Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-19-Speech-1-180"
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"en.20040419.15.1-180"2
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".
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I am most satisfied with the substantial progress which has been made on the present proposal, both in the Council and in Parliament, and with the fact that we are now coming to the final stage in its approval.
The current regulation does not contain clear provisions on good administration. The new rules remedy this shortcoming. These rules in fact require increased cooperation and mutual assistance between the agencies in the Member States for the benefit of citizens. In addition, agencies will be required to reply within a reasonable period of time to all questions and to provide citizens with any information requested in order to exercise their rights.
Finally, I should like to say that this was indeed a long and difficult procedure which is coming to a successful end and I must thank you once again for bringing such a laborious task to a speedy conclusion in your capacity as joint legislator.
Achieving the objective of official approval by the Council and by Parliament before the 1 May is of the greatest importance, for numerous reasons. The most important is that it will send out a clear message to the citizens in both the present and in the new Member States, demonstrating that the European Union is both willing and able to set appropriate conditions for the real free movement of persons, the cornerstone of which is the coordination of social security systems.
I should like to congratulate the rapporteur, Mrs Lambert, on her truly excellent report on such a technically difficult issue as the coordination of social security systems. I should also like to thank the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs for its work.
As you know, the European Commission, in the amended proposal which it submitted last October, took account in full or in part of most of the amendments approved by Parliament at first reading. As regards the two amendments within the framework of the second reading, they clearly improve the quality of the text and the Commission can therefore accept them in full.
In addition, I can assure you that the Commission is also in a position to accept some of the remaining concerns and considerations expressed by certain members of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs at second reading, within the framework of the proposal for a new executive regulation which the Commission will submit by the end of this year. I hope, as Mrs Lambert also said, that both the regulation and the three annexes will be approved by 2006.
The common position of the Council responds to the main objectives of the Commission proposal, which entail simplifying and improving the coordination of social security systems, for the benefit of European citizens moving around within the Union. The simplification and modernisation of the present regulation are the basic
to the promotion of the mobility of labour in the Union. They are therefore closely connected with the general objective of competitiveness, of more and better jobs and of social cohesion. It is a fact that the present regulation provides protection in the social security sector for persons moving for any reason – personal or professional – from one Member State to another. It is therefore important to the overwhelming majority of European citizens.
I do not intend to enumerate all the improvements which the new rules will bring about compared with the present regulation, but we can focus our attention very briefly on three issues.
The new rules will apply to all citizens in the European Union covered by a Member State's social security system. The application of the coordination rules to all insured persons will satisfy the need for Regulation No 1408 to be brought into line with developments in the freedom of movement within the European Union, which is not just a right for workers, but is also a reality for all European citizens.
The new rules will strengthen the principle of equal treatment of nationals of the European Union by introducing a provision governing the cross-border recognition of facts and incidents. This provision is particularly important for cross-border workers."@en1
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