Brussels, 07/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - During its last meeting, the executive committee of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) adopted a resolution relating to its position towards the Charter of fundamental rights, in the shadow of the Nice Summit, next 6 December. Other than its heavily emphasised aim and which aims to have a "legally binding Charter and included in the Treaty", the ETUC:
1) Welcomes that the EU Charter consecrates "the indivisibility of political, civil, social and union rights", but deplores that other rights included in the revised European social charter, such as the right to minimum pay, where not taken into consideration;
2) Considers important that "in the framework of the single market and the economic integration achieved, the Charter recognises trade union rights, both at a European and cross-border level. It thus regrets that differences appear as soon as it is a case of respecting trade union rights to act without national border restrictions; to remedy this, it will require "making trade union rights the fifth freedom of the single market free from any restriction, but in a way that fully respects the national systems for collective bargaining";
3) Deplores that the informal summit in Biarritz was unable to manage to agree on including the Charter in the IGC agenda, nor for issuing a recommendation on the future statute of the said Charter, nor proposing a clear follow-up procedure. Thus it calls on the Nice Summit to "at least take a decision on the following points: a) accepts that rights are legally binding; b) rule on the procedure and timetable for the integration of the Charter into the Treaty; c) introduce a reference to the Charter in Article 6, paragraph 2, of the EU Treaty (which refers to the existing international texts such as the ILO or the Council of Europe); d) add a new paragraph to Article 136 of the Treaty, on trade union rights (freedom of association, collective bargaining and trade union actions).