The EU Employment and Social Policy Council met on 7 March 2002 to debate a number of topics. The debates were dominated by preparations for the Barcelona European Council on 15-16 March and discussions on the progress of the proposed Directive on worker involvement in a European Cooperative Society and of the proposal to update an existing Directive on protection from the risks related to exposure to asbestos.
The Employment and Social Policy Council of Ministers met in Brussels on 7 March 2002 under the Spanish Presidency to discuss a range of issues. The Council first held a debate in preparation for the Barcelona European Council meeting on the economic, social and environmental situation, which took place on 15–16 March (EU0203205F). A number of conclusions on a variety of employment and social issues were reached, which were then forwarded to the Barcelona Council.
The Council then took note of the 2002 work programme of the Social Protection Committee and that of the Employment Committee. The former will concentrate on the fight against social exclusion and safe and sustainable pensions, in addition to working on health and long-term care and extending the dialogue on social protection to the countries applying to join the EU. The Employment Committee will focus on evaluating the impact of the European employment strategy and discussing the future direction of the strategy. Further, the Employment Committee and the Social Protection Committee will work with the Employment and Social Policy Council in the preparation of a contribution to the drawing up of the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines for 2003.
The Council then held a public debate on the eve of International Women's Day (8 March) on the issue of violence against women, after which it drew up a number of conclusion and took note of an undertaking by the Danish government, which will hold the Presidency of the Council during the second half of 2002, to continue discussion of this matter.
Progress of legislative instruments
The Council noted the progress made to date on the draft employee involvement Directive to supplement the proposed Statute for a European Cooperative Society (EU0112245F). The proposed Statute for a European Cooperative Society, dating from 1992, seeks to provide cooperatives with the same opportunities for European-level operation as provided by the European Company Statute (ECS) for private limited companies, but it reached the same deadlock as affected the ECS for many years. However, following the progress made on the ECS and its accompanying Directive on worker involvement (subsequently adopted in October 2001 - EU0110203N) the European Cooperative Society and its proposed worker involvement Directive were revived under the Swedish Presidency in March 2001 (EU0106220F).
The March Council noted that agreement has now been reached on most of the points contained in the proposed employee involvement Directive, although two issues remain outstanding. The first is the possible introduction of a threshold, in terms of the number of employees, for the application of the Directive. The second is the issue of maintaining the right, where it already exists, for employee representatives to be members of and vote in the cooperative's general assembly. The Council instructed the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) to complete its work on this dossier as soon as possible.
The Council also noted progress made on the proposal for a Directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos. This proposal aims to update Directive (83/477/EEC) in order to improve protection for workers. It proposes the introduction of a single limit value for exposure to asbestos, rather than the two under the 1983 Directive. The proposal also aims to widen the scope of the Directive by removing the derogations applicable to the sea and air transport sector, and simplify provisions on limited exposure, measuring asbestos in the air, detecting asbestos and worker training. The Council drew up guidelines for progressing the outstanding issues on this text and instructed COREPER to continue its work on this dossier, pending the opinion of the European Parliament.
Other issues
The Council took note of information supplied by the Employment and Social Policy Commissioner, Anna Diamantopoulou, on the main strands of the Commission's new strategy on health and safety at work, launched on 12 March 2002 (EU0204203N). It also took note of information from the Presidency on progress in preparations for the United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing, which was held in Madrid on 8–12 April 2002.
Finally, the Council took note of a number of reports on Presidency activities:
- the informal meeting of employment ministers which took place in January 2002 in Burgos (EU0202201N);
- a February 2002 seminar on 'active ageing' and gradual and flexible pension systems, held in Lanzarote;
- a large-scale conference on employment policy in Europe, which took place in Madrid in February 2002; and
- a ministerial conference on violence against women, held in Santiago de Compostela in February 2002.
The Council also heard an oral presentation by the Commission on a new report on the social situation in Europe. This is a joint report draw up by the Commission and Eurostat. It is based on an analysis of social indicators and will also act as a tool for comparative analysis of demographic developments in the EU Member States. Ministers also took note of a report on the recently-issued report by the high-level group on the future of industrial relations (EU0204206F).
Commentary
This Employment and Social Policy Council took place mid-way through the Spanish Presidency of the Council. The Spanish Presidency has already achieved a considerable amount in terms of the progression of social policy issues, including the adoption of the Directive (2002/14/EC) establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees (EU0204207F) and the Directive (2002/15/EC) extending some of the protection of the 1993 working time Directive to mobile workers in road transport (EU0204208F). Progression of the proposal for a Directive on worker involvement in a European Cooperative Society and the proposal to update the 1983 Directive on protection from exposure to asbestos now look to be the priorities in terms of legal instruments for the remainder of the Spanish Presidency. (Andrea Broughton, IRS)