Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-23-Speech-2-249"
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"en.20011023.11.2-249"2
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". – I should like to begin by congratulating the rapporteur, Mrs Hautala, and I would like to thank all the Members of the committee for their efforts and excellent contributions in this difficult and complex area.
On Amendment No 15, on reporting on positive action measures, the Commission will propose an alternative text so as to report on positive measures only every three years.
On Amendment No 16 on gender mainstreaming, the Commission accepts this amendment partially and in spirit, but only to the extent that it respects the wording of the Treaty.
Now I should like to turn to those amendments which cannot be accepted by the Commission. Amendment No 4, rewording the common position's definition of sexual harassment, in order to take into account Parliament's definition of sexual harassment. Amendments Nos 7 and 17 reformulating the text of the common position on maternity and paternity leave by reintroducing inter alia the idea of maternity and paternity leave where children are adopted. The common position was hotly debated in the Council on this issue and a delicate compromise was reached. It is unlikely therefore that any further change would be accepted.
Here I would just like to remind you that there is, of course, the paternity leave directive – the first to be adopted following an agreement between the social partners.
The Commission did not accept Amendment No 11 on group action in cases of discrimination – especially without the consent of the victim of discrimination.
On Amendments Nos 2, 3, 6, 10 and 12, the Commission considers that the content of these amendments is already covered by the common position.
To sum up, the Commission can accept in part or in spirit Amendments Nos 1, 5, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15 and 16. It rejects Amendments Nos 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 17.
I am aware of your concerns to improve the text of the common position on which there was unanimous agreement in the Council on 11 June 2001. As you know from the first reading, the Commission accepted in spirit the majority of your amendments – 49 amendments of a total of 70 – and consequently drew up an amended proposal which reflected this position.
In general it should be stressed that the common position considerably enhances the text of the initial proposal and responds to the desire to update the text of Directive 76/207.
We must now focus on the most essential issues of the directive and make a concerted effort to find possible solutions to improve even further the common position. As you know, the Council only reached an agreement after long discussions on issues such as the precise wording of the definitions and the article on maternity and paternity leave, on which it was very difficult to reach agreement in the Council. The compromise therefore is extremely delicate. On the other hand I feel that the Council could make further compromises in areas such as equality plans, the role of bodies for the promotion of equality and the introduction of preventive measures to combat sexual harassment.
In this context the Commission can accept the following amendments. On Amendments Nos 1 and 5, on preventive measures against sexual harassment the Commission can accept in part the idea of introducing measures for preventing sexual harassment by reformulating the text. Instead of obliging employers to introduce preventive measures, it would be preferable to encourage employers to do so.
On Amendment No 8, on positive measures, the Commission can accept this amendment in part if a definition is contained in the recitals instead of the article of the directive.
On Amendment No 9, on provisions in contracts and agreements, the Commission accepts that annulment should be obligatory but rejects the removal of the possibility for amendment of the contract. Here there is the need for flexibility.
On Amendment No 13, on the role of the independent budgets, the Commission can accept this amendment in part by reformulating the proposed text. The text of the common position could be improved by strengthening the role of bodies for the promotion of equal treatment and by adding to their tasks the monitoring and follow-up of Community legislation in the field of equal treatment. The Commission can also accept a reformulation of Article 6(3), by expressly mentioning that designated bodies acting on behalf of victims have an interest in ensuring that the provisions of the directive are complied with.
On Amendment No 14, on equality plans and the company level, the Commission can accept this idea in part, but with a new formulation for Article 8(b)."@en1
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