Common Position (EC) No 12/2006 of 18 July 2006 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity – Progress
Date: 2006-07-18
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU programme, European Employment Strategy, anti-discriminatory measure, gender equality, social integration, social security, working conditions

3.10.2006

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COMMON POSITION (EC) No 12/2006

adopted by the Council on 18 July 2006

with a view to adoption a Decision No …/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
… establishing a Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity — Progress

(2006/C 238 E/03)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EURO-
PEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity, and in particular Articles 13(2), 129 and 137(2)(a)
thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (1),

Having regard to the Opinion of
Regions (2),

the Committee of

the

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (3),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

The Lisbon European Council of 23 and 24 March 2000
incorporated the promotion of employment and social
inclusion as an integral part of the overall strategy of the
Union in order to achieve its strategic goal for the next
decade of becoming the most competitive and dynamic
knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of
sustainable economic growth, with more and better jobs
and greater social cohesion. It set ambitious objectives
and targets for the Union aiming to recreate the condi-
tions for full employment, improve quality and produc-
tivity at work, and promote social cohesion and an
inclusive labour market. Furthermore, the strategy was
focused upon again by the Brussels European Council of
22 and 23 March 2005.

In line with the Commission's express intention of
consolidating and rationalising Community funding
instruments, this Decision should establish a single and
streamlined programme providing for the continuation
and development of the activities launched on the basis
of Council Decision 2000/750/EC of 27 November 2000
establishing a Community action programme to combat
discrimination
Council
Decision 2001/51/EC of 20 December 2000 establishing
a

2006) (4),

(2001

to

to combat

action to encourage

Programme relating to the Community framework
strategy on gender equality (2001-2005) (5) and Euro-
pean Parliament and Council Decisions No 50/2002/EC
of 7 December 2001 establishing a programme of Com-
cooperation between
munity
exclusion (6), No
Member States
1145/2002/EC of 10 June 2002 on Community incen-
in the field of employment (7) and
tive measures
No 848/2004/EC of 29 April 2004 establishing a Com-
munity action programme to promote organisations
active at European level in the field of equality between
men and women (8), as well as those activities under-
taken at Community level in relation to working condi-
tions.

social

(3)

(4)

(5)

The Extraordinary European Council on Employment in
Luxembourg of 20 and 21 November 1997 launched
the European Employment Strategy to coordinate
Member States' employment policies on the basis of
commonly agreed employment guidelines and recom-
mendations. The European Employment Strategy is now
the most important instrument at European level for
implementation of the employment and labour market
objectives of the Lisbon Strategy.

concluded that

The Lisbon European Council
the
number of people living below the poverty line and in
social exclusion in the Union was unacceptable and
therefore deemed it necessary to take steps to make deci-
sive progress in the eradication of poverty by setting
adequate objectives. Such objectives were agreed by the
Nice European Council of 7, 8 and 9 December 2000. It
further agreed that policies for combating social exclu-
sion should be based on the open method of coordina-
tion, combining national action plans and a Commission
initiative for cooperation.

Demographic change represents a major long-term chal-
lenge to the ability of social protection systems to
deliver adequate pensions and high-quality health and
long-term care which are accessible to all and can be
funded in the long term. It is important to promote poli-
cies that can achieve both adequate social protection and
the sustainability of
social protection systems. The
Lisbon European Council decided that cooperation in
this area should be based on the open method of coordi-
nation.

(1) OJ C 255, 14.10.2005, p. 67.
(2) OJ C 164, 5.7.2005, p. 48.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 6 September 2005 (not yet
published in the Official Journal), Council common position of 18
July 2006 and Position of the European Parliament of … (not yet
published in the Official Journal).

(4) OJ L 303, 2.12.2000, p. 23.

(5) OJ L 17, 19.1.2001, p. 22. Decision as last amended by Decision

No 1554/2005/EC (OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 9).

(6) OJ L 10, 12.1.2002, p. 1. Decision as last amended by Decision No

786/2004/EC (OJ L 138, 30.4.2004, p. 7).

