Brussels, 08/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - After their preparation for the European Council in June (see EUROPE 10154), employment and social policy ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 7 June, adopted conclusions on the following issues:
(1) “Sustainable social security systems achieving adequate pensions and social inclusion objectives”: The Council invited the Social Protection Committee to regularly monitor the evolution of minimum pensions and minimum income provision for older people in member states and to address the issue of the adequacy of the total pension package, that is, the role of the different public and private components, for men and women while taking into account the need to secure the long-term financial stability of pensions systems. With its adoption of these conclusions, the Council called on member states to continue to give particular attention to the issue of minimum pensions as an instrument for tackling poverty.
(2) “New Skills for New Jobs: the way forward”: the Council urged: - member states to increase their efforts to bring citizens' skills into line with the new challenges, for example, by modernising education and training systems, increasing the flexibility of education and training programmes, further developing the links between education and training and the labour market, and by encouraging the involvement of the younger and older generations, the low-skilled and other disadvantaged groups in the labour market; - the Commission to propose further concrete steps, in autumn of this year, to develop the “New Skills for New Jobs” initiative and to consider strengthening the role of the EU funding mechanisms in the development of measures to predict skills demand and supply.
(3) Advancing Roma inclusion: the Council invited the Commission and member states inter alia to make progress in mainstreaming Roma issues into European and national policies, to advance the social and economic integration of the Roma and to ensure that existing EU financial instruments, and in particular the structural funds, are accessible to Roma.
(4) Active ageing: the Council called for greater involvement of older people in economic and social life, by removing employment obstacles, improving employment conditions, tackling discrimination and investing in continuing learning.
Elsewhere, the Council: - endorsed the Social Protection committee's opinion on “Solidarity in Health: reducing health inequalities in the EU”; - took note of the interim joint report on pensions by the Economic Policy Committee and the Social Protection Committee; - adopted a resolution on a new European disability framework, calling for, inter alia, enhanced inclusion within society of people with disabilities and their families by mainstreaming disability issues and by launching initiatives in education, employment and social affairs, international affairs and development; - agreed, without debate, on a draft regulation on extending the arrangements of Regulation 883/2004 to third country nationals: this regulations seeks to ensure that third-country nationals who are legally resident in the EU and who are in a cross-border situation are subject to the same rules for coordinating social security entitlements as European citizens; - reached political agreement on coordination of social security systems with six third countries (Algeria, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Israel, Morocco and Tunisia).
The Spanish Presidency informed the Council of: - progress in discussions on the draft directive on implementing the principle of equality of treatment for people without distinction of religion or beliefs, handicap, age or sexual orientation; - the agreement between the European Parliament and the Council in second reading on the draft directive on social protection for self-employed workers and assisting spouses. The Italian delegation drew the Council's attention to the need to simplify the procedures of the European Social Fund. (G.B./transl.rt)