The Union’s Social Policy Agenda, February 2002

On 20 February 2002, in anticipation of the forthcoming European Council, Barcelona, 15-16 March 2002, the European Commission published its second 'scoreboard' marking progress with the European Union's Social Policy Agenda. The scoreboard gives an introduction to the Agenda, and lists measures already taken together with initiatives expected during 2002.

Background

The Social Policy Agenda (COM (2000) 379) was published by the European Commission in June 2000, agreed by Ministers at the Social Affairs Council on 28 November, and formally adopted at the Nice European Council in December 2000, when it was issued as Annex I to the Presidency Conclusions.

The Agenda - a mix of new and existing measures - is a response to the call made at the March 2000 Lisbon European Council for Europe to 'become 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.'

Described as the Union's 'roadmap' for updating the European social model, the Agenda seeks to put the Lisbon objectives into practice both by establishing 'a dynamic and mutually reinforcing interaction' between economic, employment and social policies and by obtaining political agreement to mobilise key actors.

The Agenda defines priorities for action on social policy over a five-year period, based on six strategic guidelines:

I. More and better jobs

II. Anticipating and capitalising on change in the working environment by creating a new balance between flexibility and security.

III. Fighting poverty and all forms of exclusion and discrimination in order to promote social integration

IV. Modernising social protection

V. Promoting gender equality

VI. Strengthening the social policy aspects of enlargement and the European Union's external relations.

Underpinning these priorities are three main principles:

• social policy is central to both economic and social welfare
• raising the living standards of all citizens is a fundamental objective of the EU
• the quality of employment, social spending and industrial relations is crucial

The scoreboard

The Nice European Council decided that progress on the implementation of the Social Policy Agenda should be reviewed annually, 'on the basis of reports from the Commission and the Council and a regularly updated scoreboard'. The forum for each review is the recently-introduced Spring European Council devoted to economic and social issues. The first review of the Agenda took place at the inaugural Stockholm Spring European Council in March 2001, based on the Scoreboard on implementing the Social Policy Agenda published in February 2001; the second review will be at the forthcoming Barcelona European Council on 15-16 March 2002.

The second Scoreboard (issued as a press release - How far have we got with the EU's social policy agenda?) states that employment growth in 2000 'was the strongest for the past decade', with some three million jobs created in the European Union and an employment rate of 63.2% (7% lower than the Lisbon objective for 2010). However, the ambitions set out by the Lisbon European Council seem to have been met to some extent, with jobs having been created in high-tech and knowledge-intensive sectors:

'The results of structural reforms of European labour markets are becoming apparent. This is particularly evident in the increasing employment intensity of growth, stronger job creation in high-tech and knowledge-intensive sectors reflecting the move to a knowledge-based economy and a strong inflow of women into the labour market.

Annex 1 of the second scoreboard gives an overview of progress made with various types of EU-level actions under the following headings:

Legislative decisions:
European Company statute and directive on the involvement of employees (agreed)
Information and consultation directive (agreed)
Scaffolding directive (adopted in June 2001)
Vibrations directive (in conciliation)
Noise directive (common position in October 2001)
Asbestos directive (Commission proposal July 2001)
Health and safety for self employed second stage consultation of social partners (June 2001)
Modifications to Directive 76/207/EEC on equal treatment between men and women (conciliation)
Insolvency directive (common position in December 2001)

Open method of co-ordination:
Adoption of the Employment package including the employment guidelines (+ integration of quality in work), recommendations on employment policy, the Joint Employment Report.
Successful launch of the social inclusion process: National Action Plans and Joint Report on Social Exclusion
Supporting national strategies for safe and sustainable pensions: objectives adopted at Laeken

Support for awareness raising and exchange of good practice:
Action programme to combat discrimination (agreed)
Action programme for social inclusion (agreed)
Action programme on employment incentive measures (in conciliation)
Communication on annual work programme of the framework strategy on gender equality
Decision declaring 2003 European Year of Disabled Citizens

European Social Fund:
Agreement with Member States on Community Support Frameworks and other programming documents for European Social Fund.
Adoption of 17 Operational Programmes for EQUAL

