EU heads of state and government met in Gothenburg on 15-16 June 2001 for the final European Council summit of the Swedish Presidency. Discussions focused on enlargement of the EU, employment, quality of work and future strategies to deal with problems associated with an ageing European workforce.
The European Council met on 15-16 June 2001 near the end of the Swedish EU Presidency, which hands the baton to the Belgian government on 1 July. The Council's debates took place against a backdrop of anti-globalisation demonstrations staged across the city of Gothenburg. A number of social policy-related issues were discussed, in addition to a tightening up of the timetable for the enlargement of the European Union.
Enlargement
The European Council Presidency conclusions state that enlargement and globalisation present the EU with great opportunities and challenges and that preparations are underway for a further Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in 2004. The IGC will serve to adapt the EU's founding Treaties and institutions to "new realities and to the demands of its citizens".
The Council also confirmed that the ratification process for the Treaty of Nice, agreed in December 2000 (EU0012288F), will continue, in order to be able to welcome new Member States from the end of 2002. It noted that a ratification referendum in Ireland had recently produced a "no" vote, but maintained that it is committed to helping the Irish government to "find a way forward".
The Council characterised the enlargement process as "irreversible" and stated that the objective was that new candidate countries which are ready to join should be able to participate in the European Parliament elections of 2004 as Member States.
Full employment and quality of work in a competitive Union
The Council conclusions note that great strides were made in 2000 in terms of employment – growth was high and unemployment fell "to its lowest level in a decade". However, the Council warns that the international economic environment has since deteriorated, affecting the EU's growth prospects, even though the fundamentals of the EU economy remain strong. It also believes that the euro single currency provides a stable basis for domestic growth, with less exposure to exchange rate fluctuations (the distribution of euro notes and coins will begin from 1 January 2002).
In general, the Council argues that the modernisation of the European economy must be "vigorously pursued", structural reforms aimed at enhancing competition in markets for goods, services and capital must be carried out and the regulatory framework of the internal market must be simplified. This, it argues, will ensure that the "virtuous circle" of employment growth and the continuing prosperity of the EU economy can carry on. Specifically, the Council argues that the EU must capitalise on its entire labour force reserve by improving women's access to the labour market and increasing employment rates among older workers.
The challenges of an ageing population
The European Council notes that a comprehensive approach to meeting the challenges of the ageing European population is needed. It supports the following three principles for securing long-term sustainability of pension systems:
- safeguarding the capacity of systems to meeting their social objectives;
- maintaining their financial sustainability; and
- meeting the changing needs of society.
Accordingly, the Council makes a commitment to preparing a progress report for the Laeken European Council – to be held under the incoming Belgian Presidency in December 2002 – based on a Commission Communication on objectives and working methods in the area of pensions. This will also serve as preparation for the spring 2002 European Council on employment issues. The Council will also prepare for the spring 2002 European Council an initial report on healthcare and care for the elderly.
Finally, the European Council makes a passing reference to the information and consultation of workers, inviting the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament to "proceed towards adoption" of the proposed Directive on national information and consultation rules, based on the common position agreed by the former on 11 June (EU0106219F).
Commentary
The Gothenburg Council has set the scene for the coming 18 months in terms of enlargement of the EU. Despite the recent difficulties relating to the Irish ratification of the Nice Treaty, the Council has made it clear that the enlargement process is irreversible and that new members can begin to be admitted from the end of 2002, subject to the completion of accession negotiations and adoption of the acquis communautaire(the body of EU legislation which must be transposed by Member States). The admittance of new Member States will have profound implications for the EU as a whole – it is clear that reform of the institutions and decision-making procedures is not yet complete, which is why a further IGC, leading to further Treaty reform, will be convened in 2004.
In terms of employment, the European Council makes it clear that the period of economic upturn and consequent employment growth may now be coming to a close. It is, however, optimistic that the EU economy is robust enough to whether the expected downturn in the world economy. It takes the longer-term view that certain groups of the population – notably women and older workers – need to be given increased access to the labour market. In addition, it devoted a considerable amount of time to the issue of pension provision, linking its comments to recent European Commission communications. This may be one of the more significant features of the incoming Belgian Presidency as it will certainly feature on the agenda of the Laeken Council, and also looks certain to dominate discussions at the spring 2002 Council. (Andrea Broughton, IRS)