Council Resolution of 22 February 1999 on the 1999 Employment Guidelines
C 69/2 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 12. 3. 1999 COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 22 February 1999 on the 1999 Employment Guidelines (1999/C 69/02) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Whereas under Article 2 of that Treaty the Community has as its task the promotion, in particular, of a high level of employment, In accordance with the conclusions of the Amsterdam European Council of 16 and 17 June 1997 and the Resolution on Growth and Employment which referred to the procedure as envisaged in the new Title on Employment in the Amsterdam Treaty and stated that the Council should seek those provisions immediately effective, to make On the basis of the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council meeting on Employment of 20 and 21 the Luxembourg November 1997 which process, based on the implementation of a coordinated European employment strategy, launched On the basis of the conclusions of the Vienna European Council of 11 and 12 December 1998, Having regard to the Commission’s "Report on ways of improving the comparability of statistics to monitor and value progress under the European employment strategy established in view of the European Council in Vienna’; the having regard also Commission and the Member States in the field of indicators, referred to in the 1998 Joint Employment Report, the progress made by to Having contribution of the European Parliament, the Resolution embodying regard to the Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee, Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions, Having regard to the opinion of the Employment and Labour Market Committee, Having regard to the Social Partners’ contribution to the implementation of the 1998 Employment Guidelines and to the results of the contacts established with the troika of Heads of State or Government and the Commission, to regard Having the Council Resolution of 15 December 1997 on the 1998 Employment GuidelinesØ(˛), the conclusions of the Cardiff European Council of 15 and 16 June 1998 and the contribution of all Member States to the development of the process set out in the in particular through the presentation of Resolution, National Action Plans for Employment, Having regard to the 1998 Joint Employment Report, prepared jointly with the Commission, describing the employment situation in the Community and examining the action taken by the Member States in implementing their employment policy in line with the 1998 guidelines, Having regard October 1998 Employment Policies in 1999, to for Guidelines the Commission proposal of 14 for Member States’ (1) Whereas employment is the top priority of the European Union; whereas coordinated action must be pursued in a sustained manner to combat unemÜ ployment levels of the employment on a lasting basis; present raise and (2) Whereas the 1998 Employment Guidelines, endorsed at the Luxembourg European Council, have launched a process with high visibility, strong political commitment and a wide ranging acceptÜ ance by all actors concerned; (3) Whereas the Vienna European Council has given the Council and the Commission a mandate to report forthcoming Cologne European the development of a European Council on Employment Pact the Luxembourg process; framework of the the to in (˛) OJ C 30, 28. 1. 1998, p. 1. (4) Whereas all fifteen Member States have submitted reports on the implementation of their National 12. 3. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 69/3 Action Plans, and on this basis a fruitful dialogue has been established with the Commission, and a peer group review has been launched, which have allowed for the clarification of the aims, methods, in the funding and timescales of their policies context of the respective action plans; (5) Whereas for the continued success of the European Employment Strategy, it is important to maintain the integrated and coordinated approach based on sound macro economic policies and structural reforms labour, product, services and capital markets; in (6) Whereas be should policies the adoption by the opinion of this coordination of Member States’ implemented employment the Council, having through received the Employment and Labour Market Committee acting in close coopÜ eration with the Economic Policy Committee, of employment guidelines, which are compatible with the broad economic policy guidelines and which set specific is regularly monitored under a common procedure for assessing results; the achievement of which targets, (7) Whereas the implementation of the guidelines may vary according to their nature, their impact on Member States and the parties to whom they are addressed; whereas they must respect the principle of subsidiarity and Member States’ responsibilities with regard to employment; (12) Whereas the role and responsibility of partners at the regional and local levels in job creation and in ensuring supportive conditions and structures needs to be more fully recognised and supported; (13) Whereas the European Social Fund is making a positive contribution to the qualification of human to should be used resources and strengthen support for the Employment Strategy; its reform (14) Whereas sustainable development and concerns endorsed the inteÜ in other environmental gration of Community policies were the Amsterdam European Council; whereas Member States are invited to give effect to this integration their national employment strategies by within promoting employment creation in the environÜ mental field; by (15) Whereas the role of the cultural sectors in creating sustainable jobs should be considered in the context of the National Action Plans; (16) Whereas the Vienna European Council invited the Commission to present in Spring 1999 a communiÜ cation on mainstreaming employment policies