At the EPSSCO Council held in Luxembourg on 2 October 2008, Xavier Bertrand, the French Minister for Labour, Labour Relations, the Family and Solidarity and chairperson of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council, underlined that 2008 should be the year to revive Europe’s social policy.

The main items on the agenda for this Council meeting were a policy debate on the proposal for a Council directive on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment irrespective of religion or convictions, disability, age or sexual orientation, and a progress report on the work aimed at overhauling the European Works Council Directive. This Council meeting was also an opportunity to exchange views on the interim report of the European mission for flexicurity, co-chaired by Vladimir Spidla, the Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunity, and Gérard Larcher, the President of the French Senate.

Firstly, Xavier Bertrand highlighted the problems currently facing European economies. Now more than ever, all Member States have a responsibility to place social cohesion, the protection of citizens, solidarity and the modernisation of the job market, at the heart of their priorities.

He also recalled that, in addition to preparations for the 2009 European elections, advances must be made on a number of other fundamental issues.

At the end of the Council, the Presidency reiterated the following aims:

• With regard to the Directive on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment, Xavier Bertrand recalled that this text, the legal basis of which was laid down in the Treaty of Amsterdam, represents a chance for Europe to make the specific guarantees long-awaited by citizens, and to make Europe the most accessible continent for all. He emphasised the constructive debates on this proposal which had taken place within the Council and the determination of the French Presidency to achieve the best text as soon as possible, within a spirit of dialogue and listening by all the partners concerned.
• On the overhaul of the European Works Council Directive, Xavier Bertrand saluted the progress achieved on this text since the start of the summer, notably with the support of European social partners. He specified that the text put forward by the Commission and the proposals jointly presented by the European social partners had provided the Council with a working basis, and should now be used for ongoing discussions within the Council and with the European Parliament. He highlighted that the work accomplished so far would make a rapid adoption of the text possible by the end of the year.
• Xavier Bertrand felt it important to readdress the work of the European mission for flexicurity, particularly on its contributions in terms of pedagogy and methods for enabling the actors of social reform in the different Member States to take ownership of the common flexicurity principles. He underlined that the participation of the European social partners in the mission was a decisive asset to ensuring a positive outcome, and that the mission’s method could be deployed in the context of the adoption of other common principles in future years, with regard to intergenerational solidarity and active social inclusion for example.
• Lastly, the Presidency welcomed the Council’s unanimous adoption of a decision to make 2010 the European Year for Combating Poverty, a decision that Xavier Bertrand emphasised was not just a question of principle but should be used to advance debate and the positions of the Member States in this area.
  Xavier Bertrand also recalled that the work of the Presidency would continue until the end of the second half of 2008, but that beyond that, within the framework of the trio it formed with the Czech and Swedish Presidencies, the work would be oriented towards a more protective and more practical Europe, a source of progress and achievement for everyone.

The next EPSSCO Council will be held on 15 December next in Brussels.

Source: ue2008.fr