Weber, Tina

The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, met François Perigot, president of the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE) and Sir Colin Marshall, president of the UK employers' confederation, the CBI, in London on 4 September 1997. The employers presented their priorities for the UK Council Presidency, which will follow the Luxembourg Presidency in the first six months of 1998.

The European Trade Union Committee: Textiles, Clothing and Leather (ETUC:TCL) and EURATEX, the European employers' organisation for textiles and clothing, signed the first "European Code of Conduct" on 22 September 1997 in the presence of Allan Larsson, director general of the the European Commission's Directorate General V for employment, industrial relations and social affairs. The signing of the Code of Conduct marks the successful outcome of over a year of sometimes strenuous negotiations as part of the sectoral social dialogue at European level.

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg,Jean-Claude Juncker, whose Government currently holds the Presidency of the European Council, told members of the European Parliament's economic affairs committee on 4 September 1997 that the purpose of the Employment Summit [1], to be held on 20-21 November, is to decide on concrete action to alleviate the problem of unemployment in Europe. He argued that "if this summit like earlier summits only results in declarations, but few concrete measures, then it is a failure". Mr Juncker emphasised that he did not want to see the meeting turn into a "deregulation summit" with the prime objective of achieving greater labour market flexibility. Instead, he wanted the summit to lead to the adoption of clear guidelines for European employment policy, which should form an integral part of the overall economic guidelines. Mr Juncker argued that these guidelines had to be sufficiently clear and detailed to allow an annual assessment of their achievement (or the causes of non-attainment). [1] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/elm/summit/en/home.htm

The conclusion in July 1997 (EU9707141N [1]) of the recommendation framework agreement on the improvement of paid employment in agriculture stands at the end of a long process of negotiation between the European social partners in the sector. The partners are GEOPA- the Employers' Group of theCommittee of Agricultural Organisations in the European Union (COPA) - which represents those agricultural undertakings in Europe which employ paid staff, and the European Federation of Agricultural Workers' Unions (EFA), - one of the European industry committees of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/european-agriculture-social-partners-sign-first-sectoral-framework-agreement

A delegation from Eurocadres- the Council of European Professional and Managerial Staff affiliated to the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) - met with Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jacques Poos and other representatives of the Luxembourg Council Presidency on 3 September 1997 to highlight the case for urgent action on employment at the European level. The delegation emphasised that the special European Council Employment Summit [1], planned for 21-22 November 1997 must live up to its expectations and produce concrete results and initiatives. Eurocadres warned that "the creation of a single currency and the establishment of Economic and Monetary Union would be endangered, if it was done at the expense of employment." [1] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/elm/summit/en/home.htm

Luxembourg, which took over the Presidency of the European Council from the Dutch Government in July 1997, has listed the following measures and activities as among its priorities:

In its Communication on /People first - the next steps/, adopted on 23 July 1997, the European Commission argues that the social dimension of the "information society" needs to be strengthened further if the European Union is to take full advantage of the job-creation potential and improvements in the quality of life potentially offered by new information and communication technologies (ICT s). It sets out a strategy for achieving this objective at national, European and international level.

On 24 July 1997, GEOPA- the Employers' Group of the Committee of Agricultural Organisations in the European Union (COPA) - and the European Federation of Agricultural Workers' Trade Unions (EFA) - one of the European industry committees of the European Trade Union Confederation- signed the first European sectoral framework agreement of its kind in the presence of CommissionerPadraig Flynn. The initiative builds on previous "agreements" on working time concluded between the social partners in the sector in 1978, 1980 and 1981, as well as a joint declaration on employment in agriculture presented to the "European social conference" held in Paris on 30 March 1995.

On 19 June 1997, the European Commission adopted a Communication examining different strategies to encourage the use of apprenticeships in vocational training. The Communication was drafted in response to a request by the European Council meeting in Florence in June 1996. It sets out five recommendations for encouraging the use of this form of initial vocational training in the European Union.

The following issues were on the agenda of the Labour and Social Affairs Council of Ministers meeting held in Luxembourg on 27 June 1997: