Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-03-Speech-1-112"
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"en.20010903.7.1-112"2
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". – Mr President, may I begin by saying that the Commission welcomes this report on the operation of the European works councils directive. It will certainly form a very significant input into our review of the directive. In particular I should like to thank the rapporteur, Mr Menrad, for the effort he has put into this report over a long period. The report clearly reflects his profound knowledge of the subject. I am also conscious of the time that the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs has devoted to this issue and in particular the extremely useful public hearing which the Committee organised earlier this year, giving all actors the opportunity to express their views.
Before concluding, may I give some brief replies to two specific questions. Firstly, a question by Mr Désir and Mrs Flautre on what the Commission are doing to address the social aspects of merger control. In brief, the answer is that the Commission has indicated its intention to examine the interaction between Community competition law on mergers and the social consequences of such mergers. The second question was put to me by Mr Désir. He asked about the Commission's plans as regards the timing of the revision of the European works council directive. I would reply that the Commission plans to address the revision of the European works council directive as soon as the information and consultation directive is adopted. The first step would be consultation of the social partners which, if conciliation on the information and consultation text is completed by the end of this year, could be launched early next year. The Commission has consistently taken the view that the timing of any revision of the European works council directive is inextricably linked to adoption of both the information and consultation directive and the final adoption of the European Company statute proposal.
In conclusion, may I once again thank Parliament very much indeed for its in-depth and knowledgeable reports which will provide crucial input into, not only the Commission's thinking, but also the thinking of the other actors in this important issue.
The report acknowledges the overall success in the operation of the directive, while identifying a number of weaknesses. The directive was the first piece of Community legislation to provide for a specifically transnational aspect of employer/employee relations and in doing so it broke completely new ground. From that beginning we now have a situation where there are European works council agreements in 650 companies or groups in Europe, covering about 60% of relevant employees. In each of those companies meetings are now taking place between management and employees from several Member States. That would have been almost unthinkable some years ago and it is a considerable achievement. Because of the inherent flexibility of the directive, this has been achieved notwithstanding the wide variation in employee participation and industrial relations systems in the Member States. As the report acknowledges, the directive has undoubtedly contributed to the development of a European consciousness among employee representatives.
In acknowledging the directive's success, I should also like to acknowledge, as the report does, the role played by the trade unions, in particular the trade unions at European Union level. Their input into and coordination of numerous negotiations has made a major contribution to the success of the directive.
To acknowledge the overall success of the directive is not, of course, to say that there have not been problems with this application. The Commission's report to Parliament and to the Council in April 2000 identified a number of legal and practical problems relating to the application of the directive. Parliament's report, prepared in response to the Commission's report, has elaborated on that analysis and identified a number of weaknesses in the operation of the directive and it proposes a series of changes to address those weaknesses. Parliament may be assured that we shall examine all its proposals carefully.
A key issue highlighted in the report, one which, as the report notes, has been the focus of much public interest of late, is the clarification of what we mean by information and consultation. We need to ensure that employees are informed and consulted at the right time, when they can still influence decisions. The report highlights some of the cases where, regrettably, employees have not been properly informed or consulted on major decisions affecting their livelihoods.
Since I share Parliament's concerns on this issue and since I am determined to do all in my power to meet those concerns, I was extremely encouraged by the decision of the Employment and Social Policy Council on 11 June to adopt unanimously a political agreement on a common position on the draft directive establishing a common framework for informing and consulting employees. The common position was formally adopted by the Council on 23 July. As Parliament may be aware, the Commission's proposal for this directive contained comprehensive provisions on information and consultation both as regards content and timing. I am pleased to see that Parliament's report has references to the Commission's proposal as a benchmark in this regard.
I know that Parliament is now actively working on its second reading of the draft directive to allow for its adoption as soon as possible. There will be issues to be resolved between Parliament and Council, most notably on the issue of sanctions, a subject which has been raised by a number of speakers this afternoon. This is an issue where the Council's common position is furthest removed from the shared desire of Commission and Parliament to see effective sanctions: sanctions for failure to meet information and consultation obligations. Notwithstanding this, however, I believe that the political will now exists throughout the institutions to reach final agreement on this text quickly, thus putting in place a comprehensive framework for information and consultation throughout the Community.
Just as some of the issues raised in Parliament's reports relate to the information and consultation draft directive, so others – such as the role of trade unions, the issue of training for employee representatives and the length of time allowed to negotiate agreements – are touched on in the context of the draft directive supplementing the Statute for a European Company with regard to the involvement of employees. I am happy that Parliament has delivered its opinion on this text so promptly thus paving the way for its final adoption, I hope, at the October Employment and Social Policy Council.
Parliament's report acknowledges – and it will be clear from what I have just said – that the revision of the European works council directive is closely linked to these two legislative texts currently under consideration, that is to say firstly on information and consultation and secondly on employee involvement in the European Company. I have always believed that, because of that linkage, we should focus on finalising those two texts before addressing the revision of the European works council directive. That remains the Commission's strong view. But now, happily, we have the final adoption of those texts in sight and therefore it is my intention to be ready, as soon as the information and consultation directive is finalised, to address the revision of the European works council directive. The first stage of that process will, as indicated in the report, be a formal consultation of the social partners."@en1
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