Persbericht: vergadering Raadsformatie Werkgelegenheid, Sociaal beleid, Volksgezondheid en Consumentenzaken
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
PROVISIONAL VERSION
PRESSE 48 PR CO 7
PRESS RELEASE
3146th Council meeting
Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs
Employment and social policy
Brussels, 17 February 2012
Presidents Mr Manu Sareen,
Minister for gender equality Ms Mette Frederiksen
Minister for employment
PROVISIONAL VERSION
17.11.2012
Main results of the Council
The Council held a policy debate on the question of women on company boards.
Preparing its contribution to the Spring European Council of 1-2 March, the Council held also a policy debate on the priorities for action in employment and social matters by adopting conclusions as well as the joint employment report.
PROVISIONAL VERSION
CONTTS1
17.11.2012
PARTICIPANTS................................................................................................................................4
ITEMS DEBATED
Women on company boards.................................................................................................................6
Contribution to the Spring European Council of 1-2 March................................................................8
OTHER ITEMS APPROVED
VIRONMT
— Scrutiny of Commission legislative acts related to environment...........................................................................11
CUSTOMS UNION
— Accession of Croatia and Turkey to two conventions............................................................................................11
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
— Restrictive measures - Burma................................................................................................................................12
— Relations with the Palestinian Authority...............................................................................................................12
— Restrictive measures - Zimbabwe..........................................................................................................................12
TRANSPARCY
— Public access to documents....................................................................................................................................13
Where declarations, conclusions or resolutions have been formally adopted by the Council, this is indicated in the heading for the item concerned and the text is placed between quotation marks. Documents for which references are given in the text are available on the Council's Internet site (http ://www. consilium, europa, eu)
Acts adopted with statements for the Council minutes which may be released to the public are indicated by an asterisk; these statements are available on the Council's Internet site or may be obtained from the Press Office
PROVISIONAL VERSION
17.11.2012
PARTICIPANTS
Belgium:
Ms Monica DE CONINCK Bulgaria:
Mr Totyu MLADOV
Czech Republic:
Mr Jan DOBES
Denmark:
Ms Metre F REDERIKS Mr Manu SARE
Mr Bo SMITH
Mr Henrik NEPPER-CHRISTS Germany:
Ms Annette NIEDERF RANKE
Estonia:
Mr Hanno PEVKUR Ireland:
Ms Joan BURTON Ms Kathleen LYNCH
Greece:
Mr Andreas PAPASTAVROU Spain:
Ms Engracia HIDALGO TA M. Francisco BONO RIOS
France:
Ms Roselyne BACHELOT-NARQUIN Italy:
Ms Elsa FORNERO
Cyprus:
Ms Sotiroula CHARALAMBOUS Latvia:
Ms Ilze VINKELE Lithuania:
Mr Donatas JANKAUSKAS
Luxembourg:
Mr Nicolas SCHMIT
Hungary:
Mr Miklós RÉTHELYI Mr Sandor CZOMBA
Malta:
Mr Chris SAID Netherlands:
Mr Henk KAMP Austria:
Mr Harald GÜNTHER Poland:
Mr Wladyslaw KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ
Minister for Employment Minister for Labour and Social Policy Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Minister for Employment
Minister for Gender Equality, Ecclesiastical Affairs and Nordic Cooperation
Permanent Secretary of Minister Mette F REDERIKS Permanent Secretary of Minister Manu SERE
State Secretary
Minister for Social Affairs
Minister for Social Protection Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, Equality and Mental Health (Departments of Health and Justice and Equality)
Deputy Permanent Representative
State Secretary for Employment
Minister for Economy and Employment of the
Autonomous Community of Aragón
Minister for Solidarity and Social Cohesion
Minister for Labour and Social Policy, responsible for Equal Opportunities
Minister for Labour and Social Insurance
Minister for Welfare
Minister for Social Security and Labour
Minister for Labour, Employment and Immigration
Minister for National Resources
State Secretary, Ministry of the National Economy
Minister for Justice, Dialogue and the Family
Minister for Social Affairs and Employment
Deputy Permanent Representative
Minister for Labour and Social Policy
PROVISIONAL VERSION
17.11.2012
Portugal:
Mr Alvaro SANTOS PEREIRA Mr Pedro MOTA SOARES
Romania:
Mr Valentin MOCANU
Slovenia:
Ms Patricia CULAR
Slovakia:
Mr Peter JAVORCIK Finland:
Mr Janne METSAMAKI Sweden:
Ms Hillevi GSTRÖM Ms Nyamko SABUNI
United Kingdom:
Mr Norman LAMB
Minister for Economic Affairs and Employment Minister for Social Solidarity and Social Security
State Secretary, Ministry of Labour, the Family and Social Protection
State Secretary, Ministry of Social affairs, Employment and Family
Deputy Permanent Representative
State Secretary
Minister for Employment Minister for Equal Opportunities
Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs
Commission:
Ms Viviane REDING Mr Laszló ANDOR
Vice-President Member
The Government of the Acceding State was represented as follows:
Croatia:
Mr Mirando MRSIC
Minister for Labour and Pension System
PROVISIONAL VERSION
17.11.2012
ITEMS DEBATED Women on company boards
The Council held a policy debate on the question of gender balance on company boards. The aim was to explore the different ways of approaching this challenging and politically sensitive issue
Women account for around 60 % of new university graduates in the EU, yet they are heavily under-represented in economic decision-making positions, especially at the top. In 2010, only 12% of members and a mere 3% of chairs of the boards of the largest companies listed on the stock exchanges of the EU member states were women
Ministers had the opportunity to share their experiences and to discuss what can be done at Union and member state levels to combat the problem of women's under-representation in company boardrooms
Responding to the Presidency's set of questions, delegations pointed out that "the glass ceiling" continues to impede women's access to company boardrooms
Even if no legal or formal barriers exist, cultural factors, including the persistence of traditional gender roles and stereotypes, continue to hamper women's careers
In order to overcome these and other barriers, many countries have called on state-owned companies, the business sector and the social partners to take steps to increase the number of women in company boardrooms
Apart from a mentality shift, concrete measures are needed in order to make possible a higher participation of women on company boards. Key actions include setting up appropriate maternity, paternity and parental leave systems, facilitating the reconciliation of work and family life and offering quality care services for children and other dependants. Measures such as awareness-raising, training and education, and the provision of mentoring are also important
Certain ministers advocated the use of binding quotas, while many others were in favour of a voluntary approach, at least at this stage
The Commission stressed that a low participation of women on company boards was synonymous with a waste of talents, especially in the context of the current economic crisis and mounting skills shortages in Europe
PROVISIONAL VERSION
17.11.2012
Closing the debate, the Presidency emphasised that the current crisis should not distract the member states from promoting equal opportunities. The Presidency recalled that equal opportunities created added value and brought benefits to the whole of society
The Council has long supported increasing women's participation in economic decision-making. It has adopted a set of indicators that are used to monitor and measure the developments. The data clearly show that progress is very slow
In addition, in the European Pact for gender equality (2011-2020), the Council urges action at member state and EU levels to adopt measures to close gender gaps and combat gender segregation on the labour market
The Commission stated in its strategy for equality between women and men (2010-15) that it would address the gender imbalance in business decision-making through targeted initiatives. It has also called on publicly-listed companies to sign a "women on the board" pledge by March 2012, making a voluntary commitment to increase women's presence on their boards to 30% by 2015 and to 40%, by 2020 by actively recruiting qualified women to replace outgoing male board members. However, so far, very few companies have signed up
In March 2012, the Commission will assess the situation. If no sufficient progress is achieved through self-regulation, it will explore different policy options for targeted measures for increasing the number of women on company boards
PROVISIONAL VERSION
17.11.2012
Contribution to the Spring European Council of 1-2 March
Implementing the European Semester, the Council discussed, on the basis of the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and other elements related to employment and social policies, contributions to the Spring European Council of 1-2 March. The debate will feed into the Presidency's synthesis report which is also to be submitted to the European Council
In particular, ministers pointed out that fiscal consolidation efforts should be accompanied by enhanced employment and social policies. Fiscal consolidation should not increase poverty or hamper efforts to tackle unemployment, and in particular youth unemployment
The great majority of ministers expressed concerns about the sharp rise of youth unemployment; youth employment must therefore be a top priority. Actions like apprenticeships and vocational training are necessary in order to improve young people's skills and their work experience. Employers should be given incentives to recruit more young people by granting tax reliefs to businesses recruiting the young and unemployed
In that context, ministers referred to the 'youth guarantee scheme' to secure the right of every young person to be offered a job, an apprenticeship or training after a certain period of unemployment
The Commission stressed the importance of the Youth Opportunities Initiative that was launched in last December in order to, inter alia, help member states to use the European Social Fund more efficiently. The Commission also stressed that fiscal consolidation should not undermine social policies and social cohesion. Member states should step up efforts to increase the capacity of sectors with a large potential for growth, and hence for job creation. Apart from struggling with the impact of the economic crisis, inclusive and job-rich growth is needed
The Presidency summarised the debate stating that the reforms needed in the different member states should be socially balanced, that tackling youth unemployment is a top priority, that social partners have to be involved in all efforts and that the exclusion, marginalisation and poverty items will be underlined in the synthesis report
Regarding employment, the Council adopted the joint employment report (JER) (/12 REV2) which will be forwarded to the European Council
PROVISIONAL VERSION
17.11.2012
The JER analysis suggests that, while the 2011 priorities and measures remain broadly valid and further implementation of reform is essential, it is necessary to deploy additional efforts, in conjunction with national social partners, under certain priority areas. According to the report:
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-Job creation capacity has to be stepped up to ensure a job-intense recovery that underpins economic growth and the reduction of unemployment;
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-The difficult situation of young people risks creating unrecoverable damage to the labour market in most member states;
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-High unemployment rates and poor employment prospects call for effective active labour market policies mutually supported by adequate benefit systems to maintain employability and help people get back to work;
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-The social situation has deteriorated throughout recent months calling for additional measures;
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-Slowing growth hampers the already weak employment recovery and prevents an improvement of the employment rate
Moreover, the Council adopted conclusions ( + COR 1) setting out the main messages from the EPSCO Council to the European Council on 1-2 March. It reached a general approach on a decision on the employment guidelines (/12 REV 1).
On social matters, the Council endorsed the Social Protection Committee's (SPC) opinion on the Annual Growth Survey (). The opinion draws the Council's attention to the long-term consequences of current fiscal consolidation measures for the social situation in the EU, and to what needs to be done to meet the European Council target on reducing poverty and social exclusion
It also endorsed the main messages of the 2011 SPC report on the social impact of the economic crisis and ongoing fiscal consolidation (). This SPC report is the third update of the analysis of the social impact of the crisis, as part of its Treaty mandate to closely monitor the social situation in the member states
It looks at the major trends in the social situation in the Union and the concrete policy measures member states have put in place in the past year to tackle the difficult economic situation and its social implications
PROVISIONAL VERSION
17.11.2012
On the basis of this report, the SPC has drafted five key policy messages for endorsement by the Council, stressing that fiscal consolidation measures must be responsive to the social needs of all generations and must preserve the capacity of social protection to cushion any unequal impact of the crisis and to satisfactorily withstand economic shocks
The Council took note of Commission's presentation of the alert mechanism report (). The so-called "six-pack" regulation entered into force on 13 December 2011. It includes regulation 1176 / 2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances. The detection of possible imbalances is carried out under the alert mechanism, whereby the Commission is to produce an annual report containing an economic and financial assessment based on a scoreboard of indicators
The scoreboard of indicators and their thresholds provide information on the possible existence or development of excessive imbalances. Individual indicators cannot be taken separately, but must be analysed as part of the whole set of indicators to verify the existence of possible macro-economic trend which could lead to excessive imbalances. The scoreboard includes indicators which are relevant to the work of the EPSCO Council, in particular regarding employment and unemployment trends
PROVISIONAL VERSION
17.11.2012
OTHER ITEMS APPROVED
VIRONMT
Scrutiny of Commission legislative acts related to environment
The Council decided not to oppose the adoption of the following Commission's legislative acts amending directive 98/8/EC 1 concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market:
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-directive to include methyl nonyl ketone as an active substance in Annex I ();
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-decision concerning the non-inclusion of naled for product type 18 in Annex I, IA or IB ();
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-directive to include hydrochloric acid as an active substance in Annex I ();
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-decision concerning the non-inclusion of dichlorvos for product type 18 in Annex I, IA or IB ();
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-directive to include margosa extract as an active substance in Annex I ().
