Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-03-Speech-2-336"
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"en.20020903.13.2-336"2
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".
Mr President, I should like to make a point of thanking Mrs Smet for her report on the scoreboard on implementing the social policy agenda. As she quite rightly points out, the social policy agenda for the years 2000 to 2006 is the first common commitment adopted, including by the Council, and the first European charter of social commitments and actions.
The first year, 2001, was a special case which we discussed last year. It was the first year we ran it and it had serious shortcomings and problems. This year, we have our first detailed scoreboard, containing a step by step analysis of the progress made in this particular policy area. The comment last year was that the description only applied to the Commission. I think it is clear that, this year, we have a detailed description of all the agencies involved in each action. One example is the proposal for socially sensitive restructuring in the business sector, which describes the role of the Commission, the European Parliament, the social agencies, the social partners, governments and civil society. Of course I agree with Mrs Smet and her comment in the report that we should always look forward as well as back, i.e. not just to how specific agencies have been involved but also to the objectives they have set for the following stages.
The following stages will be examined to a certain extent in the first mid-term review in 2003. The period from 2003 to 2005 is also important. There will be an initial progress report and we shall be able to make any changes deemed necessary. I should point out here that the European Parliament will be fully involved in this mid-term review because as Mrs Smet says, and I am sure no-one disagrees, Europe's basic ally in all social policy proposals is the European Parliament. It is more often than not Parliament which is the driving force behind the European Union in social policy.
I should like to comment on three points which I feel are instrumental to the debate. First that, with cooperation between the Commission and the European Parliament, most of the social policy agenda initiatives planned for 2000 to 2002 have been brought to a successful conclusion or are under way. Secondly, as has already been mentioned, we have found a modus operandi with the method of open cooperation between the Member States and, to a certain extent, a way of including the role of Parliament in this method. Of course, this is a first step and what we need to do is identify the basic, fundamental role of the European Parliament and this is something the Convention will need to address. The third point is that, as with the European Parliament, we need to find a legal basis for involving civil society in discussions in the Convention.
I should like to make a point of thanking the European Parliament for its constructive cooperation. We look forward to receiving your individual comments."@en1
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