Legal provisions of COM(2000)549 - Implementation of Member States'employment policies - Main contents

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dossier	COM(2000)549 - Implementation of Member States'employment policies.
document	COM(2000)549
date	January 19, 2001

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52000DC0549

Recommendation for a Council Recommendation on the implementation of Member States'employment policies /* COM/2000/0549 final */

Recommendation for a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MEMBER STATES' EMPLOYMENT POLICIES

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

In February 2000, the Council adopted the first set of recommendations on the implementation of Member States' employment policies, in accordance with Article 128 4. The purpose was to focus policy action on priority areas and provide Member States with support and guidance in implementing the Employment Guidelines.

The National Action Plans, submitted by Member States in May, give a clear picture of how this first set of recommendations has been put into practice. This year's experience shows that the recommendations have played a useful role in focusing Member States' efforts on those aspects of the labour market where performance was acknowledged as being below the level achieved elsewhere in the Union.

This recommendation draws on the findings from the Commission's examination of the National Action Plans. It is part of a package including both the draft Joint Employment Report for 2000, which sets out the Commission's findings in detail, and the proposal for a Council decision on the Employment Guidelines for 2001. The Commission has been careful to ensure the coherence of these employment recommendations with those of the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines.

The recommendation identifies the key labour market challenges facing each Member State, and recommends appropriate lines of action to assist Member States in addressing those challenges as effectively as possible, in the framework of the European Employment Strategy.

This year's recommendations differ from last years in a number of respects, to reflect:

*first, the extent to which individual Member States have responded to recommendations, in the light of their particular labour market conditions;

*second, the development of the Luxembourg process, particularly in the light of the conclusions of the Lisbon and Feira European Councils, which emphasised the role of an active employment policy in establishing a knowledge-based economy.

The Member States' response to the recommendations was generally positive, albeit somewhat uneven, reflecting different stages of implementation and compliance with the Employment Guidelines. Such differences were given careful consideration when the individual recommendations were reviewed. The Commission has to decide between three course of action:

(1) The recommendation should be maintained because the measures taken by the Member State to address it are clearly insufficient.

(2) The recommendation should be amended to take account of progress made by the Member State, with a call to pursue efforts or to monitor further progress and assess impact. This is the appropriate response where measures taken by the Member State only partly address the recommendation and more effort is needed, or where a comprehensive plan has been laid down, but results will be visible only in the medium-to-long term.

(3) The recommendation should be dropped, because the steps undertaken by the country are sufficient.

Most of the 52 existing recommendations have been kept either in their entirety or in an amended form, since their implementation exceeds the timeframe of a single year and requires progress monitoring and impact assessment over the medium and long term. Eight recommendations were dropped because the initiatives taken by Member States and the evidence in the National Action Plans for Employment provided an adequate response, and clear progress was achieved. This concerned the recommendations on:

*the service sector and its job creation potential for Belgium, Germany, Ireland and Italy;

*the need to reduce the administrative burden on companies in Spain;

*the development of the statistical monitoring system in Germany and the United Kingdom;

*the promotion of social partnership in France.

Moreover, new recommendations were included to address two issues which deserve increasing policy attention given the current context of social and economic change and the increasingly clear impact of the emerging knowledge society:

*The strategic approach to the pillars. Despite considerable efforts to put the employment guidelines into practice, some Member States still lack a comprehensive approach to developing and implementing the Employment Strategy. This is reflected in the uneven treatment given to the four pillars of the employment guidelines in the National Action Plans. Therefore, some Member States are encouraged to take a more strategic approach to framing their NAPs and to consider explicitly how they might improve their policy mix in order to achieve maximum impact.

*Lifelong learning. Whereas lifelong learning plays an important role in employment policies, as highlighted by the conclusions of the Lisbon Summit, policy action by Member States has remained quite modest. Most still lack a comprehensive policy framework for lifelong learning, supported by appropriate targets called for by the new guideline, introduced in 1999 to address the challenges of the knowledge-based society. The Commission felt it therefore necessary to follow up progress. Recommendations in this area should help Member States to address skills gaps and bring education and training systems into line with the needs of the labour market.

*Other emerging labour market issues could be covered by the present recommendation. One example is the widening regional disparities in employment which have been witnessed in some Member States. While this issue has been considered in the Joint Employment Report of 2000 and in the revised employment guidelines for 2001, its inclusion in the recommendations on employment policy will be considered in the future.

Annex 1

Comparison of Council recommendations in 1999 and 2000

>TABLE POSITION>

Annex 2

List of dropped recommendations

Belgium

Adopt and implement coherent strategies, encompassing regulatory, fiscal and labour market measures, to exploit more fully the job creation potential of the services sector.

Germany

Adopt and implement a coherent strategy to exploit the employment potential of the services sector, encompassing regulatory, fiscal and other measures to reduce the burden for setting up new undertakings;

Take appropriate measures to improve and adapt its statistical system so as to provide data compatible with the common policy indicators by 2000. Germany should consider introducing a quarterly Labour Force Survey in the light of the Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98.

