[autom.vertaling] Raad Luxemburg van de Zaken van de werkgelegenheid, van de Sociale Politiek, van de Gezondheid en de Van de consument, 20 Oktober 2003 (en)

On Monday 20 October, the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council will meet. At this October meeting, there will be no discussion on health and consumer affairs matters.

The Council meeting will be chaired by Roberto Maroni, the Italian Minister for Labour and Social Policies. The Commission will be represented by Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou.

Ministers will have to decide on three important legislative issues:

Simplification of Regulation 1408/71 on co-ordination of social security for migrant workers

The Council will be called on to agree a general approach on the last three material chapters: pre-retirement, family benefits and unemployment. Such agreement will pave the way for a final agreement on the simplification and improvement of the Regulation before the end of the year, as requested at the Laeken European Council in December 2001.

European Health Card

Ministers will also be asked to agree the general approach to make some changes to the same regulation in order to prepare for the introduction of the European Health Card in Spring 2004. The changes will include:

• amending the Regulation so that all categories of insured persons have the same entitlement to necessary healthcare in the past different categories have had different entitlements

• simplifying the procedures whereby an insured person can access treatment in another Member State

• an obligation for the insured person to inform the competent authority (that is the authority in the state providing care) of any changes in his or her status or circumstances. (See IP/03/271 for information on the Commission's proposal.)

Health and Safety for Workers

Council should reach political agreement on a directive protecting workers from electromagnetic fields and waves. This directive will be an important step forward in addressing the new generation of risks faced by workers and follows on from a previous directive on vibrations and noise.

Ministers will also debate immigration and integration, following the Commission Communication of June 2003. This debate will serve as the basis for Council Conclusions later in the year.

Ministers are expected to adopt Council Conclusions on pensions and a Council Resolution on the fight against undeclared work. Both of these issues were extensively discussed at the Informal Council meeting in Varese in July of this year. The Council is also expected to endorse the opinion of the Social Protection Committee on the streamlining of different processes in the social protection field. This opinion considers the proposals made in the Commission Communication of May 2003, which looked at how best to improve, simplify and make more visible the EU's work in co-ordinating Member States' social protection policies, such as pensions, social inclusion and combating poverty, healthcare and care for the elderly, social security systems and how they encourage people to work ('making work pay').

Finally the Council is expected to consider two texts relating to combating violence and illegal activities:

• Daphne II programme. Council is expected to reach political agreement on a new programme to combat violence against women and children, to replace the Daphne I programme that will expire this year.

• Trafficking in human beings. Council will adopt a Resolution on trafficking in human beings.