Agenda Raad Werkgelegenheid: Progress-programma, arbeidstijden, vergrijzing, pediatrische medicijnen (en)
Tuesday, 6 December 2005
Background note: Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council, 8 - 9 December 2005 (06/12/05) The Council's meeting will start on 8 December, at 10:00, with employment and social policy items, and will continue on 9 November, also starting at 10:00, and will deal with the health items. Employment and social policy: The Council will reach a partial political agreement on a draft decision establishing a programme for employment and social solidarity - PROGRESS and will reach political agreement on a draft directive recasting legislation in force regarding equal treatment between men and women in the field of employment. Moreover, it will aim to reach political agreement on the organisation of working time directive. The presidency will brief the Council of the outcome of the informal summit that took place at Hampton Court on 27 October. This briefing will be followed by a policy debate on demography and human capital. The Council will be informed by the chairman of the Employment committee (EMCO) of the outcome of the EMCO reflections on the peer reviews of the employment parts of the National reform programmes (NRPs) and will be briefed by the Commission and the Presidency on a proposal for a directive improving the portability of supplementary pensions rights. Health: The Council will reach political agreement on a draft regulation concerning paediatric medicines. It will hold a policy debate on the steps to be taken, at EU level, in the event of a human pandemic flu and will hold an exchange of views on a mental health strategy for the EU. ***** A press conference will be held by the presidency at the end of each day's session. Download the full text below: |
Working time directive (public deliberation)
The Council will examine again a proposal for an European Parliament and Council directive aimed at amending directive 2003/88/EC concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time2, on the basis of a compromise text that should be tabled by the 8 December, with a view to reaching political agreement on the text.
The objectives of the proposal are two-fold:
- First, to take into account the European Court of Justice's case law, in particular rulings in the SIMAP3 and Jaeger4 cases which held that on-call duty performed by a doctor when he is required to be physically present in the hospital must be regarded as working time.
- Second, to review some of the provisions of directive 2003/88/EC concerning derogations to the reference period for the application of the maximum weekly working time and the possibility of not applying that maximum if the worker gives his agreement to carry out such work (the "opt-out" provision);
Some issues remain open:
- the opt-out provisions;
- whether the maximum weekly working time is calculated per contract or per worker.
Legal basis: Article 137(2) - qualified majority required for a Council decision and co-decision procedure with the European Parliament. The European Parliament delivered its first reading opinion on 11 May 2005 (8725/05).
Demography and human capital (public deliberation)
The Council will hold a policy debate on demography and human capital on the basis of the following questions suggested by the presidency (15189/05):
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-Which steps should be taken by Member States and by the European Union in order to increase the overall employment rate for people of working age ? How should measures to improve human capital support this work?
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-What specific measures should Member States pursue in order to maximise the employment opportunities for young people, older workers and disadvantaged groups and what are the specific barriers to raising the employment rates for these groups?
The debate follows the Commission green paper "Confronting demographic change: a new solidarity between the generations" (March 2005 - 7607/05). The Council's employment committee (EMCO) contribution on human capital will also be a reference for this debate (14992/05 + ADD 1 + ADD2).
The debate should serve as input for a document that the Commission will prepare, taking account of the results of a public consultation that followed the green paper.