Brussels, 10/03/2000 (Agence Europe) - The preparation of the special European Council in Lisbon and the "anti-discrimination package" put forward by the European Commission will be the two points on the EU's Employment and Social Affairs Council (ESA) session's agenda on Monday in Brussels. Presided over by the Portuguese Employment and Solidarity Minister Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, the Council will start is work at 15pm, in which the European Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou will take part. In the morning prior to her session there will be a meeting of the Permanent Employment Committee (PEC) who will discuss the contributions made by the social partners to the Lisbon summit.
The Ministers will hear an oral report by the Presidency and will note the progress made in the studying of the package of proposals submitted by the European commission on the 25 November for the fight against all forms of discrimination in the workplace. (see EUROPE of 26 November 1999, p.11). this package which contains three proposals based on Article 13 of the EU Treaty, has already been the object of a broad during the informal Social Council last February 11 in Lisbon. Their research within the preparation of the Council started at the beginning of the year and will continue. The Presidency hopes for the adoption of the three texts before the end of September. This time the Council will proceed with a simple exchange of ideas while underlining the importance that it attaches to the rapid adoption of these measures.
In the framework of the preparation for the Lisbon Summit, the Ministers will carry out a general exchange of ideas on the basis of the Presidencies preparatory document. In addition there are other contributions already made that is to say the opinion from the Employment and employment market Committee and the five documents submitted by the European Commission and titled: a) the global document "an agenda for economic and social renewal"; b) Strategy for employment in the information society; c) the Community policies for employment; d) Building a Europe of inclusion; e) Social trends: prospects and challenges.
The aim of this exchange of ideas is to give indication to the Presidency, on behalf of the Social Affairs Council's constitution, in view of the editing of the European Council's conclusions. EUROPE recalls that certain Ministers have already approved, individually or in groups, the stances, outside the work undertaken by the Council. Their authors will present them to the Council who will then be able to discuss them.