title: Communication from the Commission - Community policies in support of employment

eurovoc_concepts:
EU action
EU employment policy
EU initiative
labour market
single market

text: COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Brussels, 1. 3. 2000 COM(2000) 78 final COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION Community policies in support of employment COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION Community policies in support of employment 1. INTRODUCTION The promotion of a high level of employment is a core objective of the Union. Employment plays a central role in raising of average living standards. It contributes to cohesion and social integration. It is an important measure of Europe's success in using its economic and human resources fully and effectively. Europe is now entering an important new phase in its economic and social development. With stronger growth and an improved economic climate, there are good prospects for further increases in employment and reductions in unemployment. However, if the union is to realise its full employment potential - in terms of the quality and quantity of jobs, equal access to those jobs, and minimum unemployment – it will have to manage change more effectively. Europe must continue to modernise goods, services, capital and labour markets, and become more entrepreneurial. The production, acquisition and use of knowledge is becoming one of the chief means of improving economic performance and social well-being. Knowledge and innovation redefine and enhance economic competitiveness, while changing the content of what we do at work and the way we do it. One of the goals of the special summit in Lisbon is to find ways of exploiting these new opportunities to promote employment growth and social inclusion, and thereby, to strengthen both competitiveness and cohesion. Europe needs to mobilise all its resources to create a modern, inclusive, knowledge-based, economy, and to tackle, in an integrated manner, the long standing challenges of regional imbalance and labour market mismatch, along with the new challenges of wider economic, social and technological changes. This Communication forms part of the Commission's contribution to the Lisbon Summit on employment, economic reform and social cohesion. It has a double purpose. First, the Communication shows how structural reforms and economic growth are mutually supportive and stresses the employment potential of the Union and the challenges it has to face: gender gap, skills gap, regional imbalances, demographic trends as well as global competitive pressures. It sets them in the context of the transition to an inclusive knowledge based economy. Second, in accordance with article 127 of the Treaty, which provides that "the objective of a high level of employment shall be taken into account in the formulation and implementation of all Community policies", the Comunication describes four broad areas of Community policies which are particularly relevant to the agenda of the Lisbon Summit: • the development of the knowledge-based economy should be fostered by the initiatives related to the Information society, research and development; • the functioning of the Internal Market and the promotion of enterprises and innovation should be enhanced; 2 • an integrated strategy to foster inclusion and participation in a productive economy should be adopted; • finally, job creation at regional and local development level should be actively supported. 2. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR EUROPE 2. 1. Europe's overall employment potential It is widely recognised that the EU's employment record is not good. Levels of employment are low – with an employment rate, relative to the size of the working age population, of only 61 per cent, compared with around 75 per cent in Japan and the US. Likewise, unemployment has barely dipped below 8 per cent for almost 20 years. The estimated 'full employment potential' of the Union – the level of employment that would be achieved if all Member States performed as well as the best, or as well as the US – is some 30 million people – twice the numbers of recorded unemployed. This sub-section will briefly address a number of inter-related problems: the gender gap, the short-fall in service-sector employment, the regional imbalance, long-term unemployment, the mismatch in skills and the age gap. The following subsection relates them to the process of fundamental change Europe is currently undergoing towards an economy based on knowledge. The gender dimension Further increases in employment will involve much higher rates of employment amongst women. At present, only half of women of working age are in employment in Europe, compared with over two-thirds in the United States – see Graph 1. This contrasts with the employment rate of 'prime age' men, where the EU and the US are much closer – 86 per cent as against 89 per cent. The unemployment rate for women across the Union is still some 3percentage points higher than for men. Employment rates - EU-US Graph 1 89% 86% 74% 63% 1999 57% 52% EU US 37% EU US EU US 36% EU US 100 % 80 60 40 20 0 young 15-24 men 25-54 women 25-54 older 55-64 Source:Eurostat, EU LabourForce Survey; US, Current Population Survey 458 3 Insufficient job creation in the service sector The employment gap is also reflected in the structure of jobs across sectors – with the EU having a low average level of employment in services compared with the US. While agricultural and industrial employment in Europe is on a par with the US, the service sector provides jobs for nearly 55 per cent of the working age population in the US, compared with only 40 per cent in Europe – see Graph 2. This imbalance is not restricted to any particular area – employment levels are lower across the board – in business services, health, education etc (see Employment in Europe 1999). Graph 2 54,5 39,7 EU US Employment by sector - EU-US 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 17,8 17,7 EU US 3 1,9 EU US Agriculture Industry Services Employmentaspercentageofworkingagepopulation1997 459 Regional imbalances There is a large, and persistent, geographical imbalance in the distribution of employment and unemployment across the Union. In many regions of the south, in many regions at the periphery of the Union, as in many older industrial areas of the Member States, employment rate of under 55 or 50 per cent is commonplace, with unemployment rates often twice the EU average (see Employment in Europe 1998). There has been little overall change in regional disparities in employment rates in the Union over the long-term. If anything, disparities between regions have widened over the past 15-20 years. Over the last two decades, unemployment rates in the high employment regions has remained in a narrow range between 4 and 7 per cent while the low employment regions have seen a marked deterioration from 15 per cent to around 25 per cent. Even in the Member States where disparities have been reduced in the 1990s, this has been primarily due to a reduction in employment rates in the high employment areas rather than increases in low employment areas. This implies quite serious structural problems in the low employment regions which will need to be comprehensively addressed if the Union's full employment growth potential is to be realised. Long-term unemployment Economic and labour market weaknesses in much of Europe have been reflected, not only in high levels of unemployment generally, but also in an apparent incapacity to re-integrate many of those who lose their jobs. In consequence, a high proportion of the unemployed remain unemployed for a year or more, reducing their employability, and further harming their prospects of re-entering employment. 4 On average in the Union, around half of those recorded as unemployed have been out of work for a year. In this respect, those Member States which have been most successful in lowering overall levels of unemployment, tend to be those which have paid particular attention to reducing the numbers of unemployed who drift into long-term unemployment, by bringing policy measures into play earlier rather than later. Skills mismatch A common problem in periods of economic recovery is the emergence of mismatches between demand and supply in the labour market – reflected in upward pressure on wage differentials as firms compete for scarce skills, or quantitative shortages of particular groups of workers. The problem is made more acute by the structural change towards a knowledge- based economy which creates a gap between the supply of skills – the skills workers possess and the skills in demand due to technological and organisational progress. The evidence is that in practice, people with only basic education work for far fewer years - with much longer periods of inactivity or unemployment - than people who have had the benefit of higher education. Graph 3 shows that the effective working life for men with low levels of education can be as low as 25 years compared with 35 years for those with higher leading to even greater differences in life-time earnings. Special attention must levels, therefore be given to the development of learning systems which promote access to lifelong education and training for all, and which enable people to adapt to change in their working environment. Employment and education Graph 3 40yearsworkinglife-men 40 - 30 - 20 - 10 - 0 - Unemployment Inactive Employment UK F D IT ES UK F D IT ES UK F D IT ES Low education Medium education High education OECD1996 457 Low educational attainment levels are associated with high rates of unemployment, particularly among younger workers. Young people aged 20-24 with no schooling beyond basic education, for example, have an unemployment rate up to 10 percentage points higher than those with a university education. For the workforce as a whole, unemployment rates for those with high educational attainment levels are less than half the rates for those with only basic education – under 6 per cent as against over 12 per cent - with even greater differences in respect of long-term unemployment. This shows the importance of raising the level of qualifications among young people by reducing school drop out rates, improving the training available after compulsory schooling and offering a "second chance" to those who have left school without appropriate qualifications. Demographic dimension 5 The demographic shift in the Union is now well underway, and affects both the age composition of the working-age population, and the balance of dependency between those of working age, and those outside – notably those who have retired. This makes the low employment rates for workers over 55 years (see graph 1) unsustainable, and employment policies need to be strengthened decisively in this respect (see Broad Economic Policy Guidelines 1999 and Employment Guidelines 2000). The working age population shift is even more significant in the longer run – with 12 million fewer potential workers under 40 years of age, and an increase of 13 million people over 40 years old, over the next decade. Such changes will affect the recruitment and employment practices of companies and whole sectors, notably those who have traditionally employed a younger workforce. On the other hand, the shift is gradual, with the workforce ageing by an average of only (3-4) months a year, and the faster the increase in the employment rate, the less dramatic the impact will appear. 2. 