Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-03-Speech-2-341"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20020903.13.2-341"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Social Policy Agenda is a dynamic programme and, therefore, likely to be adjusted. Hence the importance of the annual assessment panel, enabling the European Parliament to monitor and control the implementation of the Social Agenda, analysing the past and programming the future.
The rapporteur, Mrs Smet, has presented a magnificent price of work, which criticises the Commission communication and lays bare its weak points, as well as making clear and lucid contributions to the future implementation of the Agenda. Employment is the European Union’s number one priority. In 2000, the employment rate reached 63.2%. Despite the creation of around 3 million new jobs, it is still 7% below the Lisbon Summit objective for 2010 and the number of unemployed still persists, at 14.5 million European citizens.
The low employment rates of older workers, the disparities between men and women, both in terms of the employment rate and of remuneration (18% and 14% respectively) the high levels of unemployment – around of 8% of the workforce – and regional differences in employment constitute structural weaknesses that require attention and active measures. The committed involvement of the social partners is crucial. Poverty and social exclusion are other issues that deserve increased attention. More than 60 million people are living at risk of poverty. This phenomenon varies, as is known, between Member States, but we are not mistaken in considering the fight against poverty and exclusion and their eradication to be the greatest challenge facing us. Therefore, the Commission must speed up the works that are underway in the aim of understanding and assessing the phenomenon, paying particular attention to women. With regard to promoting equal treatment between men and women, this Commission assessment panel still lacks an overall strategic approach. Consequently, the Commission must propose measures to improve the situation of women and, in parallel, to adopt initiatives to promote their full participation in decision-making in the workplace."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples