Brussels, 12/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - Despite an abortive attempt to reach a political agreement on the revision of the directive concerning certain elements of working time (EUROPE 9086), the Employment and Social Affairs Council of 8 December held a useful exchange of views on other subjects close to the heart of the citizens. Once the Council President Alan Johnson had reported back on the results of the informal summit of Hampton Court, the ministers expressed their views about the best way to tackle the demographic challenge Europe is currently faced with. The ageing population is a triumph for science, noted Commissioner Vladimir Spidla, adding: at the same time, it presents us with problems which we must resolve as a matter of urgency, particularly in sectors such as social security and health care. The debate was held on the basis of the Green Paper entitled "Confronting Demographic Change: A New Solidarity between the Generations", which was published by the Commission last March (see EUROPE 8910). The ministers stated that investment in human capital and increasing the employment rate for active seniors are of vital importance, as it will allow them to continue to receive training and it will make work more attractive from a financial point of view. The conclusions of this debate will feed into the work underway at the Commission on the demographic challenge. As their colleagues from Ecofin had already done (see EUROPE 9083), the ministers for employment and social affairs welcomed the national reform programmes within the context of the revised Lisbon strategy, which were presented to them by the President of the Employment Committee of the Council (EMCO). The ministers felt that the EMCO report would be extremely useful for the Commission as part of its preparatory work for the annual report on the Lisbon strategy, which is to be published in January 2006. Furthermore, have anticipated, the ministers reached a partial political agreement (because it depends on a decision on the financial perspectives) on the framework programme 2007-2013 for the funding of actions in the social and employment fields (PROGRESS), and a political agreement on the revision of European legislation on equal opportunities between men and women in terms of employment. Commissioner Spidla also presented the recent proposed directive on portable additional pension rights, which will help to facilitate professional mobility, and the biannual report on the situation for those living with a disability within the EU. Council President Johnson informed them of the annual follow-up to the Beijing platform and on various conferences which had been held under the UK Presidency (corporate social responsibility, health and safety in the workplace, etc).