2.

The Committee may call on external experts where its agenda so requires.

Article 3

1.

2.

3.

4.

The  Committee  shall  elect  its  chairperson  from  among  the  representatives  of  the
Member States for a non-renewable term of two years.

The  chairperson  shall  be  assisted  by  four  vice-chairpersons,  of  whom  two  shall  be
elected by the Committee from among its members for a term of two years. The third
shall  be  a  representative  from  the  Member  State  holding  the  Presidency  of  the
Council and  the  fourth  shall be  a  representative from the Member State which will
hold the next Presidency.

Meetings of the Committee shall be convened by the chairperson, either on his or her
own initiative or at the request of at least half of the members of the Committee.

The  Committee  shall  establish  its  own  rules  of  procedure.  Expenses  shall  be
reimbursed in accordance with the administrative rules in force.

The  Commission  shall  provide  the  analytical  and  organisational  support  for  the
Committee. It shall designate a member of its staff as Secretary, who shall act on the
instructions of the Committee when assisting the Committee in carrying out its tasks.

The Commission shall liaise with the General Secretariat of the Council with regard
to the holding of meetings.

Article 4

The Committee may entrust the study of  specific questions  to its alternate  members or may
establish  working  groups  to  this  end.  In  such  cases,  the  chair  shall  be  taken  by  either  a
member or an alternate member of the Committee or by a Commission official, appointed by
the Committee.

The working groups may call upon experts to assist them.

6

Article 5

Decision  2000/436/EC  is  repealed  as  from  the  date  of  the  first  meeting  of  the  Committee
established by this Decision. The first meeting of the Committee shall take place no later than
four months after the date of adoption of this Decision.

Done at Brussels, [...]

For the Council
The President

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FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1.

TITLE OF OPERATION

Creation of a Social Protection Committee.

2.

BUDGET HEADING(S) INVOLVED

A 7031 Obligatory Committees.

A 7010 Mission expenses, travel expenses and incidental expenditure.

3.

LEGAL BASIS

Article 144 of the EC Treaty as amended by the Treaty of Nice.

4.

4.1

DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION

General objective

In  its  Conclusions  of  17  December  1999  (2000/C  8/7)  on  the  strengthening  of
co-operation for modernising social protection, the Council supported the Commission's
suggestion to establish a mechanism for enhanced co-operation in the form of a group of
high-level officials. On 29 June 2000 the Council, in Decision 2000/436/EC, established
a  Social  Protection  Committee  with  advisory  status  to  promote  co-operation  on  social
protection  policies  between  Member  States  and  with  the  Commission.  The  aim  of  the
present  decision  is  to  establish  a  Social  Protection  Committee  with  similar  status  and
objectives under the new Treaty basis, i.e. Article 144 of the EC Treaty as amended by
the  Treaty  of  Nice.  On  adoption  of  the  draft  Decision  proposed  herewith,  the  earlier
Decision will be revoked.

4.2

Period covered and arrangements for renewal

Indefinite.

8

5.

5.1

CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE OR REVENUE

Compulsory/Non-compulsory expenditure

Non-compulsory expenditure.

5.2

Differentiated/Non-differentiated appropriations

Non-differentiated appropriations.

5.3

Type of revenue involved

Type of revenue involved: none.

6.

TYPE OF EXPENDITURE OR REVENUE

100% for the necessary personnel and costs of meetings.

7.

FINANCIAL IMPACT

No impact on operational expenditure; for administrative expenditure see point 10.

8.

FRAUD PREVENTION MEASURES

Expenditure  will  be  carried  out  in  accordance  with  the  normal  administrative  rules
governing the payment of expenses of experts invited to meetings.

9.

9.1

ELEMENTS OF COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS

Specific and quantified objectives; target population

To  set  up  an  Social  Protection  Committee  to  assist  the  Council  in  carrying  out  its
responsibilities in the field of social protection, in full compliance with the Treaty  and
with due regard to the powers of the Community's institutions and organs.

The Committee shall, in particular, be responsible for:

– 

– 

– 

monitoring the social situation and the development of social protection policies in
the Member States and the Community;

promoting  exchanges  of  information,  experience  and  good  practice  between
Member States and with the Commission; and

preparing reports, formulating opinions or undertaking other work within its fields
of  competence,  at  the  request  of  either  the  Council  or  the  Commission  or  on  its
own initiative;

9

– 

working, as appropriate, in co-operation with other relevant bodies and committees
dealing  with  social  and  economic  policy  matters,  such  as  the  Employment
Committee and the Economic Policy Committee;

– 

establishing appropriate contacts with management and labour.

