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Social angle of the European Union: rights and problems

Social angle of the European Union: rights and problems. Business environment in the EU Prepared by Dr. Endre Domonkos (PhD) 1st Academic Year 2016/2017. I. The need for a social policy in the European Union.

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Social angle of the European Union: rights and problems

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  1. Social angle of the European Union: rights and problems Business environment in the EU Prepared by Dr. Endre Domonkos (PhD) 1st Academic Year 2016/2017

  2. I. The need for a social policy in the European Union • Social solidarity in the context of the European Union implies the promotion of fraternity among its citizens and a redistributive mechanism in the allocation of scare of resources and values. • It constitutes an important component of the meaning of ‘European Union’. • Labour market mobilityis only one element of social solidarity. • Social solidarity: unemployment compensation, vocational training programmes + social security remunerations within the EU.

  3. II. The evolution of Social Policy I. • Articles 2, 51 and 117 (renamed Articles 2, 42 and 136 by the Treaty of Amsterdam) of the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community (EEC – known since 1993 the European Union or EU) set out these principles in terms. • The original Article 2 of the Treaty. • Article 2 was modified by the Maastricht Treaty. • It was further amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam. • Article 51 (42): the task of the Council to adopt measures int the field of social security, which are necessary to provide freedom of movement for workers.

  4. II. The evolution of Social Policy II. • The Treaty of Rome was less specific on the actions to be taken and on the competences to be held by European Communities (EC) institutions towards the establishment of a common social, regional or labour market policy. • The original Treaty of Rome stipulated only a few specific social policy provisions. • The limitations on the European Commission’s ability to pursue a common social policy were clearly spelled out in Article 118. • By the late of 1960: the principle of automatic progression from economic to social convergence was called into question.

  5. II. The evolution of Social Policy III. • Efforts were initiated at the 1972 Paris Summit with the call for a Social Action Programme, which enabled the European Commission to develop a new range of active social policies. • 40 priority measures, introduced by the Social Action Programme. • The EC revived their interest in social and regional policy, and in labour market policy, through the Single European Act (SEA), signed in 1986. • The completion of the internal market should be complemented by the principle of economic and social cohesion.

  6. II. The evolution of Social Policy IV. • In consequence, in December 1989 in Strasbourg, the Member States, with the exception of the United Kingdom, adopted the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers (the Social Charter). • The main aim of the Social Charter was to lay down the basic principles on which the European labour market and the role played by work in society would be built. • 12 areas of the Social Charter. • To achieve the aims of the Social Charter, the Commission drew up a new social action programme.

  7. II. The evolution of Social Policy V. • The protocol on social policy of December 1991 extended the use of qualified majority voting beyond health and safety issues to hitherto continuous social policy issues. • The social protocol stipulated unanimity on matters relating to social security, redundancy, collective representation for non-EU workers and job-creation schemes. • In the period 1995-1997 the EU as a whole, and especially the European Commission, launched a range of activities in the social policy field. • These were identified in the new social policy action programme for 1995-97.

  8. II. The evolution of Social Policy VI. • The Treaty of Amsterdam of 1997 gave a further boost to social policy. • In the period between 1998 and 2003, the EU efforts in the social policy primarily concentrated on labour market mobility, employment and social protection. • The Cologne Process: • The Luxembourg process: • The Cardiff process: • The Lisbon process:

  9. III. Current Trends in Social Policy Development • Six important challenges or concerns in the social policy field 1. The problem of unemployment within the EU. 2. Changes in the work patterns-globalization and the emerging information of society. 3. Poverty and social exclusion. 4. The impact of single market and single currency on employment and social protection. 5. The demographic trends. 6. The eastward enlargement process.

  10. IV. Employment I. • The Treaty of Amsterdam proved to be watershed for the activities of the EU in the area of employment, adding a new title (Title VIII) on employment to the Treaty of Rome. • In Luxembourg in November 1997, known as the Luxembourg process, guidelines were adopted for employment policies to be applied in 1998. • Four strategic elements of the Luxembourg process. • The Member States were to be required to incorporate these guidelines into national action plans.