(7) OJ L 170, 29.6.2002, p. 1. Decision as amended by Decision No

786/2004/EC.

(8) OJ L 157, 30.4.2004, p. 18. Decision as amended by Decision No

1554/2005/EC.

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Attention should be drawn to the specific situation of
migrants in this context and also to the importance of
taking action to transform undeclared work into regular
employment.

(10)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

Ensuring minimum standards and the constant improve-
ment of working conditions in the Union is a central
feature of European social policy and an important
overall objective of
the European Union. The Com-
munity has an important role to play in supporting and
complementing Member States' activities in the fields of
workers' health and safety, working conditions, including
the need to reconcile work and family life, protection of
workers where their employment contract is terminated,
information, consultation and participation of workers,
and representation and collective defence of the interests
of workers and employers.

Non-discrimination is a fundamental principle of the
European Union. Article 13 of the Treaty provides for
action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or
ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual
orientation. Non-discrimination is also enshrined in
Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union. The specific features of the diverse
forms of discrimination should be accommodated, and
appropriate action developed in parallel to prevent and
combat discrimination on one or more grounds. There-
fore, when considering the accessibility and results of
the Programme,
the particular needs of people with
disabilities should be taken into account in terms of
ensuring their full and equal access to the activities
funded by this Programme and the results and evaluation
of those activities, including the compensation of addi-
tional costs that they incur as a result of their disability.
Experience gained over many years of combating certain
forms of discrimination, including discrimination based
on sex, may be useful in combating other kinds of discri-
mination.

On the basis of Article 13 of the Treaty, the Council has
adopted the following directives: Directive 2000/43/EC
of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal
treatment between persons irrespective of
racial or
ethnic origin (1) which prohibits discrimination based on
racial or ethnic origin in, inter alia, employment, voca-
tional training, education, goods and services and social
protection, Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000
establishing a general framework for equal treatment in
employment and occupation (2) which prohibits discri-
mination in employment and occupation on the grounds
of religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orienta-
tion, and Directive 2004/113/EC of 13 December 2004
implementing the principle of equal treatment between
men and women in the access to and supply of goods
and services (3).

this principle play a major part

Pursuant to Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty equal treat-
ment for men and women is a fundamental principle of
Community law. The directives and other acts adopted
in
on the basis of
improving the situation of women in the Union. Experi-
ence of action at Community level has shown that
promoting gender equality in Community policies and
combating discrimination in practice call for a combina-
tion of instruments, including legislation, funding tools
and mainstreaming, designed to complement one
another.
In accordance with the principle of equality
between men and women, gender mainstreaming should
the
be promoted in all
Programme.

sections and activities of

(11) Many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) active at
various levels can make an important contribution at
European level through key networks which assist in
changing policy orientations relating to the general
objectives of the Programme.

(12)

Since the objectives of this Decision cannot be suffi-
ciently achieved at Member States level because of the
need for exchange of information at European level and
the Community-wide dissemination of good practice and
since therefore these objectives can, by reason of the
multilateral dimension of the Community actions and
measures, be better achieved at Community level, the
Community may adopt measures in accordance with the
principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the
Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportion-
ality as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go
beyond what is necessary to achieve those objectives.

(13)

This Decision lays down, for the entire duration of the
Programme, a financial envelope constituting the prime
reference, within the meaning of point 37 of the Interin-
stitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the
European Parliament, the Council and the Commission
on budgetary discipline and sound financial manage-
ment (4), for the budgetary authority during the annual
budgetary procedure.

(14)

The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down
the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers
conferred on the Commission (5).

(15) As the Programme is divided into five sections, Member
States may provide for the rotation of their national
representatives according to the subjects addressed by
the Committee assisting the Commission,

(1) OJ L 180, 19.7.2000, p. 22.
(2) OJ L 303, 2.12.2000, p. 16.
(3) OJ L 373, 21.12.2004, p. 37.