2. Emerging opportunities and constraints These long-standing challenges are being accentuated by the transition to a knowledge-based economy accompanied by increasing globalisation of production in many industrial and services sectors. The transition to a "knowledge-based economy" is becoming a major feature of our economies. Today's knowledge is increasingly encoded and transmitted through the information technologies. And more products and services than ever are based on the use of knowledge and information. ICTs and knowledge-processing have major implications for the organisation of work and the nature of jobs: networks - linking businesses together, to their customers or individuals - are reshaping the ways industries operate and how people work. By 'de-linking' many of the time constraints in the production process, they give an advantage to decentralised forms of organisation and lead to a stronger emphasis on service to customers. If appropriate policies are put in place the knowledge economy may thus bring about a substantial increase in service jobs, which will help bridge the gap in service employment. Furthermore, if sufficient attention is paid to ensuring equal access across regions and individuals the new information technologies may enable less-developed communities, both rural and urban, to create new activities and overcome long entrenched problems, for instance remoteness from major economic centres. This may give a new impetus to overcome the deeply rooted regional discrepancies in the European employment performance. These changes mean that workers – young and old alike – must be able to handle knowledge in its new forms - digitalisation, networking and real-time processing-, in order to be able to adapt throughout their working life. The knowledge-based economy seems to be accentuating the shift in comparative advantage away from those with traditional manual skills towards those with non-manual, composite and communicative skills, linked in the main to higher levels of education. 6 Changing skills structure Annual changes as % total employment, 1994 1,00 % 0,75 0,50 0,25 0,00 -0,25 High skilled non-manual Medium skilled non-manual Low skilled non-manual Skilled manual Unskilled manual 1,00 0,75 0,50 0,25 0,00 -0,25 All sectors Fast growth Medium growth Low growth Declining 4groupsofsectors,1994-1998 Source:EurostatLFSS 360 This is particularly apparent in fast growing sectors of the economy – where most of the non- manual job growth takes place. The bulk of manual job losses, whether skilled and unskilled, are in slow growing or declining sectors (see graph 4). This calls for more investment in lifelong learning both in basic education and in upgrading skills, especially those of older workers. This is especially important in the context of an ageing European workforce. Active training policies are also needed to reinforce the trend towards the narrowing of the gender gap in the access to ICTs. Knowledge investment means investment not just in ICT-related products and services or education, but also in R&D. Data from 1995 suggest that the EU performance on overall knowledge investment was comparable to the US's. However, in R&D, the Union was spending proportionally less than the US and Japan - under 2 per cent of GDP in 1997 as opposed to close to 3 per cent. Furthermore, if one takes a longer perspective and focuses on absolute spending levels, this gap seems to be on the increase, especially in the 1990s. The current trends in research expenditure could therefore have a negative influence on the development of employment in Europe in the years ahead. The continuous growth in global trading has been of substantial benefit to the Union. Declining transport costs and improved information through the Internet could open up the prospect of substantial shifts in world structures of production and distribution in the coming years and further increase income and employment in the Union. On the other hand such changes are accompanied by a continuous process of large scale industrial adjustment in Europe. Such adjustment processes are often far from smooth. Some sectors of the economy, and some groups of professions and some regions will benefit from the growth of new activities – see Annex – but there will also be offsetting losses. This creates challenges, not just for the objectives of inclusion and cohesion, but equally for the effective use of economic resources. There is now a growing recognition of the interaction between globalisation, domestic employment and relative incomes, and of the need for strong supportive policies – in terms of safety nets and re-skilling possibilities. While the new trends may reinforce the employment/unemployment challenges they could also give appropriately designed policies a new impetus for tackling unemployment, in particular long term unemployment, and effectively reducing the age, gender and skill gaps in employment and the huge discrepancies between the regional labour markets. 7 3. EMPLOYMENT IN COMMUNITY POLICIES Having characterised the employment challenges, this section looks at the employment impact of a set of Community policies central to the development of the knowledge-based economy. Taking up these challenges requires effective mobilisation of all economic and structural policies, operating in a mutually supportive way. Employment policy has to be embedded in a comprehensive approach encompassing macro-economic policies directed towards growth, stability and employment, economic reform promoting competitiveness and the functioning of the markets, and the Employment Guidelines - designed to improve employability, adaptability, equal opportunities and to promote entrepreneurship with a view to job creation in existing and new enterprises. The Employment Guidelines and the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines, which provide the framework for the definition of overall policy objectives and orientations, are monitored by the respective implementation reports, with the main responsibility of the implementation resting with the Member States. Article 127(1) of the EC Treaty states that the Community shall contribute to a high level of employment by encouraging cooperation between Member States and by supporting and, if necessary, complementing their action. This support was requested by the European Council at its extraordinary Luxembourg meeting, when it called for the harnessing of all Community policies in support of employment, both framework policies and support policies. This call was echoed by Article 127(2) of the EC Treaty according to which the objective of a high level of employment shall be taken