Commission adopts Annual Report on equal opportunities

In May 1998, the European Commission adopted the second Annual Report on equal opportunities for women and men in the European Union. The report charts the developments in equal opportunities trends and policies across the Member States of the European Union.

The European Commission adopted on 13 May 1998 the second Annual Report on equal opportunities for women and men in the European Union, which covers 1997. The report originates from commitments made by the Commission in its 1994 White Paper, European social policy - a way forward for the Union, and as part of the current Fourth Medium-Term Community Action Programme for Women and Men (1996-2000). The report acts as a mechanism for monitoring progress in the field of equal opportunities and taking stock of developments, as well as guiding the way forward for future action. The first report had been published in March 1997 (EU9703114N)

The Annual Report on equal opportunities presents the most important developments in 1997 that had an impact on equal opportunities, at both national and European level. The report recognises that important developments arose across a wide range of areas, and highlights three in particular:

• the Amsterdam Treaty was agreed, which contains new provisions and powers relating to equal opportunities;

• the Member States jointly decided to put in place a new employment strategy for immediate implementation, in which equal opportunities is an explicit and important component; and

• progress was made in the "mainstreaming" strategy, by integrating equal opportunities for women and men into other relevant policy areas

With respect to the Amsterdam Treaty (EU9707135F), Article 2 of the amended Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) adds equality between men and women to the principles to be promoted by the Community, while Article 3 assigns to the Community the duty of aiming to eliminate inequalities and to promote equality between men and women in all its activities. In addition, the new Article 13 of the TEC permits appropriate action to combat various forms of discrimination, including discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation. Lastly, the new Article 141 of the TEC extends the scope of the former Article 119 and gives equality of treatment between women and men a specific legal base. This provision allows Member States to adopt measures that provide for specific advantages in order to make it easier for the under-represented sex to pursue a vocational activity. The Commission welcomes the new provisions in the Treaty as they raise the status of the principle of equal treatment and secure the basis for future initiatives in a number of areas.

According to the report, the employment strategy agreed at the Luxembourg Employment Summit in November 1997 (EU9711168F), recognised the economic significance of equality of opportunity as a mechanism both to achieve greater participation of women in the labour market and to foster employment growth. In addition, the concept of equal opportunities has been heightened with the subsequent adoption of the Employment Guidelines for 1998, which made equal opportunities one of the four central components or objectives of the employment strategy. In response to the guidelines, Member States submitted in April 1998 National Action Plans outlining what measures they will undertake to implement the objectives (EU9805107N), thereby raising the profile and efforts towards equality of opportunity even further.

With regard to mainstreaming, according to the Commission, the best example has been the placing of equal opportunities at the heart of the employment strategy. Also, within the Commission, structures have been put in place to help ensure that equality is incorporated into the frameworks of EU policies in general - for example, 29 Commission services in 1997 designated officials to hold specific responsibility for facilitating and encouraging the development of mainstreaming in their Directorates General. Also, the Structural Funds, which are the main funding mechanism for the promotion of economic and social cohesion, are being reformed in order to strengthen the support for equal opportunities. This is an important component of the mainstreaming strategy, as the Funds support a wide range of initiatives across a broad area.

Commenting on the report, the Commissioner responsible for employment and social affairs,Pádraig Flynn, said that: "1997 was a good year for equal opportunities. In particular, the European employment strategy has established equal opportunities as one of the four key pillars which must underpin Member States' employment policies. So there is now an obligation to address the fact that gender gaps in the labour market persist. There is also a requirement that Member States pursue policies to facilitate a better reconciliation between work and family life."

The report indicates that substantial progress in the area of equal opportunities has been made. The most important outcome is that there is considerable potential for future developments as a result of 1997's events, particularly with respect to the implementation of Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty and the emphasis placed upon mainstreaming.