Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-05-13-Speech-2-268"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030513.12.2-268"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, Members will be aware that the debate in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, as indeed in the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, was dominated by the concerns we had about the legal basis which was used, which only provides for consultation with Parliament. Like everybody else in this Parliament I share those concerns. But I also believe that we have a responsibility to seek to improve the draft directive presented to us, a view shared unanimously by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.
What we have here is a proposal from the Council and Commission concerning workers and representatives on the boards of a European Cooperative Society, and this is a welcome development. The cooperative sector has been waiting 30 years for this legislation, because of the extremely diverse nature of this sector. Obviously it has been difficult to achieve a common position. Even so, 30 years is far too long for the estimated eight million people employed in the social economy across the Member States. I know that many of them are keen that we complete our business here tomorrow and enable the Council to arrive at an early decision.
The social economy is an important sector in terms of employment in the Union and in terms of gross domestic product. Cooperatives are an important part of that social economy. It is estimated that cooperatives in the consumer and production areas alone have over 78 million members in the Union. By facilitating at long last the formation of European cooperatives and guaranteeing the involvement of workers at board level in such new enterprises we will be sending a positive message to the cooperative movement. This, I hope, will have a particular impact on emerging cooperatives in the accession countries and serve also to strengthen the European social model throughout the enlarged Union.
Important amendments relating to gender equality in the selection of workers' representatives, trade union rights and corporate social responsibility have been adopted in committee and I am pleased to hear that there are indications that both the Commission and the Council are favourably disposed towards many of them. We regret that the Commission is unable to recommend the amendments to the regulation which my group are putting forward. But with regard to the level of agreement that we have achieved in relation to the directive, I want to thank the Council and the Commission, the staff of the Employment Committee and the staff of my own group for their assistance. Without the cooperation of all the members of the Employment Committee, we could not have arrived at the unanimous decision that underpinned the amendments that are going forward to the Council.
We can look forward to working closely with those involved in the social economy sector across the Union and to further developing the social economy. Other pieces of legislation are required to complete the coverage needed in this area and I would urge the Commission and the Council not to delay further in agreeing what is necessary.
Could I also suggest that they might consider using the Treaty of Nice provision which allows for decisions of this nature to be taken by QMV rather than unanimity. This would provide for codecision with this Parliament in any further legislation they bring forward in this area."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples