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The Renewed Social Agenda
28.06.2008, 18:22
The Commission will launch the Renewed Social Agenda in Brussels on 2 July. This
ambitious package presents a comprehensive answer to rapidly changing
social and economic realities. It aims to promote social well-being of
European citizens by bringing together a wide range of EU policies and
instruments, while streamlining and modernising existing policy tools.
The new package is centred on the three key principles of
opportunities, access and solidarity. Europe is becoming increasingly
diverse and no-one should be held back by artificial or discriminatory
barriers. Everyone should have the right to access to quality services
such as education and health care at all ages. Europe needs solidarity
between individuals, generations and regions in order to make the
principles of opportunities and access meaningful and to ensure that
no-one is left behind. Initiatives to make these objectives a reality
will be presented in the package.
An umbrella Communication will frame the package and explain the
Commission's approach. As part of the package, the Commission will
present proposals for directives on anti-discrimination, on European
Works Councils and on patients' rights in cross-border healthcare in
the EU as well as on the implementation of the social partners'
agreement in the maritime sector. There will also be individual
communications on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, the
follow-up to the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All in 2007,
and the Open Method of Coordination in social protection and social
inclusion.
Staff working papers will be presented on Roma, telework, social
services of general interest, decent work, restructuring, the
well-being of citizens in the information society and improving the
efficiency of social spending. The package will also include a Green
Paper on education and migration, a communication on schools for the
21st century and a recommendation on the mobility of volunteers.
Overview of some elements of the package:
Employment and social affairs
Anti-discrimination
The Commission will propose a draft directive to take another step
towards completing the legislative protection against discrimination
across all grounds under Article 13 of the Treaty, in particular
discrimination on grounds of age, sexual orientation, disability and
religion or belief.
Roma
There are several million Roma in the EU who often live in difficult
conditions. This working paper on Community policies in favour of Roma
people will address the particular difficulties faced by Europe's Roma
community and show possible ways of active inclusion.
European Works Council
An increasing number of enterprises is operating across borders in
Europe. A revision of the European Works Council directive (94/45/EC)
has been discussed since 2004. As the Social Partners disagreed earlier
this year on starting negotiations on the issue, the Commission is now
proposing a Directive to improve the functioning of European Works
Councils to ensure effective social dialogue on restructuring
operations.
Health
Patients' rights in cross-border healthcare
This proposal for a directive aims at clarifying and promoting the
right of patients to gain access to healthcare in another EU country by
ensuring, at the same time, high quality and safe cross border
healthcare throughout Europe. On this basis, patients will be able to
make an informed choice, in full confidence about the reimbursement
that they are entitled to and about safety and quality of the care that
they will receive. It will also provide a basis for increased
cooperation between healthcare systems. The EC aims as well to better
sharing of expertise, innovation and information. The challenge is to
give more opportunities and guarantees to citizens without affecting
the financial sustainability of national health systems.
Education/youth
Mobility of young volunteers
The objective of the draft Council Recommendation on the mobility of
young volunteers across Europe is to promote youth mobility by inviting
Member States to further develop the interoperability of national
schemes for voluntary activities and to address remaining obstacles to
cross-border volunteering. The goal is that every young person should
have the opportunity to volunteer in Europe if he or she wishes to do
so. Cross-border volunteering has proven to have a particularly strong
impact on young people's personal and professional development. The
European Commission will support Member States in their efforts to
promote cross-border volunteering, notably by developing the European
Youth Portal with a view to ensuring that it provides a facility for
matching offers and demands for volunteering opportunities.
Improving competences for the 21st Century: An Agenda for European cooperation on schools
This Commission Communication says that change, sometimes radical, will
be needed if Europe's schools are to equip young people fully for life
in this century; it proposes an agenda for cooperation in three areas:
a focus on giving all pupils the competences they need for life; a
commitment to provide high quality learning for every student; and
improving the quality of teachers and school staff.
Green paper on Migration and mobility - Challenges for EU Education Systems
This Green paper on the challenges posed by increased immigration and
intra-EU mobility onto European education systems analyses the
situation of migrant pupils in schools across Europe, and invites
debate on how policies to address the issue might be developed and
implemented. It also looks at what Community programmes, funds and
processes might do to improve the situation. Finally, it invites
reflection on Directive 77/486/CEE on education of children of migrant
workers.
The background:
The EU has a strong tradition of emphasising the social dimension of
society, from legislation on equal treatment for women and men and on
workers' health and safety to the European Social Fund, which invests
10% of the EU budget in people's skills.
But European societies are facing rapid and dramatic changes as a
result of new challenges such as globalisation, climate, technological
and demographic change. We need a new response to these secular trends,
and the renewed social agenda embodies this response. The Renewed
Social Agenda draws on a broad public consultation launched by the
Commission in 2007 to take stock of Europe's changing social reality.
Source: www.european-agenda.com