Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-25-Speech-3-123"
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"en.20001025.6.3-123"2
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"Workers often have problems in identifying with Europe. Whilst in view of global trends the European single market is developing in a dynamic way, and there is ever closer economic and monetary union, social union is generally treated like a ghost at the feast.
Since the Treaty of Amsterdam was agreed in 1997, the Union has had new instruments for enhancing social policy. And since the Lisbon Summit in March 2000, it has been the Council's intention, in addition to high growth and more skilled jobs, also to aim for greater social cohesion. With the third social action programme, the Commission is underscoring the recognition that economic policy, employment policy and social policy need to be more closely interlinked.
Employability is providing evidence of this interlinking. In order to make the transition from the industrial society to the knowledge society, people – and not just young people – need better knowledge and skills. This means that the Member States have to invest more in education and training, multilingualism, mobility and communication.
Many of the demands made in the Van Lancker report are not acceptable. For example, the Luxembourg process which applies to employment policy is to be extended to social protection and social exclusion. This method of determining Community objectives and implementing national action programmes which are assessed annually – including by the European Parliament – is so successful precisely because new qualitative and quantitative objectives are formulated whilst simultaneously strictly adhering to the principle of subsidiarity. It cannot arbitrarily be transferred to other areas, as specific procedures are needed.
The Christian Social Party does not support the right to a minimum income or a standard pension. Nor do we accept the renewed demands for a reduction in legal working hours at European level. It is far inferior to flexible working arrangements, as the experience of many European companies has demonstrated.
Furthermore, the request that there should be a legal basis for NGOs to regulate a "civil dialogue" is not acceptable. The rapporteur has departed from the principle of subsidiarity out of a sheer desire to adopt centralist solutions.
However, as the Group of the European People's Party's key amendments have just obtained a substantial majority, I have voted for the report."@en1
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