(4) OJ C …
(5) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

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HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 3

Structure of the Programme

Article 1

The Programme shall be divided into the following five
sections:

Establishment and duration of the Programme

1) Employment;

and Social Solidarity,

This Decision establishes the Community Programme for
1.
Employment
(‘the
Programme’), to support financially the implementation of the
objectives of the European Union in the fields of employment
and social affairs, as set out in the Commission Communication
on the Social Agenda, and thereby contribute to the achieve-
ment of the Lisbon Strategy goals in those fields.

called Progress

2) Social protection and inclusion;

3) Working conditions;

4) Antidiscrimination and diversity;

5) Gender equality.

The Programme shall run from 1 January 2007 to 31

2.
December 2013.

Article 4

Section 1: Employment

Article 2

General objectives

1.

The Programme pursues the following general objectives:

(a) to improve the knowledge and understanding of the situa-
tion prevailing in the Member States and in other partici-
pating countries through analysis, evaluation and close
monitoring of policies;

(b) to support the development of statistical tools and methods
and common indicators, where appropriate broken down
by gender and age group,
in the areas covered by the
Programme;

(c) to support and monitor the implementation of Community
law, where applicable, and Community policy objectives in
the Member States, and assess their effectiveness and
impact;

(d) to promote networking, mutual learning, identification and
dissemination of good practice and innovative approaches
at European level;

(e) to enhance awareness of

the Community policies and
objectives pursued under each of its five sections among
stakeholders and the general public;

(f) to boost the capacity of key European level networks to
promote, support and further develop Community policies
and objectives, where applicable.

Gender mainstreaming shall be promoted in all sections

2.
of and activities under the Programme.

Section 1 shall support the implementation of the European
Employment Strategy (EES) by:

(a) improving the understanding of the employment situation
and prospects,
in particular through analysis and studies
and the development of statistics and common indicators
within the framework of the EES;

(b) monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the Euro-
pean Employment Guidelines and Recommendations and
their
impact, notably through the Joint Employment
Report, and analysing the interaction between the EES and
general economic and social policy and other policy areas;

(c) organising exchanges on policies, good practice and inno-
vative approaches, and promoting mutual learning in the
context of the EES;

(d) raising

awareness,

and
disseminating
promoting the debate about employment challenges and
policies
reform
programmes, including among the social partners, regional
and local actors and other stakeholders.

implementation of national

information

and the

Article 5

Section 2: Social protection and inclusion

Section 2 shall support
the open
method of coordination (OMC) in the field of social protection
and inclusion by:

the implementation of

(a) improving the understanding of

social exclusion and
poverty issues, social protection and inclusion policies, in
particular through analysis and studies and the develop-
ment of statistics and common indicators, within the frame-
work of the OMC in the field of social protection and inclu-
sion;

The results achieved in the Programme sections and activ-
3.
ities shall be disseminated to those involved and to the public
as appropriate. The Commission shall conduct exchanges of
views with the main stakeholders as appropriate.

(b) monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the OMC
in the field of social protection and inclusion and its impact
at national and Community level as well as analysing the
interaction between this OMC and other policy areas;

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(c) organising exchanges on policies, good practice and inno-
learning in the

vative approaches and promoting mutual
context of the social protection and inclusion strategy;

(d) raising

awareness,

information

and
disseminating
promoting the debate about the key challenges and policy
issues raised in the context of the Community coordination
process in the field of social protection and inclusion,
including among the social partners, regional and local
actors, NGOs and other stakeholders;

(e) developing the capacity of key European level networks to
support and further develop Community policy goals and
strategies on social protection and inclusion.

(a) improving the understanding of the situation in relation to
discrimination,
in particular through analysis and studies
and, where appropriate, the development of statistics and
indicators as well as by assessing the effectiveness and
impact of existing legislation, policies and practices;

(b) supporting the implementation of Community anti-discri-
mination legislation through effective monitoring,
the
holding of seminars for those working in the field and
networking amongst specialised bodies dealing with anti-
discrimination;

(c) raising

awareness,

and
disseminating
promoting the debate about the key challenges and policy
issues in relation to discrimination and the mainstreaming
of anti-discrimination in all Community policies, including
among the social partners, NGOs and other stakeholders;

information

Article 6

Section 3: Working conditions

(d) developing the capacity of key European level networks to
promote and further develop Community policy goals and
strategies in the field of combating discrimination.

Section 3 shall support the improvement of the working envir-
onment and working conditions, including health and safety at
work and reconciling work and family life, by:

(a) improving the understanding of the situation in relation to
working conditions,
through analysis and
in particular
studies and, where appropriate, the development of statis-
tics and indicators, as well as assessing the effectiveness and
impact of existing legislation, policies and practices;

(b) supporting the implementation of Community labour law
through effective monitoring, the holding of seminars for
those working in the field, the development of guides and
networking amongst specialised bodies, including the social
partners;

(c) initiating preventive actions and fostering the prevention

culture in the field of health and safety at work;

(d) raising

awareness,

and
disseminating
promoting the debate about the key challenges and policy
issues in relation to working conditions, including among
the social partners and other stakeholders.

information

Article 8

Section 5: Gender equality

Section 5 shall support the effective implementation of the
principle of gender equality and promote gender main-
streaming in all Community policies by:

issues and gender mainstreaming,

(a) improving the understanding of the situation in relation to
gender
in particular
through analysis and studies and the development of statis-
tics and, where appropriate, indicators, as well as assessing
the effectiveness and impact of existing legislation, policies
and practices;

(b) supporting the implementation of Community gender
equality legislation through effective monitoring, holding
seminars for those working in the field and networking
amongst specialised equality bodies;

Article 7

Section 4: Antidiscrimination and diversity

(c) raising

awareness,

and
disseminating
promoting the debate about the key challenges and policy
issues in relation to gender equality and gender main-
streaming, among the social partners, NGOs and other
stakeholders;

information

Section 4 shall support the effective implementation of the
principle of non-discrimination and promote its mainstreaming
in all Community policies by:

(d) developing the capacity of key European level networks to
support and further develop Community policy goals and
strategies on gender equality.

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Article 9

Types of actions

(iii) funding of specialised seminars addressed to those
working in the field, key officials and other relevant
actors;

(iv) networking among specialised bodies at European

level;

The Programme shall

finance the following types of
1.
actions, which may be implemented, where appropriate, within
a transnational framework:

(v) funding of experts' networks;

(vi) funding of European level observatories;

(a) Analytical activities:

(vii) exchange of personnel between national administra-

tions;

(i) collection, development and dissemination of data and

statistics;

(viii) cooperation with international institutions.

(ii) development and dissemination of common methodol-
indicators or bench-

ogies and, where appropriate,
marks;

(iii) carrying out of studies, analyses and surveys and disse-

mination of their results;

2.
The activities provided for in point (b) of paragraph 1
shall have a strong European dimension, be of an appropriate
scale in order to ensure a real European added value and be
carried out by national, regional or local authorities, specialised
bodies provided for under Community law or actors considered
to be the key players in their area.

(iv) carrying out of evaluations and impact assessments

and dissemination of their results;

The Programme shall not finance any measures for the

3.
preparation and implementation of European Years.

(v) elaboration and publication of guides, reports and
educational material via the Internet or other media.

(b) Mutual learning, awareness and dissemination activities:

(i) identification of, and exchanges on, good practices,
innovative approaches and experiences, and organisa-
tion of peer review and mutual learning, by means of
meetings/workshops/seminars at European,
transna-
tional or national level, taking account, where possible,
of specific national circumstances;

(ii) organisation of Presidency conferences/seminars;

(iii) organisation of conferences/seminars in support of the
development and implementation of Community law
and policy objectives;

(iv) organisation of media campaigns and events;

Article 10

Access to the Programme

Access to the Programme shall be open to all public and/

1.
or private bodies, actors and institutions, in particular:

(a) Member States;

(b) public employment services and their agencies;

(c) local and regional authorities;

(d) specialised bodies provided for under Community law;

(e) the social partners;

(f) NGOs, in particular those organised at European level;

(v) compilation and publication of materials to dissemi-
nate information as well as results of the Programme.