into consideration in the formulation and implementation of Community policies and activities. Although this Communication deals with the mainstreaming of employment in the policies of the Community with its present membership, it is important to recognise the significant implications for employment policies that an enlarged Union will represent. The integration of countries that are at different stages of development, growth and competitiveness to the present Member States is a challenge that needs to be taken up now. Employment reviews are in candidate countries at present, with a view to gaining a better being carried out understanding of the situation in these countries to enable them to align their employment policies on the Community's. The following sections concentrate on four areas: • The development of the knowledge-based economy • Fostering the dynamism of the internal market • Inclusion and participation in a productive economy • EU support for developing employment at regional and local level. 3. 1. Towards a knowledge-based economy EU support for a European Information Society The information and communication technologies offer Europe new opportunities for growth and job creation. These technologies will affect employment across most economic sectors in different ways: new organisational arrangements and innovation in business processes will boost productivity, leading to lower prices, better quality products and, eventually increased demand; and product and service innovation will generate new jobs and new demand. 8 Europe's strengths and weaknesses The US economy has taken up new technologies faster than Europe and been quicker to exploit the "information highways" infrastructure. As a consequence, it has been able to launch successful world-wide applications dependent on these technologies, and is dominant in many sections of the IT markets. For instance, most Internet providers must still use US "backbones" (large bandwidth infrastructures) for carrying Internet traffic. On a positive note, Europe is now the fastest growing market for Internet development with about 50 million Europeans using the Internet as of year end 1999. The figure is expected to rise manifold by 2004. However today, the European Internet penetration rate in homes stands at only one third of the US rate, which means that Europe should promote a much faster pace of Internet penetration than it has at present. Furthermore, the skills gap is a significant barrier to job creation in Europe, both at the level of basic ICT literacy and at the expert level: there will be as many as 1. 6 million unfilled ICT specialist vacancies by 2002. The EU, however, occupies a leading position regarding mobile communications and digital TV. In December 1999, the EU had 136 million mobile subscribers, and the growth rate in many Member States is currently 1 per cent per month. Some prediction refer to a penetration rate close to 100% within the next 5 years. GSM, originally a European standard, has become a global standard. Third generation mobile telephony, offering the possibility of effective mobile e-commerce and wireless Internet access, will build on this success and give European companies a strong lead, as there will be over 600 million mobile phones with these capabilities by 2004. EU initiatives • The initiative "eEurope – An Information Society for All", launched by the European Commission on 8 November, aims to bring the benefits of the Information Society within reach of all Europeans. It addresses the necessary framework conditions such as bringing all schools online, cheaper Internet access, accelerating e-commerce, fast Internet for researchers and students, risk capital for high tech SMEs, e-participation for the disabled and ensuring easy access to public information. Giving policy priority to the ten areas addressed in the e-Europe initiative will enable Europe to create a substantial number of high-skill jobs in areas of growing demand. The initiative also focuses on providing people with cheap and accessible tools to upgrade their skills, thereby enabling them to grasp new opportunities. • The Communication "Strategies for Jobs in the Information Society" adopted on 4 February, sets out recommendations to Member States, social partners, and industries to overcome present shortcomings in four areas: learning, working, public services, and the enterprise in the Information Society. The Commission proposes ambitious objectives, which provide the basis for benchmarking the Knowledge Society dimension within the European Employment Strategy. The Commission will encourage Member States to promote the Information Society and new skills by focusing Structural Funds investment on human resources and the relevant infrastructure. EU support for a common European Research Area: building knowledge for growth and employment 9 The generation and dissemination of new knowledge through research support employment by laying the foundations for the new growth industries of the future and by enabling people to expand their knowledge and skills. In fact, the major world economies have experienced an increase in the number of jobs in industries and regions with high R&D intensity and high technology levels. Europe's strengths and weaknesses In terms of employment researchers account for only 2. 5 in every thousand of the industrial workforce in Europe, as against 6. 7 in the United States and 6 in Japan. Between 1988 and 1997, domestic expenditure on research and development in the European Union failed to keep pace with GDP. The average research effort in the Union is currently only 1. 8 % of Europe’s GDP, as against 2. 8 % in the United States and 2. 