Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs (2005-2008) Communication from the President, in agreement with vice-President Verheugen and Commissioners Almunia and Spidla including a Commission recommendation on the broad guidelines for the economic policies of the Member States and the Community (under Article 99 of the EC Treaty) and a Proposal for a Council Decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States (under Article 128 of the EC Treaty)
Date: 2005-10-12
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European Employment Strategy, economic growth, employment policy, region-EU relationship, vocational training

4.4.2006

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Official Journal of the European Union

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23.
after the issues of the European Summit on 16-17 June,
is concerned that Member States still hold widely differing
views on the future financing of the European Union and is
especially concerned that delayed agreement will jeopardise a
smooth start to the next funding period, and lead to financial
instability across the local and regional authorities of the EU.
The current crisis will also have negative economic effects,
above all in the new Member States;

calls on the Member States, therefore, to decide quickly

24.
on the future financing of the European Union;

25. warns against losing sight of the cohesion policy goals
at a time when state assistance is generally falling, and reiterates
its interest in a balanced and adequate aid policy in the Euro-
pean Union which takes account of the conclusions of the
Stockholm European Council, held on 23 and 24 March 2001;

26. welcomes the prompt presentation of
the strategic
and
guidelines
announces that the Committee will react to this in a separate
report.

for planning the new aid programmes

Brussels, 12 October 2005

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Peter STRAUB

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs
(2005-2008) Communication from the President, in agreement with vice-President Verheugen and
Commissioners Almunia and Spidla including a Commission recommendation on the broad guide-
lines for the economic policies of the Member States and the Community (under Article 99 of the
EC Treaty) and a Proposal for a Council Decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the
Member States (under Article 128 of the EC Treaty)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

(2006/C 81/04)

Having regard to the Integrated guidelines for growth and jobs (2005-2008), including a Commission
recommendation on the broad guidelines for the economic policies of the Member States and the Com-
munity (under Article 99 of the EC Treaty) and a Proposal for a Council Decision on guidelines for the
employment policies of the Member States COM(2005) 141 final — 2005/0057 (CNS);

Having regard to the decision of the European Commission of 12 April 2005 and of the Council of 22
April 2005 to consult it on this subject, under the first paragraph of art. 265 and 128 of the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Community;

Having regard to its President's decision of 19 May 2005 to instruct the Commission for Economic and
Social Policy to draw up an opinion on this subject;

Having regard to the Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on revitalising the Lisbon strategy
adopted on 24 February 2005;

Having regard to its draft opinion (CdR 147/2005 rev. 1) adopted on 29 June 2005 by its Commission
for Economic and Social Policy (Rapporteur: Mrs Pauliina Haijanen, Member of the Board, Regional
Council of Southwest Finland, and member of Laitila Town Council (FI-EPP);

unanimously adopted the following opinion at its 61st plenary session, held on 12 and 13 October
2005 (meeting of 12 October):

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1. The Committee of the Regions' views

General comments

The Committee of the Regions

1.1
believes that the approach to gear the integrated guide-
lines towards increasing growth and jobs must be implemented
with the aim of achieving greater social cohesion improving
public welfare and quality of life; greater competitiveness and
investment and a sustained high level of social protection are
pre-requisites to achieving this;

1.2
reiterates its call for an intensified, more decentralised
implementation of the Lisbon Strategy, in line with the conclu-
sions of the Lisbon European Council which states that ‘A fully
decentralised approach (to the implementation of the Lisbon
Strategy) will be applied in line with the principle of subsi-
diarity in which the Union, the Member States, the regional
and local levels, as well as the social partners and civil society,
will be actively involved, using variable forms of partnership’;

nevertheless, considers that

1.3
the integrated guidelines
present an improved methodology in as much as they reflect
compatibility between the European Union's economic and
social policies and signal a willingness to move further towards
simplifying the EU's macroeconomic governance instruments
and making them easier to understand;

believes that in improving growth and jobs the aim
1.4
must be to maintain and increase the welfare of all citizens
across the whole of the Community and to enable them to
develop their full potential in society;

believes that weak social development ultimately also

1.5
slows economic growth;

considers wage growth to be an important measure of

1.6
social development from an international perspective;

1.7
believes that its proposals for assessing the added value
created by devolution and ensuring the participation of local
and regional authorities in preparing and implementing the
guidelines have not been adequately applied;

1.8
underlines its willingness to actively participate in the
new Lisbon process and contribute every year to the Spring
European Council, believes that the increased participation of
regional and local authorities in the governance cycle at the
European level will provide active partnering opportunities in
the development of European decision-making and raise the
level of awareness with regard to the regional dimension.

