Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Amended proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision adopting a programme of Community action (the DAPHNE Programme) (2000-2004) on measures aimed to prevent violence against children, young persons and women'
16. 6. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 169/35 Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Amended proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision adopting a programme of Community action (the DAPHNE Programme) (2000-2004) on measures aimed to prevent violence against children, young persons and women’ (1) (1999/C 169/13) On 23 April 1999, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal. The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 8 April 1999. The rapporteur was Ms Wahrolin. At its 363rd plenary session (meeting of 28 April 1999) the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 50 votes to three, with eight abstentions. 1. Introduction The Commission has concluded that the appropriate 1. 1. legal base for the DAPHNE Programme — ‘a Community action programme (2000-2004) to prevent violence against children, young persons and women’ — is Article 129 of the EC Treaty (Public Health), which will shortly be replaced by Article 152 of the Amsterdam Treaty. 2. 4. As the Committee pointed out in its earlier opinion, violence against children, young persons and women is a very complex issue, and both causes and symptoms need to be addressed. There are no easy solutions, either for investigating the causes or for dealing with the resulting damage. 3. Specific comments 1. 2. The proposal has therefore been referred back to the Economic and Social Committee. In addition to the amend- ment to the legal base, the text of the amended proposal contains a number of changes of wording. At its 357th plenary session on 9 September 1998, the Committee unanimously adopted its opinion (2) on the previous Commission proposal (COM(1998) 335 final). 3. 1. Article 1 of the programme includes a reference to the fact that it ‘further aims to increase knowledge and expertise at Community level in methods and techniques designed to prevent and mitigate the effects of violence against children, young persons and women. ’ The Committee welcomes what it feels is a more forceful wording than that of the previous version. 2. General comments 2. 1. First of all, the Committee would like to point out that whilst some parts of the amended proposal are now clearer and more structured, others are weaker. 2. 2. In changing the legal base to Article 129, the Com- mittee feels there is a risk of downgrading the issue to a public health problem. Violence against children, young persons and women, and sexual exploitation are major problems for society and do not just concern individuals and families (even though the family situation is, of course, in many ways, crucial). Neither is it merely a question of personal injury. As the Committee stressed in its previous opinion on the Daphne Programme, it should be remembered that certain groups are particularly vulnerable to violence and abuse, e. g. people with disabilities and older people. The Committee feels that ‘public health’ must be 2. 3. interpreted in the broad sense, in accordance with the WHO definition (i. e. including physical, mental and social well-being). (1) OJ C 89, 30. 3. 1999, p. 42. (2) OJ C 407, 28. 12. 1998. 3. 2. The Committee believes that greater emphasis should be placed on the perpetrators of violence, and on any initiatives which might be triggered. In this respect, aspects relating to the balance of power between men and women must also be addressed, as advocated by the Committee in point 2. 2 of its September 1998 opinion. 3. 3. The Committee endorses the proposal under Article 1 to set up multidisciplinary networks, and expresses its support for their declared objectives. 3. 4. In its earlier opinion, the Committee highlighted the stepping up cooperation between non- importance of governmental organizations (NGOs) and the authorities. The Committee is pleased to note that this has been provided for in Article 2 of the amended proposal. The Committee feels that 3. 5. the objective has been narrowed in the Annex on actions aimed at raising public awareness and the exchange of best practice. The previous version also included the need to address sexual exploitation and other forms of sexual abuse. The Committee calls for a return to the previous wording of the objective in this Annex. 3. 6. The wording of the objective now includes a reference to research programmes, which the Committee endorses. The Committee calls for project resources to be made available for research into positive ways of dealing with abusers. C 169/36 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 16. 6. 1999 3. 7. The Committee feels that the scope for international cooperation provided for under Article 7. 2 of the Com- mission’s proposal is far too restricted in terms of which countries may participate. 4. Conclusion 4. 1. In conclusion, the Committee would stress that, subject to the above reservations, it welcomes the programme as a whole. However, it would also point out that the scope of the amended version is more restrictive. Clearly, there is an urgent need to put into place measures to combat all mistreatment such as violence, abuse and sexual exploitation; however, we must not ignore the need to tackle the causes of violence. A shortcoming of the programme is also its failure to regard violence, abuse and sexual exploitation as infringements of human rights. Brussels, 28 April 1999. The President of the Economic and Social Committee Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive on certain legal aspects of electronic commerce in the internal market’ (1) (1999/C 169/14) On 23 April 1999 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 100a of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal. The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 15 April 1999. The rapporteur was Mr Glatz. At its 363rd plenary session (meeting of 29 April 1999), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 115 votes to two, with six abstentions. 1. Introduction For the people of Europe and for European business, 1. 1. electronic commerce can create opportunities in terms of stronger economic growth, job creation, development pros- pects for new products and markets, more competitive Euro- pean companies and a wide supply of goods and services for European consumers. 1. 1. 1. However, whether electronic commerce actually has the impact outlined above, for example on the jobs front, is contingent on various different factors. The Committee urges the Commission to carry out more intensive studies into this issue, particularly with regard to employment. 1. 1. 2. Benefits will be felt in particular if Europe manages to secure a strong global position in this field, especially in (1) OJ C 30, 5. 2. 1999, p. 4. relation to the USA. As things stand, however, around 80% of electronic commerce is, according to OECD figures, US- generated. It is therefore vital that Europe take steps to ensure that, in future, it can utilize the opportunities presented by electronic commerce, rather than trailing behind the dynamic performance of the United States. 1. 2. it is To bring the possible benefits fully to bear, necessary both to eliminate legal constraints on electronic commerce and to create conditions whereby potential users of electronic commercial services (both consumers and business- es) can have confidence in e-commerce. An optimum balance must be found between these two requirements. Given the wide scope of the directive under review and its complex interrelationship with other areas of regulation, a very careful and responsible approach will be needed