Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Council Decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States (COM(2006) 32 final — 2006/0010 (CNS))
Date: 2006-05-17
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU Member State, EU employment policy, European Employment Strategy

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5.4.4 When a draft EU legislative act put forward by the
European Commission, in its capacity as the institution with
the right of initiative and guardian of the general interest, is
not adopted, the Council must explain to the general public,
and even justify, its decision to block the legislation.

5.5 Credible and consistent information

The EESC calls on the Member States to develop
5.5.1
targeted and permanent information campaigns on the achieve-
ments of European integration and its added value, and to put
in place European civic education from primary school level
upwards. If this information is to be credible and not written
off as propaganda,
it must involve networks of civil society
organisations with the aim of having a substantive policy
debate. The European Commission also has a fundamental role
to play in ensuring the consistency of communication activities
across Europe. In this context, the Commission should be more
involved in defending the EU's policies and mechanisms and
not settle for a neutral stance.

6. Promoting the creation of a new pact between Europe

and its citizens

6.1
By signing and ratifying the European treaties, all the
Member States have voluntarily committed themselves to a
process of integration rooted in an ever closer union between
the peoples of Europe.

6.2
The reflection period must not only make it possible to
find a way out of the current institutional impasse, but it must
also, and above all, be used as an opportunity to promote the
emergence of a new consensus on the aims of integration and
on a realistic but ambitious political project allowing citizens to
dream of a Europe that would truly bring them not only peace,
but also prosperity and democracy. Renewing the credibility of
the European project and the legitimacy of the integration
process are prerequisites for overcoming the identity crisis that
is currently spreading across Europe.

Brussels, 17 May 2006.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Anne-Marie SIGMUND

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Council Decision
on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States

(COM(2006) 32 final — 2006/0010 (CNS))

(2006/C 195/18)

On 10 February 2006 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee,
under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 3 May 2006. The rapporteur was Mr Greif.

At its 427th plenary session, held on 17-18 May 2006 (meeting of 17 May), the European Economic and
Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 91 votes in favour with one abstention.

1. The Commission's proposal for a decision

1.1
At the beginning of 2006, the Commission sent the
Council a proposal for a decision on guidelines for the employ-
ment policies of the Member States for 2006.

suggests keeping the 2005-2008 guidelines
The proposal
the
adopted in 2005 unchanged and recommending that
Member States continue to pursue their labour market and
employment policies in accordance with the priorities set out
in those guidelines.

In proposing this decision, the Commission is following
1.2
the new cycle of governance resulting from the reform of the
Lisbon strategy, under which the Employment Guidelines,
which are adopted together with the Broad Economic Policy
Guidelines in an integrated package, should, in essence, be fully
reviewed only every three years.

This also means,

1.3
for 2006, Member
therefore,
States in Council did not take the option of making any neces-
sary adjustments in intermediate years.

that,

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This Commission decision was preceded by an evaluation of
the Member States' national reform programmes submitted in
autumn 2005 in its annual progress report and in the joint
employment report.

2.4
This applies in particular to the near-absence of any
specific and binding employment and labour market policy
targets at European level.

2. The Committee's observations

The EESC, in its opinion on the adoption of the guide-
2.1
for 2005-2008 (1), welcomed this new integrated
lines
approach and the multiannual cycle, but pointed out, inter alia:

— that in some areas, there are inconsistencies between the
Broad Economic Policy Guidelines and the Employment
Guidelines;

— that success depends above all on the Member States taking
responsibilities seriously and actually putting the

their
agreed priorities into practice at national level;

— that parliaments, social partners and civil society must be
genuinely involved in all stages of employment policy coor-
dination.

In addition, the Committee pointed out some need for
in

2.2
adjustments in the drafting of the 2005-2008 guidelines,
particular in the following priorities:

— policy for better integration of young people into the
labour market, not least to guarantee them a first job with
future prospects;

— measures
economy,
productivity;

linked with the transition to a knowledge
inter alia to improve job quality and labour

— The watering-down of explicit and quantified targets to
reference values in the 2005-2008 guidelines deviated from
the previous approach in the European employment
strategy of giving Member States a clear framework with
unambiguous responsibilities.

— The idea was that each Member State should instead,
following input from its national parliament and the social
partners, set its own targets for implementing the guidelines
at national level as part of the national reform programmes
that are to be drawn up.

The Committee pointed out a year ago that this may
2.5
lead to a further watering-down of
the binding nature of
national implementation of priorities agreed at European level
in that Member States' employment policy measures can no
longer be judged against specific and quantifiable European
targets to the same extent as before.

look at

this concern — especially about

One year on,
the trend
towards dismantling binding targets — has largely been borne
out, as an initial
the
forward by the Member
national reform programmes put
States shows. As a number of sources have already reported,
many of the national reform programmes sent to the Commis-
sion are somewhat lacking in ambition as regards employment
policy, which respects workers' rights and obligations:

the employment sections of

— issues relating to gender equality with regard to employ-
ment and, in this context, measures to reconcile work and
family life;

— firstly, as has been the case in previous years, they often
that were on the national

present ongoing measures
government agenda anyway;

— the challenges posed by the ageing of the workforce; and

— the need to do more to combat discrimination in employ-

ment based on age, disability or ethnic origins.

2.3
The EESC agrees with the judgement of the Cambridge
Review Report examining individual countries' policies with
respect to the employment sections of the national action plans
for 2005, which concludes, on behalf of the Commission, that,
in the horizontal areas set out in point 2.2 above in particular,
individual measures were specified, but in many Member States
were not — overall — tackled with sufficient urgency.

Given that the labour market in many Member States has
shown little improvement, and that implementation in these
areas at national level still leaves much to be desired, the EESC
considers it most important that special emphasis be given to
these points in the annual recommendations to Member States
and,
that any necessary adjustments to the
multiannual guidelines also be made.

if appropriate,

— secondly, many national reform programmes lack specific
information as to when, how and by whom they are to be
implemented, and using what resources.

In the light of
the differing labour market structures and
problems in the Member States, it makes basic sense to have a
degree of flexibility in implementing the guidelines. As long as
the conditions set out in point 2.4 continue to be met, it is
essential to avoid watering down the goals of the new Lisbon
strategy by not making them specific enough.

2.6
The EESC therefore advocates effective measures aimed
at improving the quality of future national programmes so that
they are more binding as to timescales and responsibilities, and
— as far as possible — include an appropriate financial basis.

(1) See the EESC opinion of 31.5.2005 on the Proposal for a Council
Decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States,
the EC Treaty (Rapporteur: Mr
in accordance with Article 128 of
Malosse). (OJ C 286, 17.11.2005).

The national reform programmes mostly just contain national
commitments to the overall Lisbon employment objectives
(total employment, women, older people). The EESC advocates

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the potential for growth and full employment. Only a few
Member States give sufficient emphasis to economic stimula-
tion in their reform programmes.

2.9 Moreover, the EESC has pointed out on a number of
occasions that employment policy measures without appro-
priate funding at national and European level will not work.
The relevant priorities must therefore be provided for in budget
planning. In this respect, too, the Cambridge Review notes a
disparity in most Member States between proposals for labour
market initiatives and a lack of budgetary provision.

For example, the budgetary room for manoeuvre for appro-
priate infrastructure investments in the Member States needs to
be increased. The national reform programmes should as far as
possible be designed in such a way that they result in a Europe-
wide programme for stimulating the economy. Public invest-
ment is an important part of this. In this context, the massive
cuts in funding for TEN projects in the future EU budget
should be reversed by reallocating resources.

The EESC calls for these and other brakes to growth and
employment to be taken into consideration during the detailed
framing of the 2007-2013 financial perspective.

3. Follow-up

3.1
The EESC calls for the principle of participatory democ-
racy to be given an appropriate role in the implementation of
the national reform programmes in the Member States, and
also in dealing with the Employment Guidelines in the coming
years. The urgently needed progress on the employment pillar
of the Lisbon process will be largely dependent on this.

3.2
In this context, the EESC repeats its offer to take an
active role, together with the national economic and social
councils and similar institutions, in the future, in particular in
monitoring the effective application of the guidelines by the
Member States.

3.3
The Committee is considering issuing a separate own-
initiative opinion on necessary adaptations of the guidelines
over the next few years.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Anne-Marie SIGMUND

further specific targets in areas such as combating youth unem-
ployment, the promotion of equality and of lifelong learning,
support for people with disabilities (2) and the expansion of
childcare facilities and the resources for active labour market
policies. Only a few Member States have put forward ambitious
proposals in this area.

In this context, serious efforts should be made to focus again
on European targets and lay them down in the guidelines.

The EESC has also pointed out that one key to the
2.7
success of
the national reform programmes is the widest
possible involvement of all relevant social players — in particu-
lar the social partners — in every phase of the process.

In this context, the Committee regrets that, in many cases, the
necessary consultation with the social partners and a real
debate with civil society did not take place when the national
action plans were being drawn up. This was due, not least, to
the
reform
programmes, as the Employment Committee Cambridge Review
Report also notes in its analysis of the country reports.

for drawing up the

timetable

tight

very

The EESC believes that such involvement of all the relevant
social players is vital in order, for instance, to reconcile labour
market flexibility and broad job security.

The EESC believes that the lack of involvement of civil society
is also one of the reasons most Member States have made
insufficient effort to include the social security pillar.

2.8
In this context it can also be noted that most of the
reform programmes continue to pay too little attention to the
need to adopt demand-oriented measures to stimulate growth
and employment alongside structural reforms on the labour
market. On that score, the Committee has, on a number of
occasions recently, pointed out the need for a sound macroeco-
nomic background at European and national level.

In many Member States, it will not be possible to bring about a
noticeable improvement in the employment situation unless
there is a sustainable economic upswing. Appropriate frame-
work conditions which are conducive to both external and
internal demand must be established, in order to fully exploit

Brussels, 17 May 2006.

(2) EESC opinion of 20.4.2006 on the Communication from the
Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions
- Situation of disabled people in the enlarged European Union: the
European Action Plan 2006-2007 (Rapporteur: Ms Greif).