9.2

Grounds for the operation

The  Commission's  Communication  “A  Concerted  Strategy  for  Modernising  Social
Protection”  (COM(1999)  347  of  14  July  1999)  proposed  a  framework  for  closer
co-operation  in  the  field  of  social  protection,  based  on  the  exchange  of  experiences,
mutual  concertation  and  evaluation  of  ongoing  policy  developments  with  a  view  to
identifying  best  practices.  To  this  end  the  Council  first  of  all  established  an  interim
group  of  high-level  officials  to  carry  out  this  task  (Council  Conclusions  of
17 December 1999  on  strengthening  of  co-operation  for  modernising  and  improving
social  protection  (OJ 2000/C  8/7))  and  subsequently  set  up  a  Social  Protection
Committee  to  continue  the  work  (Council  Decision  of  29  June  2000,  OJ  L  172/26  of
12 July  2000).  Since  then,  the  Council  and  the  European  Council  have  given  regular
mandates  to  the  Social  Protection  Committee  to  address  different  policy  issues  in  the
field of social protection under the broad strategic objective  for  socio-economic  policy
established by the European Council at Lisbon in March 2000.

9.3

Monitoring and evaluation of the operation

The  Committee  shall  be  responsible  for  preparing  opinions  and  reports  for  the  Social
Affairs Council, the European Council and the Commission.

9.4

Coherence with financial programming

The measures provided for are included in the financial programming of DG EMPL.

10

10.

ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDITURE (SECTION III, PART A OF THE BUDGET)

10.1

Effect on the number of posts

Type of post

Staff to be assigned to managing
the operation

Source

Duration

Permanent
posts

Temporary
posts

Additional
resources

Existing
resources in
the DG or
department
concerned

Officials or
temporary staff

Other resources

Total

A

B

C

2 x 0.7 = 1.4

0

0.6

2.0

1.4

0

0.6

2

Indefinite

Indefinite

The existing Committee currently works with the level of staff resources outlined above.

10.2

Overall financial impact of additional human resources

Method of calculation

EUR

2 persons/years  x EUR 108 000 (unit costs). Titles A1, A2, A4  A5
and A7

Amounts

216 000

Officials

Temporary staff

Other resources (indicate
budget heading)

Total

216 000

The amounts given must express the total cost of additional posts for the entire duration of the
operation, if this duration is predetermined, or for 12 months if it is indefinite.

11

10.3

Increase in other administrative expenditure as a result of the operation

Travel costs for Member State experts will be provided in accordance with the rules currently in
force. Meetings of the Committee will be organised by the Commission in Commission meeting
rooms. Interpretation will be provided by the Commission. It is estimated that the Committee will
meet around 11 times per year and that its Indicators Sub-Group will meet 8 times per year.

It is estimated that these 11 meetings (30 participants) will cost around EUR 250 000 per  year.
The  indicators  group  will  meet  around  8  times  per  year.  These  meetings  (15  participants)  will
cost around EUR 78 000 so the total per year under budget article A 7031 will be EUR 328 000.

EUR

Budget heading

Amounts

Method of calculation

A 7031 Obligatory
Committees

EUR 328 000

EUR 650 (average cost of travel to and from a committee meeting in
Brussels) x 30 members x 11 meetings of the SPC (average number
of  meetings  per  year)  =  EUR  214  500.  There  is  also  the  indicators
sub-group which will meet around 8 time per year x 15 members x
meetings = EUR 78 000.

Note  that  two  of  the  eleven  meetings  of  the  SPC  per  year  will
probably  take  place  outside  Brussels  (in  the  Member  State  holding
the rotating Presidency of the Council). Experience shows that these
meetings  tend  to  incur  an  average  travel  cost  higher  than  the
EUR 650 figure for Brussels meetings. On this basis, one arrives at
an estimated cost of EUR 328 000 on budget heading A 7031.

A 7010

EUR 8 125

For  meetings  outside  Brussels  in  the  second  half  of  2003  and  first
half of 2004:

5  officials  (i.e.  two  Commission  members  of  the  Committee  plus
three support staff) x EUR 129.82 (average cost of overnight stay on
a  mission to Italy)  x 3 days = EUR 1 947.3 +  EUR  1 200  (i.e.  5  x
average cost of transport to Italy of EUR 240) = EUR 3 147.3.

5  officials  (i.e.  two  Commission  members  of  the  Committee  plus
three support staff) x EUR 165.2 (average cost of overnight stay on a
mission  to  Ireland)  x  3  days  =  EUR  2  478  +  EUR  2  500  (i.e.  5  x
average cost of transport to Ireland of EUR 500) = EUR 4 978.

Total

EUR 336 125

The costs shown are equivalent to what would have been incurred by the existing Committee.

The amounts given must correspond to total expenditure arising from the operation if its duration
is predetermined or expenditure for 12 months if it is indefinite.

The needs for human and administrative resources shall be covered within the allocation granted
to the managing DG in the framework of the annual allocation procedure.

All  expenditure  attributed  to  Title  A7  will  be  covered  from  the  annual  allocation  for
administrative credits.

12