2. The Committee of the Regions' recommendations

The Committee of the Regions

2.1
considers it important for local and regional govern-
ment to be actively involved in the practical implementation of
the integrated guidelines and recommends further that the
necessary conditions be established for taking the views of local
and regional authorities into account, also during the phases of
preparing and reviewing the guidelines;

2.2
believes it is important to improve the scope for local
and regional authorities to shape and strengthen underlying
economic conditions, which are the key to their vitality. Devel-
oping the services provided by local and regional authorities
should be considered as one possible approach;

2.3
considers it important that the services provided by
local and regional authorities be developed so as to become
more profitable and more competitive. To achieve this, services
should be made easier to organise by removing rules and regu-
lations and other obstacles, which hinder innovation and crea-
tivity in the development of competitive public services,
provided national and EU minimum standards are respected;

2.4
considers it important in relation to extending and
deepening the internal market for services that attention be
paid to providing services to regions that are difficult to reach
and sparsely populated;
it is essential for the efficient func-
tioning of the internal market to clarify what is meant by the
concepts of
the general economic interest and services of
general interest;

2.5
considers it important to develop social dialogue in
order to have a strong input from the social partners into the
reform effort.

The integrated guidelines and national reform programmes

2.6
proposes that in order to increase the involvement of
regional and local authorities, social partners and civil society
the integrated guidelines should in future mention the drawing
up of concrete objectives based on the local and regional
perspective;

believes it is important to ensure that the Member
2.7
reform
States have enough time to prepare the national
programmes in collaboration with local and regional authori-
ties, and therefore recommends that
the Commission also
prepare an indicative timetable for this phase of the guideline
process;

2.8
recommends that more specific provisions be drafted
for strengthening the proposed partnership with local and
regional authorities. This factor should be considered not just
in the guidelines but also in particular when preparing the
European Social Fund strategies:
the ESR strategies should
support the partnership proposed in the guidelines, as well as
the development of new models of cooperation between
different spheres of government and the social partners;

2.9
suggests that citizens should be informed about the
drawing up of the guidelines and national reform programmes
in a way that emphasises the European nature of the objectives
and reform needs and that also fosters the involvement of civil
society throughout the Union in developing the new objectives
and measures;

considers it important to ensure that preparation of
2.10
the reform programme is seen in the context of the objectives
of
inclusion
programmes and the Community's training policy processes;

cohesion and social

funds,

social

the

the

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2.11
considers it important to assess the extent to which
abolishing state aids is a realistic option in those sparsely popu-
lated regions where competing private entities are not available
as an alternative to publicly funded services;

2.12
notes that investment in developing human resources
is critical and promotes economic growth and jobs in many
ways, e.g. by encouraging innovations and their application,
and by making it easier for employees and organisations to
adapt to the challenges of change;

2.13
recommends that the Member States encourage local
and regional authorities to learn from the experiences of other
types of
EU countries with reforming services in different
municipalities and regions;

2.14
urges that steps be taken to establish how remunera-
tion schemes can be developed to take better account of
regional productivity differences;

2.15
considers it important that the ability of local and
regional authorities to compete for skilled labour should prop-
erly be
reform
taken into account when the national
programmes are drawn up and that the means be provided to
maintain the fitness for work and motivation of older staff;

2.16
draws attention to the role of education and training
policy in underpinning democratic society and developing
human resources;

2.17
emphasises the role of local and regional stakeholders
in forecasting demand for and supply of manpower and
training and in coordinating information, and proposes that
examples of good practice be compiled here;

2.18
considers it important to develop wide-ranging quali-
fications that allow people to move from one activity to
another with further training;

2.19
emphasises that national decision-making powers and
national requirements should be taken into account when orga-

Brussels, 12 October 2005.

nising training services and improving the equivalence of voca-
tional qualifications;

notes that increasing the employment rate and lifelong
2.20
learning require an extensive network of training services that
responds flexibly to demand. Distance learning can be one
means of achieving this. Labour policy training and vocational
training should be clearly defined and duplication eliminated;

recommends that

2.21
flexible learning approaches be
developed to meet the needs of young people and adults, and
that on-the-job training be promoted. When developing
training schemes it is important to reconcile the needs and
capacities of employers and staff, and to take the special
training needs of business owners into account;

2.22
endorses promotion of the lifecycle approach to work
and development of inclusive labour markets, but stresses that
extra tasks must not be imposed on local and regional authori-
ties without providing them with the necessary resources.
Reform must not be implemented in a way that would put the
services and staff of local and regional authorities at a disadvan-
tage compared with other players;

2.23
considers it important to develop and strengthen
measures to settle immigrants and integrate them into society
and working life, and recommends that more information be
made available on the results of studies relating to integration
and on good practice;

2.24
urges that ways be sought of enabling employers who
recruit staff from abroad to take part in designing and funding
measures to promote integration, and of developing coopera-
tion in this area between local and regional authorities;

2.25
highlights the need for measures to improve capacity
to forecast the impact of globalisation on regional business
activity and to develop measures that help companies to adapt
and remain competitive and also measures which facilitate
rapid retraining and re-employment of workers in case of
closure or relocation.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Peter STRAUB