9 % in Japan, and this gap is on the increase since 1995, especially as regards the investment in research by the private sector, medium-sized business and small enterprises. Gap in R&D spending between Europe and the US 10000 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 0 - - - - - - - s e c i r p 0 9 9 1 t a ) s o r u E ( S P P n o i l l i M GOVERNMENT INDUSTRY OTHER Furthermore, Europe's research effort suffers from fragmentation and compartmentalisation. The regulatory and administrative frameworks and the reference systems for research show a wide variations, and there is no real “internal market” for scientific knowledge and technology today. Yet Europe has a high potential in research. It produces a third of the world’s scientific knowledge. It is in the forefront in areas such as medical research and chemistry. And it has notable success such as aeronautics and mobile communications. This potential must be maintained, increased and fully exploited. in technology, in sectors stories EU initiatives In the Communication "Towards a common European research area", the Commission proposed an overall strategy for enhancing scientific and technological activities in Europe, while fully taking advantage of the high level potential already existing in the Member States. A better integration of Europe's scientific and technological activities and a determined move 10 towards a real European research policy are indispensable conditions for invigorating research in Europe. The communication calls for in particular the mapping and networking of centers of excellence, increased mobility of researchers and the creation of better framework conditions for the private investment in research. Benchmarking exercises should be undertaken, leading to the preparation of a regular report on the situation of research in Europe. This benchmarking and the report should be based on a set of key indicators which are the most research and development on competitiveness and relevant employment, in the context of the knowledge-based society. to assess the impact of Measures will need to be implemented by the Member States and the Union. The full panoply of practical, legal and policy instruments available should be brought into play and the range of possibilities provided by the Treaty should be re-examined in this respect. EU support for developing a European area of life-long learning: addressing the education gap Progress made in information and communication technologies is changing the way in which knowledge is accumulated and supporting the transition to a knowledge-based society. However, this newly emerging model is still giving rise to many challenges: How to stimulate innovation, not only in processes, but also in products and services, in order to boost enterprise and job creation? How to equip the workforce for much more rapid changes in occupational activities? How to cope with the risk of new social activities? The educational systems throughout the Union have to be responsive to the need of all citizens to be equipped to face rapid change in the overall framework of the knowledge-based economy. Moreover, education policies must take into account the changing social trends, in relation to population ageing, household and family structures as well as the related behavioural changes associated with gender and intergenerational issues. Europe's strengths and weaknesses Current low employment partly reflects a mismatch between the skills in demand and in supply. High youth unemployment emphasises the need to focus more on a successful transition from school to work by improving the quality of education and training including the development of core skills and strengthening links between the labour market and educational and training institutions. For older workers improved access to high-quality continuing education and training is needed to help them adapt to the new labour market's requirements. There is a strong political commitment to change. The Employment Strategy and the Community programmes for education, training and youth contribute to the development of a common European area for Education and Training through co-operation and mobility. Indeed, one of the cornerstones of the Employment Guidelines is to bring about the full participation of all in the knowledge-based economy through a partnership approach to lifelong learning, involving the Member States, the social partners, enterprises and the individuals. EU initiatives 11 • The Commission is preparing a Memorandum on “Implementing Lifelong Learning for Active Citizenship in a Europe of Knowledge”, with ideas for a comprehensive lifelong learning strategy and development of indicators to facilitate the assessment of the Member States’ policies and systems, and Community programmes and initiatives. The Commission is also preparing a "European report on the Quality of Education" based on the results of the working group on indicators of quality in educational systems. The Commission will also analyse how the curricula and the definition of qualifications evolve and monitor whether they match the needs of the labour market and whether they promote the transition to a knowledge-based society. • In response to the skill shortages, the Commission's Communication "Strategy for jobs in the Information Society" puts particular emphasis on a new, integrated, life-long learning approach. Member States should provide every student and worker with the opportunity to become ICT-literate, and enhance the training of ICT specialists both at university and technical level. Particular attention should be paid to gender mainstreaming of Information-Society related training. The Commission is also launching a study on the economic cost of the skills gap. (cid:1) In addition, the Commission intends to present this year an initiative aimed at Designing tomorrow's education and promoting innovation with the new technologies, in line with its initiative on e-Europe and with the employment strategy. EU support development for using knowledge to promote employment compatible with sustainable It should be easier to achieve sustainable development, i. e. development supporting long-term economic social and environmental objectives, in a knowledge-based economy. New industries that deal in knowledge pollute less than traditional manufacturing, and a better educated workforce makes for more environmentally aware consumers. Research