Brussels, 12/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - To do everything in their power to safeguard Social Europe in conditions of change brought about by globalisation and the ageing population: this will be the first priority of the Finnish Presidency in the social and employment domain, announced Finnish employment Minister Tarja Filatov, presenting the President programme to the committee on employment and social affairs of the EP, in Brussels on 10 July.
In order to achieve these objectives, Ms Filatov announced (as she had already done before the informal Social Council of Helsinki: see EUROPE 9229) that the Presidency would pay very close attention to improving productivity, an improvement to be attained in a socially sustainable way, particularly by improving the quality and organisation of work. The Presidency will also lay emphasis on investment in technological innovation and social innovation, and look into how best to introduce new technologies into the world of work, particularly in order to improve competition and competitiveness. Increasing productivity is a subject to prolong the discussion on flexicurity, which was launched by the Austrian Presidency, Ms Filatov added.
The other priority dossiers of the Presidency will be: (1) the Green Paper on the future of employment law: this autumn, the Commission is to adopt this Green Paper, to be used as a basis for the common principles of flexicurity, to be proposed in the course of spring 2007; (2) the communication on demographic change: the Commission is to publish this communication under the Finnish Presidency. It will look into one of the greatest challenges the EU will face in the future, immigration, to see how the lack of labour force, due to the ageing of the workers, can be plugged; (3) the promotion of high-quality work, mainly to improve the productivity of work in less developed countries; (4) the directive on working time: the Presidency will do all in its power to find a solution which is also acceptable to the European Parliament; (5) the rules on seasonal employment, in order to guarantee a minimum European threshold of security and equal treatment for seasonal workers; (6) the Globalisation Adjustment Fund proposed by the Commission: this Fund will add to the current EU Structural Funds, particularly the Social Fund and national measures in the field of employment. The timetable to prepare for this dossier will be extremely tight, if the Fund is to enter into force early in 2007. Cooperation between the Finnish Presidency and the EP is vital in order to ensure that it is a success.