Brussels, 09/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - During the final Social Council press conference on Monday 8 June, the Commissioner for social affairs and equal opportunities, Vladimir Spidla, welcomed the support given by the EU27 to the Commission's communication in preparation for the European Council on 18-19 June, “Shared Commitment for Employment”. Ministers spent three hours discussing this communication, noted the Commissioner. Vladimir Spidla pointed out that, “this social relaunch plan proposes certain financial measures from the European Social Fund (ESF)”. He indicated that, “certain member states had asked whether they could have funding of up to 100% from ESF projects in 2009-2010 to tackle the crisis, without the co-financing thee needs from the national coffers”. Vladimir Spidla said that the solidarity principle should be respected in exceptional circumstances, which was currently the case. Spidla affirmed that, “the fact that certain small member states have co-funding that excludes them from ESF funding is not acceptable…Iin times of crisis, the Commission believes that pragmatism and rational decisions are called for”. Other fears were raised during this discussion, such as the fact that the communication risks upsetting the balance between member states and their financial perspectives. Mr Spidla said that this was, “false and we are prepared to discuss it. Member states are not obliged to use 100% of these funds. This means that resources will be used differently and does not mean that there will be other forms of funding. These are solidarity measures for helping member states in difficulty, which is currently the case for the Baltic states”.
In the context of freedom of movement, Commissioner Spidla pointed out that Germany and Austria had maintained certain restrictions on entering their labour markets, as part of the EU 2004 enlargement. The United Kingdom has kept certain registration methods. These measures can be kept until 2011, explained Spidla, who provided assurances that the Commission was, “following the situation closely”. According to the treaties, a member state can restrict access to its labour market if it is threatened, “Germany and Austria have used this argument of the crisis in reference to the treaties. Their argument is realistic. The countries decided to open up their labour markets during a crisis are assessing the situation before taking a decision. This is what Germany and Austria have done, while respecting the provisions of the treaties”. In connection with Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems, the Council unfortunately did not manage to reach a political agreement and it will be up to the Swedish presidency to pursue the debate.
The directive on changes to working time was at the centre of the lunch time talks. Commissioner Spidla concluded that, “this dossier has developed somewhat. The current situation is not good but we are prepared to discuss it. The question remains open”. (G.B./trans/rh).