Spain

Adopt and implement coherent strategies, encompassing regulatory, fiscal and other measures, designed to reduce the administrative burden on companies, in order to stimulate entrepreneurship and exploit the potential for more and stable employment in the service sector.

France

Strengthen social partnership with a view to developing a comprehensive approach to modernising work organisation.

Ireland

Pursue recently implemented policies, encompassing regulatory, educational and fiscal measures, in order to further exploit the potential for job growth in the service sector.

Italy

Pursue particularly in the South efforts to alleviate the administrative burden on companies and exploit the job creation potential of the service sector.

United Kingdom

Upgrade the statistical monitoring system, so that policy indicators on prevention and activation will be provided by 2000 in accordance with agreed definitions and methods.

Recommendation for a

COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION

ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MEMBER STATES' EMPLOYMENT POLICIES

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular to Article 128(4) thereof,

Having regard to the 15 implementation reports for 2000 received from the Member States, comprising the implementation of the 1999 National Employment Action Plans and describing the adjustments made to the National Employment Action Plans to take account of the changes introduced by the 2000 guidelines,

Having regard to the Council recommendation of 14 February 2000 on the implementation of Member States' employment policies.

Having regard to the recommendation made by the Commission on 6 September 2000,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic Policy Committee of 4 October 2000 on this recommendation,

Having regard to the opinion of the Employment Committee of 5 October 2000 on this recommendation.

Whereas:

(1) The Council adopted the employment guidelines for 1998, 1999 and 2000, by the Council Resolution of 15 December 1997 and 22 February 1999, and by the Council decision of 13 March 2000.

OJ L 72,21.3.2000, p. 15.

(2) The Lisbon European Council on 23 and 24 March 2000 agreed on a comprehensive strategy towards employment, economic reform and social cohesion as part of the knowledge-based society, made a commitment to creating the conditions for full employment and stressed the importance of lifelong learning;

(3) The Feira European Council on 19 and 20 June 2000 highlighted the prominent role social partners are called to play in modernising work organisation, promoting lifelong learning and increasing the employment rate, particularly amongst women;

(4) The Council adopted the recommendation on the Broad Economic Guidelines on 19 June 2000, and European Council of 17 June 1997 agreed on a Resolution on a Stability and Growth Pact setting commitments by Member States;

(5) The 2000 Joint Employment Report, prepared jointly with the Commission, describes the employment situation in the Community and examines the action taken by the Member States in implementing their employment policy in line with the guidelines,

(6) The Council considers it appropriate, in the light of the examination of the implementation of the Member States' employment policies, to make recommendations ; they should be used sparingly, should concentrate on priority issues and should be based on sound and accurate analysis;

(7) In complementing action undertaken by the Member States with a view to contributing towards the achievement of full employment, the competences of the Member States should be respected;

(8) The Council acknowledges the significant efforts already undertaken by Member States with a view to implementing the Employment Guidelines and the Council Recommendation of 14 February 2000 ; in the assessment of the impact of these policies, the multi-annual perspective of the Employment Guidelines should be taken into account;

OJ C [...],[...], p. [...]

(9) In addressing the employment guidelines, an overall strategic approach to the development and implementation of the employment policies in the Member States is called for;

(10) The development and implementation of lifelong learning is key to the development of a competitive and dynamic knowledge-based society and requires action from public authorities, enterprises and social partners;

(11) To tackle youth unemployment, which is a long-standing problem in most European Union countries, all young people should have the opportunity to gain entry to the world of work before they have been unemployed for six months;

(12) To prevent adult long-term unemployment, which affects roughly half of the unemployed in the European Union, all the adult unemployed should be offered a new start before they have been unemployed for twelve months;

(13) It is important to reduce disincentives to employment embodied in the tax or benefit systems in order to ensure higher participation rates amongst women and older workers;

(14) Improvements of the business environment and a better equipment of individuals for taking up entrepreneurial activities are needed to stimulate job creation by more and more dynamic enterprises;

(15) Framework conditions need to be developed to tap the potential for employment growth in the services sector;

(16) Sustained job creation calls for more employment-friendly taxation systems in which the currently high burden on labour is shifted to alternative sources of fiscal revenue, such as energy and the environment;

(17) Local action for employment significantly contributes to the achievement of the objectives of the European Employment Strategy;

(18) The establishment of partnerships at all appropriate levels is key for the modernisation of the organisation of work and the promotion of the adaptability of undertakings and their employees;

(19) Gender gaps in the labour market, particularly affecting employment, unemployment and pay, as well as gender segregation across sectors and occupations, require comprehensive mainstreaming strategies and measures to reconcile work and family life better;

Hereby Makes to the individual Member States the recommandations set out in the Annex.