  11. IV. Employment II. • The Amsterdam and Luxembourg efforts must be seen in the context of the single market and EMU. • The Cologne Summit of June 1999: the adoption of European Employment Pact. • These aims were further elevated at the Lisbon European Council, which became the first extraordinary summit on employment. • Here the Member States committed themselves to raise the employment rate to 70% and to more than 60% for women by 2010.

  12. IV. Employment III. • At the beginning of the 21st century, the improvement of the employment situation became a strategic objective of the EU, together with the task of preserving the European social model (see: the European Social Agenda). • The objectives of the EU's social policy. • In the field of social policy the Union defined specific objectives within the framework of the Lisbon Strategy. • 7 specific objectives were adopted in the framework of the Lisbon Strategy.

  13. IV. Employment IV. • The Barcelona Summit, held on 15-16 March 2002, decided that the employment strategy laid down in 1997 in Luxembourg should be revised in line with the Lisbon Strategy, with the aim of completion by 2010. • The Brussels European Council reasserted that employment strategy should play a central role in meeting the employment and labour market objectives of the Lisbon strategy. • The objectives of employment policy guidelines for three years adopted in 2003: - full employment; - improving quality of and productivity at work; - strengthening social cohesion and inclusion.

  14. IV. Employment V. • The mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy carried out by the Brussels European Council on 22 March 2005 brought a new approach to implementing the objectives of the strategy. • The new approach is based on three-year cycles, the first of which commenced in 2005 and was renewed in 2008. • The first integrated guidelines were adopted at the European Council meeting of 16-17 June 2005. • The 2007-2013 financial perspective gave paramount emphasis on social and employment policies.

  15. IV. Employment VI. • In March 2010, the European Commission adopted the Europe 2020 Strategy. • The Euro Plus Pact: it contains social and employment policy elements. • Publication of the first employment guidelines within the framework of Europe 2020 Strategy in October 2010. • The Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity called PROGRESS for the 2007-2013 period, focuses on five key areas of action. • The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).

  16. V. Social protection: health and safety I. • A further effort to connect social and economic development can be seen in the inclusion of health and safety in the internal market programme. • Framework Directive adopted by the Council in 1989: to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at the workplace. • The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, located in Bilbao, Spain, has a particular role in this respect. • Under Article 144 of the Nice Treaty, a Social Protection Committee was established. • The new European strategy on health and safety.

  17. V. Social protection: health and safety II. • The ageing of the population and the related problem of sufficient pension coverage has become a prominent issue in EU circles. • Even more complex and politically sensitive than pensions is the issue of health and care for the elderly. • The European Commission has also launched initiatives on public health. • The process of defining a set of common European social rights and values was promoted through the enforcement of the Charter of Fundamental rights in the Treaty of Lisbon.

  18. VI. Social integration and equal opportunities I. • Complementing health and safety concerns are efforts to relate to people with disabilities and to promote the principle of equal opportunities. • The EU has hence sought to ensure that disabled people are able to become fully integrated members of their communities. • The Helios II. Programme. • The EU issued directives on equal pay, upholding the principle of ‘equal pay for work of equal value’; equal treatment in access to employment; training, promotion and working conditions; and equal treatment in social security and for the self-employed.

  19. VI. Social integration and equal opportunities II. • In December 1997 the Council of Ministers adopted a directive on the burden of proof in cases of discrimination based on sex. • In the sphere of social integration, the Commission intended to present proposals for legislation to combat radical discrimination. • In June 1997 the Council adopted a regulation to establish, in Vienna, a European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. • At the European Council of December 2000, held in Nice, four over-arching objectives of the European social inclusion strategy were endorsed.

  20. VI. Social integration and equal opportunities III. • The Barcelona Summit, held in 2002 replaced the term ‘social exclusion’ with ‘social inclusion’. • The European Commission launched a study under the Community Action Programme to combat discrimination with a budget of EUR 100m between 2001 and 2006. • At Nice it was also agreed that each Member State should prepare a national action plan every two years. • The first plans were submitted in June 2001, and renewed in 2003.

  21. VI. Social integration and equal opportunities IV. • European Year of People with Disabilities in 2003. • Resolutions, which were adopted by the Council to promote the employment and social integration of people with disabilities. • Multiannual action plan through to 2010, introduced by the Commission. • One of the targets of the „Europe 2020” strategy: to reduce the number of Europeans living below national poverty lines by 25% 2020. • The Flagship Inititative „European Platform against Poverty” of the „Europe 2020” strategy.

  22. VII. Social dialogue in the EU I. • European mode of consensus: reconciling economic effectiveness and social solidarity. • The role of social partners in the EU. • The Economic and Social Committee: employers' representatives, workers' representatives and other interest groups. • Social dialogue, which was devoted by the Single European Act. • The Treaty of Lisbon: recognition and promotion of the role of social partners at European level.

  23. VII. Social dialogue in the EU II. • At European level: European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Union of Industries of the European Community (UNICE) and European Centre of Public Enterprises (CEEP). • The role of Tripartite Social Summit for Growth and Employment. • At sectoral level, the social dialogue is promoted by the Sectoral Dialogue Committees. • Dialogue between social partners: common opinions and contractual relations (including agreements). • Signing the collective agreement by the social partners in 1995.

  24. VIII. Social policy under the TFEU I. • Social Policy: shared competence of the Member States and the Union. • Matters pertaining to social policy are governed by Part Three Titles X and XI of the TFEU (Articles 151-164). • Equality between men and women (Article 2 TFEU): indirect criteria for accession • Guaranteeing adequate social protection + fighting against social exclusion. • Recognition and promotion of the role of social partners at European level + facilitating dialogue between them.

  25. VIII. Social policy under the TFEU II. • Decision-making procedure: ordinary legislative procedure is applied. • The European Parliament has to be informed about contractual relations and agreements established on the basis of dialogue between the social partners and the Union. • Article 156 of the TFEU: encouragement of cooperation between the Member States by the Commission in the fields of employment, labour law, working condition, etc. • Special attention has to paid by the Commission to establish guidelines and indicators + organise exchanges of best practices.

  26. IX. Future Trends in the field of social policy I. • EU social policy is now entering a new phase, reflecting the changing socio-economic situation, and in particular the high levels of unemployment in the EU. • In this context, a number of short-term predictions can be made in relation to social affairs and social policy in the EU. • The first of these is that different national socio-economic conditions and industrial relations will continue to prevail. • There is also an increasing trend towards mobility among professionals. • Pension portability also still presents some difficulties.

  27. IX. Future Trends in the field of social policy II. • A second prognosis that can be made is that regional differences within the EU will continue. • The European Commission endeavors is to secure a gradual strengthening of the EU social dimension. • The Commission will try to pursue the twin objectives of economic growth and social progress. • Issues of pay, the right of association, and the right to strike will remain distant goals of EU social policy legislation. • It should be noted that the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the Treaty of Lisbon will have an important effect.

  28. X. Conclusion • The EU has undertaken modest direct efforts to develop an activist social policy. • There has been increasing supranational influence over the design of national social policy. • To achieve economic and social cohesion within the EU requires a reduction of regional disparities and the creation of comparable social conditions for the population generally and for the work-force in particular.

  29. X. Literature - Emil J. Kirchner (2005): The social framework of the European Union. In: The European Union Encyclopedia and Directory, pp. 197-203. - Nicholas Moussis (2013): Access to the European Union. Intersentia, 20th edition, Chapter 13, pp. 315-363. - Zoltán Horváth (2011): Handbook on the European Union, Hungarian National Assembly, Third Edition, Chapter 13. Hvgorac, pp. 406-421. - Zoltán Horváth – Bálint Ódor (2010): The Union after Lisbon. The Treaty Reform of the EU. Chaper 8: The Union’s policies, Hvgorac, pp. 243-245.

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