CELEX: 51975PC0501
Language: en
Date: 1975-10-08
Title: Proposal for a Council Decision on European Social Fund measures to aid vocational adaptation operations (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

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COM (75) 501
Vol. 1975/0191
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 ---pagebreak---          COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
             "                                ,  COM(75)501 final.
                          /          ->
                                                 Erussels , 8 October 1975
                        \ Proposal for a Council Decision
                                  \
                          on European Social Fund measures
                      to aid vocational adaptation operations
                                        ,
                    ( submitted to the Council by the Commission )
       f  \)   ■
CQM(75 ) 501 finale
                 \
 ---pagebreak---                                                                 Qrig. : P
 European Social Fond measures to aid vocational adaptation operations con­
 nected with the recession (Article 4 of the Council Decision of 1 February
 1971 )
                                 ' EXPLANATORY MEMORANDtM
 1 « At . its meeting of 17 June , and in adopting joint actionvto help young people
      through the Social Fund , the Council decided to discuss before 30 november
      1975 a proposal from the Commission to extend assistance from the Fund to
      "persons who" are or have been employed in the sectors particularly effected
     "by the imbalance in employment linked to the reoeBsion, bearing in mind the
                                                         1
     regions most affected by employment problems"#
                     ' •*-              •  #      +
                              ■"
2 . In formulating its present proposal the. Commission take as basis develop­
    ments in the employment situation          ...
    Despite a slight and intermittent seasonal recovery of the employment
    market in Denm?.rkf Germany and FVance , there has - been no sign of improvement
    in any of the Member States in reoent months# According to forecasts ,
    unemployment must indeed be expected to worsen in the early months of 1976#
                                                                      ...
                                   ι
                           '                 *
       1Doc. cai ( 75 ) 126 final » '
 ---pagebreak---       If tho increases in unemployment can for the most part be attributed to - the
      developing economic situation , they express at the same time a structural change
      of" a lonp-term naturei the large economic revival programmes
      governments       are adopting will have to "be accompanied by selective .
   . measures putting into operation the means for recycling the labour necessary .
     to combat the growing . maladjustment of manpower supply to demand*
  3»Not only because of the extent         of this situation
      but also because of its lasting and structural oharaoter ,
     which will make vocational adaptation on a largo qcale inevitable , it meets
     the conditions justifying recourse to Artiole 4 of the Council Decision of
.. 1 Februrxy 1971 « Tho Fund must be . allowed to play its         part within the
     frwnowork of specific joint action by directing its assiotanoe for requalifi-
     cation and retraining towards the most urgent . operations , integrating itself
     in priority objectives recognized at Community level and giving the best
     guarantee for harmonization of employment policies *      . *
 4»?he field of application of- a joint action would be defined with reference
    to criteria of eligibility or seltrtriofl at various levels : sectors , region and ■
    the ouality of ,the specifio individual programme ♦ It appoars less destirablo ,
    at least at the level of the Council decision, to ley down ' an expressly
    categorial criterion : firstly, . from a desire to maintain the specifio nature
    of the ad hoc decisions which extended assistance from the Fund to two          (
    large categories of worker – migrania and young people ( 2); secondly, because
    experience has shown that operations selected on a sectoral or regional -
   basis        I'10'*' nocessarily have at the same time a categorial character: of
                                                                   • • * • t/• • •
    ( 2 ) Council Decisions of 27 June 1974 (migrant workers )
          and 22 July 1975 (young people under 25 years ).
          See OJ Lf8=5 /74 nf Q Julv 1Q7A DAW 20 and Tlqq /7^
 ---pagebreak---    sufficient weight to justify preferential intervention treatment for that
   reason . Categorial priorities will , however, have to be taken into account
. at Social Pur.d operational management level where the specific individual
   programme shows that they are both feasible and advisable#                     «
• As to the choice of Boctors , it does not seem advisable at this stage that
   sectors should be specifically nominated for assistance •        would be
  better to determine the points of impact of assistance from the Fund by reference
    to objective and clear criteria, applicable at Community level to all
  • sectors without discrimination .                                         <
  Following this line of thf/cifiit , the proposed Decision would apply         .
  to workers who had been made ionemployed    or who were undergoing
  readrptation , in any soctor or branch which, as a result of the recession ,
  hr\d undorgone a serious drop in activity end had consequently boon forced to
  dismiss large numbers of personnel .       In this context intermediate solu­
  tions such as suspended, part–time or short–time working and certain other formulae
  for job maintenance would be considered as dismissal , provided that those
 measures had boon in force for a relatively long period , at loast three
  con3«5cutiv2j months for example *
 The threshold giving entitlement to assistance from the Fund could be
 reached when the number of unemployed persons in a sector (wholly unemployed
                           *                                      •   <■»
 or persons affected by similar measures in th.is sector ) reached a level of
 increase distinctly higher than the average for the Community .