(g) higher education institutions and research institutes;

(c) Support for main actors:

(h) experts in evaluation;

(i) national statistical offices;

(i) support for the running costs of those key European
level networks whose activities are linked to imple-
mentation of the objectives of the Programme;

(j) the media.

(ii) organisation of working groups of national officials to
monitor the implementation of Community law;

2.
The Commission may also directly participate in the
Programme insofar as the activities provided for in points (a)
and (b) of Article 9(1) are concerned.

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Article 11

Method of application for support

Article 13

Committee

Activities of the type referred to in Article 9 may be

1.
financed by:

1.

The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee.

(a) a service contract following a call for tenders, in which case
the Eurostat procedures shall apply in respect of coopera-
tion with national statistical offices;

(b) partial support following a call for proposals,

in which
case, the Community co-financing may not exceed, as a
general rule, 80 % of the total expenditure incurred by the
recipient. Any financial support in excess of this ceiling
may be granted only in exceptional circumstances and after
close scrutiny.

in response to requests by,

Activities of the type provided for in Article 9(1) may be
2.
for
granted financial support
example, Member States,
in accordance with relevant provi-
sions of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of
25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the
general budget of the European Communities (1), in particular
Article 110 thereof, and Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom)
No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed
the implementation of Council Regulation (EC,
rules
Euratom) No 1605/2002 (2),
in Article 168
thereof.

in particular

for

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and
7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the
provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at two months.

3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3 and
7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the
provisions of Article 8 thereof.

4.

The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 14

Cooperation with other committees

Article 12

Implementing provisions

The Commission shall establish the necessary links with
1.
and the Employment
Social
the
Protection Committee
Committee in order to ensure that
they are regularly and
appropriately informed about the implementation of activities
referred to in this Decision.

1.
The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Decision that relate to the following matters shall be adopted
in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 13(2):

(a) the general guidelines

for

the implementation of

the

Programme;

(b) the annual work programme for the implementation of the

Programme, divided into separate sections;

(c) the financial support to be granted by the Community;

(d) the annual budget, subject to Article 17;

(e) the procedures for selecting the actions to be supported by
the Community and the draft list of actions to receive such
support submitted by the Commission;

(f) the criteria for evaluating the Programme, including those
relating to cost effectiveness and the arrangements for
disseminating and transferring results.

2.
The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Decision that relate to all matters other than those referred to
in paragraph 1 shall be adopted in accordance with the proce-
dure referred to in Article 13(3).

(1) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation

(EC, Euratom) No 1261/2005 (OJ L 201, 2.8.2005, p. 3).

The Commission shall also inform other relevant commit-
the

the action taken under

the five sections of

2.
tees of
Programme.

appropriate,

3. Where
establish
regular and structured cooperation between the Committee
referred to in Article 13 and the monitoring committees estab-
lished for other relevant policies, instruments and actions.

the Commission shall

Article 15

Consistency and complementarity

1.
The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member
States, ensure overall consistency with other Union and Com-
munity policies, instruments and actions, in particular by estab-
lishing appropriate mechanisms to coordinate the activities of
the Programme with relevant activities relating to research,
justice and home affairs, culture, education, training and youth
policy, and in the fields of enlargement and the Community's
relations, and with regional policy and general
external
economic policy. Special attention shall be devoted to the
possible synergies between this Programme and those in the
field of education and training.

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2.
The Commission and the Member States shall ensure
consistency and complementarity and the absence of duplica-
tion between activities under the Programme and other relevant
Union and Community actions, in particular under the Struc-
tural Funds, especially the European Social Fund.

3.
The Commission shall ensure that expenditure covered by
and charged to the Programme is not charged to any other
Community financial instrument.

4.
The Commission shall keep the Committee referred to in
Article 13 regularly informed of other Community action that
contributes to achieving the Lisbon strategy goals in the field of
the Social Agenda.

5. Member States shall make all possible efforts to ensure
consistency and complementarity between activities under the
Programme and those carried out at national, regional and
local levels.

Article 16

Participation of third countries

The Programme shall be open to the participation of:

— the EFTA/EEA countries in accordance with the conditions

established in the EEA Agreement,

— the accession and candidate countries associated to the
European Union, as well as the western Balkan countries
included in the stabilisation and association process.

Article 17

Financing

The financial envelope for implementing the Community
1.
activities referred to in this Decision for the period from 1
January 2007 to 31 December 2013 is hereby set at
EUR 657 590 000 (*).

Over the entire period of the Programme, the financial
the

2.
breakdown between the different sections shall respect
following lower limits:

Section 1 Employment

Section 2 Social protection and inclusion

Section 3 Working conditions

Section 4 Antidiscrimination and diversity

Section 5 Gender equality

23 %

30 %

10 %

23 %

12 %

3.
A maximum of 2 % of the financial envelope shall be
attributed to the implementation of the Programme to cover,
for example, the expenditure related to the functioning of the
Committee referred to in Article 13 or the evaluations carried
out pursuant to Article 19.

4.
The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the
budgetary authority within the limits of the financial frame-
work.

5.
The Commission may have recourse to technical and/or
administrative assistance, to the mutual benefit of the Commis-
sion and of the beneficiaries, as well as to support expenditure.

Article 18

Protection of the Community's financial interests

1.
The Commission shall ensure that, when actions financed
under this Decision are implemented, the financial interests of
the Community are protected by the application of preventive
measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activ-
ities, by effective checks and by the recovery of the amounts
irregularities are detected, by effective,
if
unduly paid and,
proportional and dissuasive penalties,
in accordance with
Council Regulations
(EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18
December 1995 on the protection of the European Commu-
nities financial interests (1) and (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of
11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspec-
tions carried out by the Commission in order to protect the
European Communities' financial
interests against fraud and
other irregularities (2), and with Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May
1999 concerning investigations conducted by the European
Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) (3).

2.
For Community actions financed under this Decision, the
notion of irregularity referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation
(EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 shall mean any infringement of a
provision of Community law or any breach of a contractual
obligation resulting from an act or omission by an economic
operator, which has, or would have, the effect of prejudicing
the general budget of the European Union or budgets managed
by it, by an unjustified item of expenditure.

3.
Contracts and agreements as well as agreements with
participating third countries resulting from this Decision shall
provide, in particular, for supervision and financial control by
the Commission (or any representative authorised by it) and
audits by the Court of Auditors, if necessary, on the spot.

Article 19

Monitoring and evaluation

In order

to ensure the regular monitoring of

1.
the
Programme and to allow for any necessary reorientations,
annual
the
Programme shall be drawn up by the Commission and
forwarded to the European Parliament and to the Committee
referred to in Article 13.

focusing on the

activity reports

results of

(*) This amount is based on 2004 figures and shall be subject to tech-

nical adjustment to take account of inflation.

(1) OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2.
(3) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1.

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2.
The various sections of the Programme shall also be the
subject of a mid-term evaluation, which will provide an over-
view of the Programme as a whole in order to measure the
progress made in meeting the objectives of the Programme, the
efficiency of the use of resources and its European added value.
This evaluation may be supplemented by on-going evaluations.
These shall be carried out by the Commission with the assis-
tance of external experts. When available, their results shall be
reported in the activity reports referred to in paragraph 1.

3.
An ex-post evaluation covering the whole Programme
shall be carried out, by 31 December 2015, by the Commission
with the assistance of external experts, in order to measure the
impact of the Programme objectives and its European added
value. The Commission shall submit the expert evaluation to
the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

The implementation of

the
4.
Programme, including the presentation of results and dialogue
on future priorities, shall also be discussed within the frame-

the individual sections of

work of
Agenda.

the Forum on the implementation of

the Social

Article 20

Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day
following its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Union.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament

The President

…

For the Council

The President

…

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STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. INTRODUCTION

On 27 August 2004, the Commission submitted a proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament
and the Council establishing a Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity —
Progress (2007-2013). The legal basis of this proposal rests on Articles 13(2), 129 and 137(2)(a) of the
Treaty. Essentially, the proposal combines in a single text a number of programmes which had
previously been the subject of separate Decisions.

