PURPOSE : to adopt a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community incentive measures in the field of employment.
COMMUNITY MEASURE : Decision 1145/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community incentive measures in the field of employment.
CONTENT : the object of Decision is to put into effect the provisons of Article 129 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, creating the legal base for the expenditure which is required to carry out the activities provided for, and also to develop the activities further in support of the new orientations for the Employment Strategy adopted at the Lisbon European Council.
Community activities concerning analysis, research and cooperation among the Member States in the field of employment and the labour market shall be carried out in the period from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2006. The financial framework for implementing the Community activities referred to in this Decision shall be EUR 55 million.
The objectives of these activities are:
- to underpin a coordinated approach to employment policy in the Community within the overall aim of raising the employment rate set out by the European Council at Lisbon;
- to contribute to the development of the coordinated strategy for employment through the analysis, monitoring and support of actions carried out in the Member States, with due regard for the latter' responsibilities in this field;
- to develop, follow up and evaluate the European Employment Strategy with a strong forward-looking emphasis;
- to foster cooperation between Member States in analysis, research and monitoring of labour market policy;
- to identify best practices and promote exchanges and transfers of information and experience;
- to develop the approach and contents of the European Employment Strategy, including ways of cooperating with the social partners and relevant local and regional authorities, and
- to implement an active information policy responding to the public's need for transparency and recognising the importance of ensuring that European citizens can be fully informed on all aspects of the European Employment strategy. This is achieved in particular by specific information measures to increase the general awareness of the European Employment Strategy and by making the Employment Package including the national action plans on employment, and their evaluations as presented in the Joint Employment Report, accessible to the general public, notably through the use of internet facilities.
The analysis in the context of these activities shall to the maximum possible extent be gender specific.
In addition, the Community measures shall cover the following activities:
- analysis and evaluation of employment trends and framework policy conditions; prospective analysis on policy areas of importance to the Commission and Member States for the assessment of policy options and the impact of Community policies; forward analysis and research of new policy issues arising in the development of the coordinated strategy for employment;
- providing support for Member States' efforts in evaluating ina consistent and coordinated manner their National Action Plans for Employment;
- a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the effects of the European Employment Strategy in general, including assessment of the effectiveness of the methodology used, and analysis of the consistency between the European Employment Strategy and general economic policy, as well as other policy areas;
- bringing together and exchanging experience in the Member States, including the peer review process, in terms of both the pillars and individual guidelines;
- monitoring of the European Employment Strategy in the Member States, in particular through the European Employment Observatory;
- technical and scientific work needed to underpin the development of common quantitative and qualitative indicators, improving and completing statistics, benchmarking performances and the exchange of information on best practices;
- supporting the input of presidencies of the Council of the European Union in order to create a special focus on priority elements of the European Employment Strategy and on special events of high international importance or of general interest to the Community and the Member States.
It should be noted that particular attention will be given to people experiencing a combination of disadvantages which inhibit their prospects of participating actively on the labour market. In addition, efforts shall be made to mainstream the principle of gender equality, in particular with regard to equal opportunities for men and women in employment and labour markets and to reconciling working life and family life.
The activities aimed at promoting cooperation, best practice and innovative approaches, improving knowledge, developing an exchange of information and evaluating the experience in implementing the National Action Plans at all levels, will include:
a) studies on all innovative approaches and measures relating to the implementation of the Employment strategy including at local and regional level;
b) the exchange of experiences to promote best practices including at local and regional level;
c) studies on measures to encourage local and regional partners in the implementation of the European Employment Strategy;
d) dissemination of the results of the abovementioned studies on the implementation of the European Employment Strategy including at local and regional levels.
As regards the participation of third countries, the activities which may be open to participation by the countries of the EEA, the CEECs, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and Mediterranean countries which are partners of the European Union shall be defined in the context of the European Union's relations with those countries.
There shall be a number of measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision such as the general guidelines for the implementation of the activities and the annual plan of work; the breakdown of funding between measures; the Commission proposals for selection criteria for financial support; the criteria for assessing activities receiving such support, and the procedure for disseminating and transferring the results.
Lastly, the Commission shall identify performance indicators for the actions, monitor achievement of interim results, and carryout independent evaluations in the third year (mid-term) and early during the last year (ex-post) of the activities. The evaluations shall assess in particular the impact achieved and the efficiency of the use of resources, and provide decision-oriented recommendations for adjustments and the eventual extension of the activities.
The Commission shall submit an interim report on the results of the activities by 31 December 2004 at the latest, and a final report by 31 December 2007 at the latest. It shall incorporate into these reports information on Community financing within the framework of the activities and on consistency and complementarity with other relevant programmes, actions and initiatives, as well as the relevant evaluation results.
ENTRY INTO FORCE : 29 June 2002.