At the meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO), on 8 March, discussions focused exclusively on employment and social policy issues.
Ministers laid the groundwork for the Spring European Council based on the Commission's communication regarding the European strategy for growth and jobs, also known as EU2020 (further details are available at: http://ec.europa.eu/eu2020/index_en.htm ).
The Council also discussed:
EU 2020 strategy
On 3 March 2010 the European Commission released its new ‘EU2020’ strategy which aims to enable the EU to go out of the crisis and move towards a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy delivering high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion (for more information, please click here).
Ministers underlined that the new strategy should concentrate on a limited number of priority objectives. In particular, they welcomed the proposed EU-level target for employment according to which 75% of the population aged 20-64 should have a job by 2020.
The Council also emphasised the importance of finding the most effective ways of reducing the impact of unemployment on young people, women and the elderly. The importance of education, lifelong learning and vocational training was highlighted in this respect.
The need to strengthen efforts in the fight against poverty was also stressed. In this context, ministers welcomed the proposed EU-level (20 million less people should be at risk of poverty by 2020) as a strong signal of the EU commitment in the framework of the 2010 European year against poverty and social exclusion.
According to the Council, strong governance mechanisms are required to closely monitor the implementation of the new strategy and, in this regard, the EPSCO Council should play a key role.
New European microfinance facility
Ministers agreed on a new facility to provide loans to people who have lost their jobs and want to start or further develop their own small business: the European Microfinance Facility. The initiative, which will be operational from June 2010, is part of the EU's response to the crisis and is especially targeted at people who cannot normally obtain credit because of the economic crisis and the current lack of credit supply.
For further information, please click here.
New strategy on the eradication of violence against women
Ministers asked the Commission to design a new European Strategy for preventing and combating violence against women.
The strategy should establish a general framework of common principles and appropriate instruments by addressing the following priorities:
- Reviewing the current state of the problem of violence against women and its manifestations at the European level.
- Identifying common goals and the means to reach them. This includes the collection of comparable EU-wide information so as to support the Member States in the implementation and evaluation of measures and policies.
In this context, the first steps will be taken towards establishing a European Observatory on Violence Against Women, building on existing institutional structures, with a view to collecting high-quality statistics to support policies.
For more information, please click here.
Extending workers' rights to parental leave
The Council adopted a directive extending workers' rights to parental leave from three to four months for each parent. At least one of the four months cannot be transferred to the other parent (i.e. it is lost if not taken).
Ministers explained that the new directive seeks to better match professional and family life and to promote gender equality on the labour market. Other new elements include the clarification that all workers are covered, regardless of the type of their contract (e.g. fixed-term, part-time and temporary agency workers).
Member states have two years to transpose the new directive into national law.
For further information, please read the Council conclusions.
Next meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council:
22-23 April (informal meeting of Health Ministers)
7-8 June