Social dialogue:
Adaptability and modernisation of industrial relations in connection with the Employment Strategy second stage consultation of social partners leading to negotiations on telework
Creation of the European Monitoring Centre on Change
Input in the implementation of the European employment strategy

Other measures:
Mainstreaming equal opportunities in the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines
Communication on quality in employment and social policies
Benchmarking report on the follow-up to the strategies for jobs in the information society
Green Paper on corporate social responsibility
Communication on social aspects of Public Procurement
Communication as a contribution to the United Nations World Conference to combat racism
Communication on core labour standards
Communication on health care and care for the elderly
Communication on lifelong learning
Communication on labour supply and active ageing

Initiatives likely to be undertaken during 2002 are the subject of Annex 2 of the press release. Amongst those listed are:

• completion of an evaluation of the first five years of implementation of the Luxembourg Process
• publication of a joint Commission/Council report on increasing labour force participation and promoting active ageing
• presentation to the Barcelona European Council of an Action Plan on Skills and Mobility (which could include an initiative on a European health insurance card)
• presentation of a Communication on mainstreaming employment into other Community policies
• an initiative on anticipating and managing change and the need for a new focus on the social aspects of corporate restructuring
• a new Health and Safety strategy
• a renewal of social dialogue on the completion of 'voluntary agreements' on lifelong learning and telework; strengthening the involvement of the social partners in the open method of co-ordination and in particular in the employment strategy; promoting corporate social responsibility
• a proposal for a Directive on temporary agency work
• setting long term targets for eradicating poverty by 2010
• the first Commission/Council Joint Report on national pension strategies
• presentation to the Barcelona European Council of a report on health care and care for the elderly
• proposal for a Directive to combat discrimination on the basis of sex in areas other than employment and occupation
• reconciliation between working life and family life
• an action programme on parental leave

Further information within European Sources Online:

European Sources Online: Topic Guide:

• Employment and labour market policy

European Sources Online: In Focus:

• Employment and social policies: a framework for investing in quality, June 2001

Further information can be seen in these external links:
(long-term access cannot be guaranteed)

European Commission: DG Employment and Social Affairs

• Homepage
• Communication from the Commission ... Social Policy Agenda (COM(2000) 379)
• Communication ... Scoreboard on implementing the Social Policy Agenda COM(2001) 104
• The European Social Agenda and the EU's International Partners Speech by Commissioner Diamantopoulou
• The Social Policy Agenda: Europe at work for Trade Unions London - 9 March 2001. Address to the Trade Unions for Europe conference
• The European Union's Employment and Social Priorities: From Lisbon to Stockholm Brussels - 27 February 2001. Address to the UK's Engineering Employers' Federation
• Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou. European Parliament Conference. Social Policy Agenda. 21 September 2000
• The European Social Agenda and the EU's International Partners

European Commission: DG Press and Communication:
	19.03.01:	Anna Diamantopoulou: The European Social Model: Promoting economic and social progress
	10.04.01:	Anna Diamantopoulou: Rising to the challenge of modernisation
	15.10.01:	Public procurement: Commission issues guidelines for taking social considerations into account
	20.11.01:	Anna Diamantopoulou: The European social model: a sound business investment
	28.11.01:	Erkki Liikanen: Corporate Social Responsibility on the European Social policy Agenda
	20.02.02:	How far have we got with the EU's social policy agenda?

Social Platform

• Homepage
• A social policy for an inclusive Europe

European Women's Lobby

• Homepage
• EWL response to the proposal for a European Social Policy Agenda

European Foundation

• Homepage
• Commission issues new five-year social policy agenda

European Social Network

• Homepage
• Commission adopts new Social Policy Agenda, June 28th 2000

InfoBASE EUROPE

• Homepage
• Social Policy Agenda 2000-2005 September 2000

Further and subsequent information on the subject of this week's In Focus can be found by an 'Advanced Search' in European Sources Online by inserting 'biotechnology' in the search box.

Eric Davies
KnowEurope Researcher
Compiled: 22-24 February 2002

On 20 February 2002 the European Commission published its second 'scoreboard' marking progress with the European Union's Social Policy Agenda.