Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-02-15-Speech-2-325"
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"en.20000215.13.2-325"2
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"Mr President, I should like to congratulate Mr Andersson on his really excellent work, which is the reason why there is broader agreement, and I also thank the Members of Parliament involved for their contribution. I would like to make a number of comments about what has been said.
First, I must stress that the debate about social protection issues began several years ago among the European bodies and since 1995 there has been the first statement entitled: “The future of social protection” and there have been statements from the European Parliament, those of Mrs Weiler and Mr Pronk. Today, we have the statement by Mr Andersson. I believe we have made considerable progress since we are now talking about the modernisation of social protection.
The second point is that we must bear in mind the legal basis by virtue of which the European Commission can operate. You know very well that the Treaty provides no legal basis for policies at European level, but there is the agreement expressed at the last Council, there is agreement that work should begin on coordination and the exchange of experience, as well as the exchange of successful programmes between the Member States.
The third observation is that as regards the four issues on which the specific statement focuses, which relate to paid work, the sustainability of pension systems, social convergence and lastly quality in health care, there is a horizontal approach to the issue of women because in each of these categories – as the speakers said – there are special problems relating to women and those problems should in many cases be addressed by separate policies.
The next point concerns the specific action we have undertaken. As you know, a high-level group has already been set up by the Portuguese Presidency, which will present its first report to the Summit Conference in June. The Portuguese Presidency has focused on two things: sustainable pension systems and social accession. I believe that the proposal for a corresponding group at Parliamentary level is very positive and can contribute towards our progress to the next step after approval of the said high-level group.
Concerning some remarks about the role of social protection systems, the cost of social protection and the part played by those systems in the competitiveness of the Member States, I should like to say that in Europe policies strive to combine competitiveness and social cohesion. Of course, we must take due note of the issue of competitiveness, but social protection too must be planned in a way that makes it a factor of economic growth and employment. I think the statement’s content makes this clear.
Ladies and gentlemen, the aim is that in the next year, and after a unanimous decision by the Council, we should progress to a first level of coordination, exchange of views, listing of social problems and creation of a data base for the better coordination of policies. As many of the speakers have said, I believe a first important step has been taken. Already at the Intergovernmental Conference, social policy issues are being addressed more broadly and I believe we are in a new phase, in which social policy will, to a large extent, become a European policy."@en1
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