Brussels, 06/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - The results of discussions by EU employment and social affairs ministers on Thursday 2 June in Luxembourg were described as “good” by Council President François Biltgen, during the final press conference (EUROPE 8960). Mr Biltgen cited the guidelines for employment policy (“which concern all our citizens, and above all the unemployed”) and the political agreement on certain aspects of working time in the rail sector, as well as on the Bilbao and Dublin agencies. Commissioner Vladimir Spidla felt the Council has “shown that the EU has the resolve to move forward on social aspects and equal opportunities, which citizens hold dear”. In the field of equal opportunities, the Council reached general guidelines on the creation of a Gender Institute, announced by President Barroso (EUROPE 8904), and adopted conclusions on the action programme “Beijing +10” (EUROPE 8882), in which Member States and the Commission press for the Beijing declaration and action programme and the Cairo action programme to be an integral part of the preparations and results of the Millennium Summit this September in New York.
The Council also heard Commissioners Spidla (Social) and Frattini (Justice./Home Affairs) present the Commission's Green Paper on a Community approach to economic migration management, which is focused on the consequences of migration on the employment market in liaison with demographic developments in the EU.