 ---pagebreak---      The period of reference boing the beginning of 1974, tho date from which
     the first drop in employment owing to recession mado itself felt •
     In addition , if assistance from the Fund , while contributing to tho
     roabsorption of tho short-term unemployed , is to encourago further .
     activity , well-defined quality guarantees must "bo required , for examplo
     for tho type of initial training or retraining envisaged and the
  . existing prospect for re-employment * *                                  .
     Since , however , persons undergoing readaptation may teke tip employment
     either inside or outside tho sector- to which they belong, these guarantees
     will "be assessed preferably in the light 'of the individual programme
     submitted#                                            .
                                                                     4
6 . The Council intends that tho proposal put forward by tho Commission
    will also include, a section taking into account the "regions most af­
    fected by employment problems ", thus giving concrete effect * othe
    concern expressed explicitly at the Conference of Heads of State and
     Heads of Government in December 1974 *     '
      The action      envisaged on this basis must first" of all answer two
    cruestions : what sort of rogion is to bo taken as referenoe and what
    criteria of urgency pre to "be" chosen ?"                   .       >.
    The definitionof urgency varies greatly depending on whether tho goo-
    graphical reference basis consists of administrative units , region's , or
    zones defined more closely in relation to the labour market * These last
    are " employment basins" geographically determined by the direction and ■"
    intensity of manpower flows'.     If intervention concerning manpower and
    consequently assistance from the Social Fund is      -                     *
 ---pagebreak---  conceived in relation to the characteristics of the zones
 defined above , its specific orientation would appear to "be tetter
 guaranteed than it would be by simple reference to the criteria adopted
 for the delimitation , for example , of priority zones of regional expan­
sion of a general character , which could not guarantee this * That is
                                                                                  «
why it is this definition which should be retained in the present case *
As far as the criteria of urgency are concerned priority should cer­
tainly be given to those regions with the largest reserves of manpower
                                                ι
as a result of the recession . These reserves will be measured by the
 increase in unsatisfied job demands (regardless of seotor);                 »
where necessary ,    the « development of migration since the beginning of
 the recession may be taken into consideration .    Consequently , eligibility for
 aid from the Social Fund would be accorded            to operations in regard
to manp.ower in the sectors covered , carried - out in regions having ex­
perienced an increase in unemployment or unsatisfied job demands dis­
tinctly above the national level since the beginning of 197^«
As an alternative          to - the foregoing , and to strengthen the regional
and sectoral character of aids , the latter would be reserved to those
regions in which the sectors seriously affected by the recession pre­
dominate . Such predominance could be measured                     by the rela­
tion of the total workforce in these sectors to the active population
in the region .
In this connection , 'to ensure that there is no neglect of those structurally
weak regions where the impact of the recession is less obvious , account must
be taken of the absolute level of unemployment in the region .
 ---pagebreak--- In this system , assistance from the Social Fund would be granted in
descending order of priority , depending on the available resources ,
i . e . applications which substantially satisfied the established           «
qualitative and quantitative criteria would automatically take pre- .
cedence over . those which satisfied . only a few or satisfied them to
a lesser degree .       '■                                          ••
                                          f
Beside the criteria already mantioned , operations carried out in the
framework of actions the subject of co-operation between the social
partners ( preferably on a European level but at least on national
level ,) could benefit ( at least in those sectors "where such co­
operation exists ) from a priority in the frame of the management of
the fund .            >               ,                           -
Each operation for which the Fund 's assistance is requested must form
part of a group of measures included in . an individual programme at
the level of the sector , the Member State , the region , or even of the
undertaking , stfowing the economic context , the range of the adaptation
and development schemes , the opinion of the two sides of industry and
the level at which it was obtained . The Commission hopes to ensure
by this that schemes receiving assistance from the Fund present ade­
quate guarantees of desirability and effectiveness at national level
and permit gradual harmonization with the Community 's economic and
social guidelines .                         .                          . -
The Council must also state the types of aid qualifying for assistance
from the Fund in accordance with its decision under Article *+•
                           <     ,            ,
                              1.                x                          •
Iti . is proposed i to restrict
                             i*,
                                 itself
                                    •
                                        to the types of
                                                     t
                                                        aid provided for in
the Regulation containing the list of aids .
 ---pagebreak---                                  Proposal for a Council decision
   on intervention "by the Social Fund in favour of vocational adjustement
                                          measures
   THE COUNCIL OP THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
  Having regard to the Treaty . establishing the European Economic Community ;.
  Having regard to Council Decision No . 7i/66/t£EC of 1 February 1971 on the
  reform of the European- Social Fund , and in particular Article 4 thereof ;
  Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ;
  Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament ;
  Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee ;
•                       · ' ψ*             Φ      , ..