The Commission acts are subject to what is known as the regulatory procedure with scrutiny. This means that now that the Council has given its consent, the Commission may adopt them, unless the European Parliament objects
CUSTOMS UNION
Accession of Croatia and Turkey to two conventions
The Council adopted the EU position concerning a decision of the EU/European Free Trade Association (EFTA) joint committee to invite Croatia and Turkey to accede to the convention on a common transit procedure and to the convention on the simplification of formalities in trade of goods
OJL 123, 24.4.1998,
PROVISIONAL VERSION
17.11.2012
FOREIGN AFFAIRS Restrictive measures - Burma
Given the remarkable programme of political reform undertaken by Burma/Myanmar, the Council amended EU restrictive measures against Burma. It suspended admission restrictions concerning 87 persons, including members of the former state peace and development council, the government, deputy ministers and their family members. For more information, see press release .
Relations with the Palestinian Authority
The Council approved the EU position in the joint committee on the implementation of article 66 of the Euro-Mediterranean interim association agreement on trade and cooperation between the European Community and the Palestine Liberation Organisation for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza strip. The number of subcommittees that support the joint committee in the implementation of the interim association agreement and of the European neighbourhood policy action plan is to be increased from four to six. This is intended to enable a more constructive discussion since more time will be allocated to each subject matter
Restrictive measures - Zimbabwe
The Council eased EU restrictive measures on Zimbabwe, in recognition of progress made and to encourage further reforms. It pays tribute to the efforts of the Southern African Development Community and the South African facilitator in accompanying the Zimbabwean government along that road
The Council lifted visa bans and asset freezes of one third of the individuals (51) and two thirds of the entities (20) previously listed, representing the most significant amendment to EU measures on Zimbabwe since they were introduced in 2002. It also suspended the visa bans on two members of Zimbabwe's re-engagement team with the EU, i.e. Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa
At the same time, the Council also decided to extend its restrictions on development assistance for only six months with a view to begin preparing for enhanced cooperation as and when these measures can be lifted ().
Despite these restrictions, since the establishment of the Unity Government, the EU has provided close to US$ 1 billion in development assistance to address the needs of the Zimbabwean people, primarily in the provision of health care and education services
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PROVISIONAL VERSION
17.11.2012
Whilst the Council noted that the overall situation in Zimbabwe has improved, further political reforms in accordance with the commitments in the GPA are necessary for a democratic and peaceful Zimbabwe. The Council remains ready to reconsider the measures at any time in response to concrete progress in the implementation of the GPA and the preparation of credible and peaceful elections
In parallel, Zimbabwe remains subject to an arms embargo
See also: Declaration of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of the European Union.
TRANSPARCY
Public access to documents
The Council approved the additional reply to confirmatory application No 25/c/01/l 1 (ADD 1).