at Community level, based on the future Article 127 of the Treaty establishing the European ComÜ munity; (8) Whereas the differing situations of the Member States in relation to the problems addressed by the guidelines will result in differing solutions and emphases in line with individual situations; (17) Whereas the Vienna European Council invited the Commission to allow those Member States which so desire to experiment with reduced VAT rates on labour intensive services which are not exposed to cross border competition; (9) Whereas the 1999 Employment Guidelines preserve the four pillar structure: improving employability, developing entrepreneurship, encouraging adaptaÜ bility of businesses and their employees and strengthening the policies for equal opportunities between women and men; (10) Whereas the Member States, in drawing up their National Action Plans for 1999, should fully exploit the new possibilities opened up by information and communication creation, employability, more flexible and adaptable forms of work organisation and progress on equal opporÜ tunities; technologies job for (11) Whereas the implementation of these Guidelines could help to tackle the problem of undeclared work; (18) Whereas the experience the Luxembourg process in 1998 showed that streamÜ lining is necessary for 1999 and the following years, implementing in HEREBY ADOPTS THIS RESOLUTION: 1. The 1999 Employment Guidelines appended hereto are adopted. 2. In 1999 each Member State will submit by midÜJune, to the Council and the Commission, one implemenÜ tation report, comprising the implementation of the the 1998 National Action Plan and describing adjustments made to the National Action Plan to take account of the changes introduced by the 1999 Guidelines. C 69/4 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 12. 3. 1999 3. The Council notes that the Commission will, on the the Member States’ its proposal for the the revised the year 2000 by basis of its evaluation of implementation reports, make Joint Employment Report for Employment Guidelines September 1999. and 4. The Council will, on the basis of the Member States’ implementation reports and having received the views of the Employment and Labour Market Committee, carry out an examination of the implementation of the employment policies of the Member States in the light of the Employment Guidelines. On the basis of the results of that examination, the Council and the Commission will make the European Council on the employment situation in the Community and on the the guidelines for employment. The Joint Employment Report 1999 will contain a first evaluation of the impact of the employment situation. the National Action Plans on implementation of joint report their to 5. The Council affirms that the social partners at all levels will be involved in all stages of this approach and will make an important contribution to the implementation of these guidelines and the promotion of a high level of employment. That contribution will be regularly assessed. 6. The Council recognises the key importance of a broad and intensive dialogue between all actors involved, i. e. the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, Social Partners, the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank for the future success of the Luxembourg process. 7. The Council invites the Commission and the Member States to reach an agreement on the definition of all relevant forthcoming time indicators Cologne European Council. the for in ANNEX THE 1999 EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES INTRODUCTION: QUANTITATIVE TARGETS AND INDICATORS It is essential that the Employment Guidelines are transformed into concrete national action plans. The use of common indicators, based on comparable statistics, is of crucial importance for an effective monitoring and evaluation of policies, both at national and at Community level. So far, basic employment performance indicators have been used in several joint employment reports and the work on policy indicators, referring to the concrete Guidelines, is well under way. It was agreed at Luxembourg that the ultimate objective of a coordination of Member States’ employment policies is to arrive at a significant increase in the employment rate in Europe on a sustainable basis. In order to produce concrete results, Member States: - are urged to support the process of defining and collecting comparable data in order to implement the three CommunityÜwide operational targets under Guideline 1Ü3. This includes in particular developing reliable flow data on employment and unemployment, - will need, in order meaningfully to evaluate progress on implementing the Guidelines, to ensure that adequate and comparable data systems and procedures are available. In addition, Member States are invited to set themselves national targets which could be quantified wherever possible and appropriate. Furthermore, objective criteria will have to be developed for selecting best practices. 12. 3. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 69/5 I. IMPROVING EMPLOYABILITY Tackling youth unemployment and preventing long term unemployment In order to influence the trend in youth and long term unemployment the Member States will intensify their efforts to develop preventive and employability oriented strategies, building on the early identifiÜ cation of individual needs; within a period to be determined by each Member State which may not exceed four years and which may be longer in Member States with particularly high unemployment, Member States will ensure that: 1. every unemployed young person is offered a new start before reaching six months of unemÜ ployment, in the form of training, retraining, work practice, a job or other employability measure; 2. unemployed adults are also offered a fresh start before reaching twelve months of unemployment by one of the aforementioned means or, more generally, by accompanying individual vocational guidance. These preventive and employability measures should be combined with measures to promote the re employment of the long term unemployed. Transition from passive measures to active measures Benefit, tax and training systems - where that proves necessary - must be reviewed and adapted to ensure that they actively support employability. Each Member State: 3. will endeavour to increase significantly the number of persons benefiting from active measures to improve their employability. In order to increase the numbers of unemployed who are offered training or any similar measure, it will in particular fix a target, in the light of its starting situation, of gradually achieving the average of the three most successful Member States, and at least 20Ø%; 4. will review and, where appropriate, refocus its benefit and tax system and provide incentives for unemployed or inactive people to seek and take up work or measures to enhance their employaÜ bility and for employers to create new jobs. In addition, it is important to develop, in the context of a policy for active ageing, measures such as maintaining working capacity, lifelong learning and other flexible working arrangements, so that older workers are also able to participate actively in working life. Encouraging a partnership approach The actions of the Member States alone will not suffice to achieve the desired results in promoting employability. Consequently: 5. the social partners are urged, at their various levels of responsibility and action, to conclude as soon as possible agreements with a view to increasing the possibilities for training, work experience, traineeships or other measures likely to promote employability; fields of 6. in order to reinforce the development of a skilled and adaptable workforce, both Member States and the social partners will endeavour to develop possibilities for lifelong learning, particularly in the the Employment and Labour Market Committee, define lifelong learning in order to set a target according to national circumstances for participants benefiting from such measures. Easy access for older workers will be particularly important. information and communication in consultation with technologies, and, Easing the transition from school to work Employment prospects are poor for young people who leave the school system without having acquired the aptitudes required for entering the job market. Member States will therefore: 7. improve the quality of their school systems in order to reduce substantially the number of young people who drop out of the school system early. Particular attention should also be given to young people with learning difficulties; C 69/6 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 12. 3. 1999 8. make sure they equip young people with greater ability to adapt to technological and economic changes and with skills relevant to the labour market, where appropriate by implementing or developing apprenticeship training. Promoting a labour market open to all Many groups and individuals experience particular difficulties in acquiring relevant skills and in gaining access to, and remaining in, the labour market. A coherent set of policies promoting the inteÜ gration of such groups and individuals into the world of work and combating discrimination is called for. Each Member State will: 9. give special attention to the needs of the disabled, ethnic minorities and other groups and indiÜ viduals who may be disadvantaged, and develop appropriate forms of preventive and active policies to promote their integration into the labour market. II. DEVELOPING ENTREPRENEURSHIP Making it easier to start up and run businesses The development of new enterprises, and the growth of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), is essential for job creation and for the expansion of training opportunities for young people. This process must be promoted by encouraging greater entrepreneurial awareness across society, by providing a clear, stable and predictable set of rules and by improving the conditions for the develÜ opment of risk capital markets. The Member States should also reduce and simplify the administrative and tax burdens on SMEs. These policies will support Member States’ attempts to tackle undecleared work. To that end the Member States will: 10. give particular attention to reducing significantly the overhead costs and administrative burdens for businesses, and especially SMEs, in particular when an enterprise is being set up and when hiring additional workers; 11. encourage the development of self employment by examining, with the aim of reducing, any obstacles which may exist, especially those within tax and social security regimes, to moving to self employment and the setting up of small businesses as well as by promoting training for entreÜ preneurship and targeted support services for entrepreneurs. Exploiting new opportunities for job creation If the European Union wants to deal successfully with the employment challenge, all possible sources of jobs and new technologies and innovations must be exploited effectively. To that end the Member States will: 12. promote measures to exploit fully the possibilities offered by job creation at local level, in the social economy, in the area of environmental technologies and in new activities linked to needs not yet satisfied by the market, and examine, with the aim of reducing, any obstacles in the way of such measures. In this respect, the special role of local authorities and the social partners should be taken into account; 13. develop framework conditions to fully exploit the employment potential of the services and industry related services, inter alia, by tapping the employment potential of the information society and the environmental sector, to create more and better jobs. Making the taxation system more employment friendly and reversing the long term trend towards higher taxes and charges on labour (which have increased from 35Ø% in 1980 to more than 42Ø% in 1995). Each Member State will: 14. set a target, if necessary and taking account of its present level, for gradually reducing the overall tax burden and, where appropriate, a target for gradually reducing the fiscal pressure on labour and non wage labour costs, in particular on relatively unskilled and low paid labour, without jeopÜ 12. 3. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 69/7 ardising the recovery of public finances or the financial equilibrium of social security schemes. It will examine, if appropriate, the desirability of introducing a tax on energy or on pollutant emissions or any other tax measure; 15. examine, without obligation, the advisability of reducing the rate of VAT on labour intensive services not exposed to cross border competition. III. ENCOURAGING ADAPTABILITY OF BUSINESSES AND THEIR EMPLOYEES Modernising work organisation In order to promote the modernisation of work organisation and forms of work, a strong partnership should be developed at all appropriate levels (European, national, sectoral, local and enterprise levels): 16. The social partners are invited to negotiate at all appropriate levels agreements to modernise the organisation of work, including flexible working arrangements, with the aim of making underÜ takings productive and competitive and achieving the required balance between flexibility and security. Such agreements may, for example, cover the expression of working time as an annual figure, the reduction of working hours, the reduction of overtime, the development of part time working, lifelong training and career breaks. 17. For its part, each Member State will examine the possibility of incorporating in its law more adaptable types of contract, taking into account the fact that forms of employment are increasingly diverse. Those working under contracts of this kind should at the same time enjoy adequate security and higher occupational status, compatible with the needs of business. Support adaptability in enterprises In order to renew skill levels within enterprises Member States will: 18. re examine the obstacles, in particular tax obstacles, to investment in human resources and possibly provide for tax or other incentives for the development of in house training; they will also examine new regulations and review the existing regulatory framework to make sure they will contribute to reducing barriers to employment and helping the labour market adapt to structural change in the economy. IV. STRENGTHENING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN Gender mainstreaming approach Women still have particular problems in career advancement, in earnings and in reconciling professional and family life. It is therefore important, inter alia: in gaining access to the employment market, - to ensure that active labour market policies are made available for women in proportion to their share of unemployment, - to reduce tax benefit disincentives, wherever identified, because of their negative effects on the female labour supply, - to give particular attention to obstacles which hinder women who wish to set up new businesses or become self employed, - to ensure that women are able to benefit positively from flexible forms of work organisation. C 69/8 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 12. 3. 1999 Therefore, the Member States will: 19. adopt a gender mainstreaming approach in implementing the Guidelines of all four pillars. In order meaningfully to evaluate progress on this approach, Member States will need to provide for adequate data collection systems and procedures. Tackling gender gaps Member States and the social partners should translate their desire to promote equality of opportunity into increased employment rates for women. They should also pay attention to the imbalance in the representation of women or men in certain economic sectors and occupations, as well as to the improvement of female career opportunities. Member States will: 20. attempt to reduce the gap in unemployment rates between women and men by actively supporting the increased employment of women and will take action to bring about a balanced representation of women and men in all sectors and occupations. They will initiate positive steps to promote equal pay for equal work or work of equal value and to diminish differentials in incomes between women and men. In order to reduce gender gaps, Member States will also consider an increased use of measures for the advancement of women. Reconciling work and family life Policies on career breaks, parental leave and part time work, as well as flexible working arrangements which serve the interests of both employers and employees, are of particular importance to women and men. Implementation of the various Directives and social partner agreements in this area should be accelerated and monitored regularly. There must be an adequate provision of good quality care for children and other dependents in order to support women’s and men’s entry and continued particiÜ pation in the labour market. An equal sharing of family responsibilities is crucial in this respect. In order to strengthen equal opportunities, Member States and the social partners will: 21. design, implement and promote family friendly policies, including affordable, accessible and high quality care services for children and other dependents, as well as parental and other leave schemes. Facilitating reintegration into the labour market The Member States will: 22. give specific attention to women, and men, considering a return to the paid workforce after an absence and, to that end, they will examine the means of gradually eliminating the obstacles in the way of such return