  Whereas the Heads of Government , meeting in Paris on 9 and 10 December 1974
  took the view that vigorous and coordinated action had to be taken at Com­
  munity level to deal with the problem of employment ; whereas they also drew
  attention to the fact that when the time was ripe , the Council would consi­
  der , in the light of experience, and with due regard to the problem of the
  regions and categories of workers most affected by employment difficulties ,
  whether and to what, extent it would be necessary to increase?£he resources
  of the Social Fund ;
  Whereas the Council , in its decision No 75/459/^SEC of 22 July 1975 on inter­
  vention by the European Social Fund in favour of persons affected by employ*
 ment difficulties ( 2 ) undertook to decide before 30 November 1975 on a Com­
 mission proposal submitted pursuant to Article 4 of Decision No . 7l/66/EEQ
  facilitating the geographical and vocational mobility of persons working
                     V.             I,
            '                  ,              4                  I
                                                                       •/
                                                                        '
                                                                          •••
    ( 1 ) OJ. No . L 28, 4.2.1971 , pl. 15      "
    ( 2 ) OJ. No . L 199, 30.7.75 , p. 36
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 2 -
  or having worked in sectors particularly aff.ected by the imbalance
  in employment connected with the recession , taking account of the
                                             '   .- it !
  regions nost affected by employment difficulties ;
                                                                           %
  Whereas the employment, situation in the sectors and regions most .
  affected by the recession calls for specific common action to b.etter
                         / '    •                                      ,
  ensure adjustment of supply and demand in the labour market-' in the
  Community ;
  HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :               '     "
  Article 1
 Pursuant to Article 4 of the Council Decision of 1 February 1971 » the
 Social Fund can take action in favour of operations designed to
  facilitate the employment and geographical and vocational mobility
 of ^persons working or having worked in both :
 - sectors in which , since the beginning of 1974 , unemploy- ^
     ment has risen considerably compared to the average Community increase
      in all sectors or in which a semilar trend occurs at the level of the
      number of workers-";
 - and regions in which ^ since the beginning of 197^, unemploy– _ _
    ment has risen considerably compared to the average national increase .
or in which the employment in 'one' or more of the abovementioned aaotors
    represents a substantial part of the aotive population, due      _
     account being taken or the absolute level of unemployment in the region \
     oonoerned#              •.
      >                      ■r            *               i
                                  '                      ,   •/•••
 ---pagebreak---    Article    2
   The operations referred to under Artiole 1 shall "be combined with the imple­
   menting of Adjustment or development programmes consistent with the economic
   » nd social objectives of the Community# Such programmes shall , more especial­
   ly , show the economic context of the actions they comprise and define the
   objectives and methods .      ' '
   They shall take account of the opinion which "both sides of industry will
  have expressed end the level at which the latter were consulted#
                                                            1
  Article    3
  Pursuant to this Decision , the Social Fund may grant assistance to aids
  listed in Council Regulation (EEC ) No » 2397/71 on aid which may qualify
  for assistance from the European Social Fund *
. Article    4
  This Decision shall enter into force on the fifth day following that of its
  publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities#
 ---pagebreak---                         FIÎTANCISL DATA SIIEET
annexed to the proposal for a Council decision on assitance from the
European Social Fund for vocational retraining operations in connection
                        with the recession
1 . The last three years experience of intervention by the Social Fund in
    textiles has shown that , in a sector in difficulties , the average cost
    of assistance can be stimated at 67O u.a. per person and that the
    average number of recipients in relation to the total number of people
    whose jobs are thereby threatened may be put at 38$. By applying these
    averages to other sectors in difficulty , in particular those sectors
    that are most affected by the recession , it is possible to calculate ,
    of course only very provisionally , a figure that might correspond to
    the cost of the assitance specified in the present proposal for a
    decision .
2 . According to an estimate based on statistics from four countries in
    the Community , about 320 000 people are unemployed in those sectors
    where unemployment has increased over a 12 month period , considerably
    more than the Community average . To provide an indication of the
    numbers covered by the proposal for a decision , this figure must be
    reduced by one-third , or even 40$, to take account of the limitations
    imposed by criteria of regional admissibility . The initial figure is
    thus reduced to between 190 000 and 215 000 .
3 . By applying to this total the average percentage of recipients , the
    population which will receive assistance from the Fund in the chosen
    sectors can be estimated at between 72 500 and 80 500 people . Based
    on the average cost of 67O u.a. per person , the overall annual budget
    necessary to implement the present proposal for a decision will amount
    to some 49 to 53 million u.a.
 ---pagebreak--- It may be recalled that the preliminary budget estimates of the
Commission for 1976 provided for 60 million u.a. under the heading
of'anti-orisis" assistance from the Social Fund (doc . COM(75 ) 330
p. 57 )* This amount was also partly to cover expenditure on a assitance
for the textile and clothing industry.