Measures to co-ordinate EU policy to create jobs are included at last in the Treaty. Now almost all Member States are concerned, where before employment had been a concern only of some countries: for instance, the reunification of Germany brought with it a high unemployment problem in that country. Secondly, the Member States learnt the lesson of Maastricht: it is important to address ordinary people's interests, not only diplomatic and legal issues. Furthermore, now that the UK has agreed to the Social Chapter, it too can now be included in the Treaty.
Extracts from the Treaty:
Objective:
The Union is to promote economic and social progress and a high level of employment (TEU, art 2)
The Community (will) ... promote ... a harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities, a high level of employment and of social protection, equality between men and women, sustainable and non-inflationary growth, a high degree of competitiveness and convergence of economic performance... (TEC, art 2)
(It will also promote) co-ordination between employment policies of the Member States with a view to enhancing their effectiveness by developing a co-ordinated strategy for employment. (TEC, art 3)
Member States and the Community shall ... work towards developing a co-ordinated strategy for employment and particularly for promoting a skilled, trained and adaptable workforce and labour markets responsive to economic change. (TEC, art 125)
The objective of a high level of employment shall be taken into consideration in the formulation and implementation of Community policies and activities. (TEC, art 127)
Method
The European Council shall each year consider the employment situation in the Community and adopt conclusions thereon, on the basis of a joint annual report by the Council and the Commission...
On the basis of the conclusions of the European Council, the Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament... shall each year draw up guidelines which the Member States shall take into account in their employment policies.
Each Member State shall provide the Council and the Commission with an annual report on the principal measures taken to implement its employment policy in the light of the guidelines for employment as referred to in paragraph 2.
The Council... shall each year carry out an examination of the implementation of the employment policies of the Member States in the light of the guidelines for employment. The Council... may, if it considers it appropriate in the light of that examination, make recommendations to Member States.
On the basis of the results of that examination, the Council and the Commission shall make a joint annual report to the European Council on the employment situation in the Community and on the implementation of the guidelines for employment. (TEC, art 128)
Incentives
The Council... may adopt incentive measures designed to encourage co-operation between Member States and to support their action in the field of employment through initiatives aimed at developing exchanges of information and best practices, providing comparative analysis and advice as well as promoting innovative approaches and evaluating experiences, in particular by recourse to pilot projects. (TEC, art 129)
Social policy
The Community and the Member States, having in mind...the... Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, shall have as their objectives the promotion of employment, improved living and working conditions, so as to make possible their harmonisation while the improvement is being maintained, proper social protection, dialogue between management and labour, the development of human resources with a view to lasting high employment and the combating of exclusion.
Views of the European Parliament: (extracts)
(Parliament) notes... that the Amsterdam Treaty has, in part, significantly improved the Union's instruments for shaping policy in the interests of its citizens, in the area of Community policies, such as employment and social policy ...; there is a need for further improvements;
(Parliament) calls in particular on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to show the political will to use the new opportunities resolutely in the interests of all European citizens and, in particular, to use the new Community political instruments to achieve clear and lasting improvements in the employment situation throughout the Union;