The Committee of the Regions gave its opinion on 23 February 2005 and the Economic and Social
Committee submitted its opinion on 6 April 2005.

During its plenary from 5 to 8 September 2005, the European Parliament gave its opinion on first
reading and adopted 72 amendments to the proposal for a Decision.

The Commission adopted its amended proposal on 21 October 2005. On 24 May 2006, the Commis-
sion adopted an amended proposal that concerned only Article 17(1), the budget of the Programme.

The Council adopted a Common Position on 18 July 2006, in accordance with the procedure laid
down in Article 251 of the Treaty.

II. OBJECTIVE

The overall objective of the Programme is to consolidate into one streamlined Programme, running
from 2007 to 2013, activities launched under a number of earlier Decisions. The Programme's activ-
ities are divided into five different sections: employment, social protection and inclusion, working
conditions, anti-discrimination and diversity, and gender equality.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

1. General

the European Parliament and the Commission have convergent
On the whole,
approaches to this Programme. A significant number of the European Parliament's amendments
have been taken up in the Common Position (see Section 2 below for more details).

the Council,

The Programme's budget of EUR 657,59 million (1) was agreed by the three institutions in the
context of the inter-institutional agreement on the Financial Perspectives for the years 2007-2013.
The Common Position reflects that agreement (Article 17(1)).

A major modification to the Commission's proposal is that the Common Position, in Article 17(2),
allocates the overall budget fully between the different sections of the Programme; the Commission
had initially proposed a ten per cent unallocated reserve, to be distributed between the fives sections
during the period of the Programme's implementation. The Parliament,
in its amendment 67,
wished to increase the funding to two sections, Section 2 (social protection and inclusion) and
Section 5 (gender equality). The Council accepts this amendment fully but also wishes to increase
the funding to two other sections, i.e. Sections 1 (employment) and 3 (working conditions). As a
consequence, the Council considers that it is best to allocate all the funding from the outset of the
Programme, as a relatively small reserve would be unnecessarily cumbersome to allocate annually.
The Council considers that this full allocation of the funding follows the aim of the European Parlia-
ment which, in its amendments, stressed the importance of transparency in the budgetary decision-
making.

2. European Parliament Amendments taken up by the Council

A large number of the Parliament's amendments have been accepted by the Council. Amendments
1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 34, 36, 39, 40, 42, 43,
44, 45, 46, 53, 61, 62, 63, 65, 67, 69 and 70 have been accepted in their entirety, albeit in places
with minor linguistic changes or updating (like using the term ‘national reform programmes’, a term
introduced by the European Council in March 2005, instead of ‘national action plans’ in Amendment
22).

(1) At 2004 prices. This corresponds to EUR 743,25 million at indexed prices.

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A number of amendments are accepted in part, taken up elsewhere in the text or taken up in spirit.
On these amendments, the Council makes the following comments:

Amendment 4: The Council shares the Parliament's concern on migrants and undeclared work;
however,
it does not consider that these two are automatically linked; thus the Council, while
accepting the amendment's spirit, has changed the wording (Recital 6).

Amendment 9 on the role of NGOs: The Council agrees with the Parliament on the important role
of the NGOs and a new recital has been included in the text, using different wording, however,
from that in the Parliament's amendment (Recital 11).

Amendment 13 on the general objectives of the Programme: The Council does not accept the inclu-
sion of the text on ‘the creation of more and better jobs’ in Article 2, as this is not a prerogative of this
Programme.

Amendment 14 also on general objectives: The Council accepts adding ‘innovative approaches’ to
the text; however, it considers that the Programme should have its focus at EU level and therefore
has not included the words ‘regional’ and ‘national’ in the Common Position (Article 2(1)(d)).

Amendment 16 on supporting the capacity of key EU networks: The Council considered that it was
not necessary to list specific requirements concerning these networks (Article 2(1)(f)).

Amendment 18 on the dissemination of the results: The Council agreed with the Parliament on the
importance of such dissemination but considers that it is unnecessary to list in the article the stake-
holders to whom the results are disseminated (Article 2(3)).

Amendment 28 on gender mainstreaming (Article 6): The Council fully agrees with the principle
and this issue is dealt with in Article 2(2).

Amendment 29 on statistics in the field of working conditions: The Council does not consider it
necessary to describe the types of indicators (Article 6(a)).

Amendment 32 on working conditions: The second part of the amendment (on specific topics
within the larger field of working conditions) is not included in the text in full, as it was considered
to be already covered (Article 6(d)).

Amendment 35 on anti-discrimination and diversity: The Council considered that the words ‘and
action taken to combat it’ were already covered at the beginning of the point in question (Article
7(a)).

Amendment 37 also on anti-discrimination and diversity: The Council agreed with the Parliament
to add a list of stakeholders but used a slightly different list, for the sake of consistency with the
articles dealing with other sections of the Programme (Article 7(c)).

Amendment 38 also on anti-discrimination and diversity: The Council agrees with the Commission
to align the wording of this paragraph with similar paragraphs in other articles. As in the case of
Amendment 16, it does not consider it necessary to include a list of the qualities of NGOs (Article
7(d)).

Amendment 48: The Council has followed the Commission's amended proposal and has incorpo-
rated this reference to national circumstances in the text of Article 9(1), point (b), first indent.

Amendment 49: The Council agrees with the Commission's amended proposal that it is not neces-
sary to list the other relevant actors (Article 9(1)(c)(iii).

Amendments 54 and 55 on access to the Programme: Although the Programme is also open to
regional and national NGOs, the Council wishes to stress the role of the NGOs organised at EU
level. Similarly, in this context, the Council wishes to stress the important role of public employ-
ment services. However,
it notes that all bodies, actors and institutions can have access to the
Programme, as stated in the introductory part of Article 10.

Amendment 64 on consistency and complementarity. While the Council agrees with the Parliament
on the importance of this issue, it considers that Article 15(2) covers the issue and that it is not,
therefore, necessary to list the different European agencies in the legal text.

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Amendment 66 on the overall budget: See comments above, under Section III, point 1.

Amendment 71 on evaluations: The Council agrees with the Parliament that the ex-post evaluation
should be available by 31.12.2015. However, concerning the other parts of the Parliament's amend-
ment, it has followed the Commission's amended proposal (Article 19).

3. European Parliament amendments not adopted by the Council

The Council followed the advice of the Commission and did not include the following Amendments
in its Common Position: 23, 33, 50, 51, 56, 57, 59, 60 and 72.

As for Amendments 31, 41, 47, 52, 58 and 68 (which were included in the Commission's amended
proposal), the Council did not consider it advisable to include them in its Common Position:

Amendment 31: While the Parliament wanted to delete the words ‘the prevention culture in the field of’
from the text of Article 6(3), the Council considered it more appropriate to keep the words in the
text, as the prevention culture should indeed be fostered.

Amendment 41: The Parliament wanted to add a reference to ‘reconciling work and family life’ also to
Article 8(3); the Council considers this superfluous, as the text has already been added elsewhere in
the text.

Amendment 47 on the Forum: The Council did not consider it necessary to include a reference to
‘an annual forum to evaluate the Social agenda and the Programme’ in Article 9 (i.e. in the Article on
Types of actions). A new Article 19(4) includes several of the ideas contained in this amendment,
whilst not taking on board the requirements to organise the Forum annually and to use it to eval-
uate the Programme.

Amendment 52 on the Social Agenda. As the amended version of Article 1 already includes refer-
ences to the Lisbon strategy and to the Social Agenda, the Council considers it superfluous to intro-
duce a new paragraph on this issue under Article 9.

Amendments 58 and 68 on the budgetary procedure: These amendments have become redundant
now that all the Programme's funding is distributed between the different sections. See also Section
III, point 1.

IV. CONCLUSION

The Council considers that, as a whole, the Common Position is in line with the objectives of the
Commission's amended proposal. The Council also considers that it has taken account of the objectives
pursued by the European Parliament in its amendments to the original Commission proposal.