and innovation will make it possible to meet their demand for environmentally friendly products. Europe's strengths and weaknesses Technological progress and improved regulation have reduced the amount of pollution produced by many industrial processes, but growth in the scale of activity has worked in the opposite direction. The recent European Environment Agency ‘State of the Environment Report’ predicts that some environmental problems would be alleviated if current policy is implemented in full. However, in a number of important sectors (e. g. climatic change, waste, soil), the "business as usual" scenarios show a further environmental deterioration by 2010. Use of market-based instruments, remains patchy. Despite frequent including taxes, announcements, little progress has been achieved in a broader use of fiscal instruments, such as taxation of energy production and consumption and in shifting the tax burden from labour to resource use. The integration of environmental concerns into various sectoral policies (e. g. transport, energy, agriculture) has only started. The EU's commitment to sustainable development and high standards may become a motor for innovation, technology, new entrepreneurial activity and high quality jobs. The EU is a world leader in environmental technology, creating jobs and income in Member States. EU initiatives 12 • At the Helsinki European Council, strategies for integrating the environmental dimension into agriculture, transport and energy sectors were agreed. Work on similar strategies has started in the areas of internal market, development and industry. The Council has been requested to submit to the European Council in June 2001 comprehensive strategies with the possibility of including a timetable for further measures and a set of indicators for these sectors. The European Council also asked the Commission to prepare a long-term sustainable development environmental dimension is mainstreamed in the Employment Guidelines for 2000. strategy. Furthermore, the • The Communication on "Environment and Employment" underlined the importance of policy integration, mobilising all stakeholders, particularly public authorities. The Commission has launched a dialogue between the Ministries for Employment and Social Affairs, for the Environment, and for Industry on the integration of competitiveness, environmental and employment policies. (cid:1) (cid:1) A mixture of financial incentives and disincentives are needed to encourage investment in new, cleaner, capital stock. Together with investment this will improve both competitiveness and the quality of (working) life. Building on the Communication on "Environment and Employment (Building a sustainable Europe)" the Commission will give further support for the development of long-term national strategies and help develop indicators applicable to all industries. in human resources, The Commission will continue to investigate measures with a potential for improving the environment, the competitiveness of the economy and employment. Examples include eco-taxes and pricing policies. The Commission will also study the impactof environmentally harmful subsidies. The Commission will consider i. a. environmental concerns and the security of supply when assessing such subsidies under the state aid rules. A 6th Environmental action Programme will be proposed by the Commission before the end of the year. 3. 2. Fostering the dynamism of EU Internal Market EU support for the development of the internal market The expanding trade in intangible goods makes market integration all the more necessary. Innovation, creativity and economic and financial integration are essential for boosting efficiency and competitiveness by promoting competition and reducing costs. Europe's strengths and weaknesses The removal of trade barriers and market liberalisation accelerate integration of the Member States' markets and create new opportunities: by widening their customer base and achieving economies of scale, companies can expand their business and create additional employment. However, problems remain - e. g the protection of intellectual property rights is still insufficient, which may hamper innovation and investment in technology, research and other forms of immaterial capital. Certain industries too are obstructed from integrating, particularly in the service sector, which employs twice as many people as industry and agriculture combined. The European market in financial services is still fragmented. Lack of appropriate regulation on some key sectors, such as e-commerce still undermines consumers confidence. Widespread inequalities and lack of universal service obligations prevent the EU from taking full advantage of the potential for the creation of high-quality jobs. 13 EU initiatives • The Community should continue to improve co-ordination of fiscal policies and avoid harmful tax competition, which can interfere with efficient resource allocation in the internal market. • The proposals to protect industrial and intellectual property rights should aim to encourage innovation, investment and high quality employment. Swift adoption of the proposal for a Directive on "Certain aspects of e-commerce in the internal market" will help create an appropriate regulatory environment for this major potential source of new jobs. Enhanced competition in the IT and telecommunications industries will have a major impact on the growth rate of e-commerce. The Commission will therefore pay more attention to the enforcement of competition rules and to specific problems, such as network-access pricing in the telecommunications industry. • Progress made in economic reforms provides the basis for benchmarking exercises. They are monitored within the framework of the Cardiff report and the NAPs as well as more comprehensively in the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines and its implementation report. (cid:1) (cid:1) The EU must be forceful in implementing the target measures agreed on, in the New Strategy for the Internal Market. In particular, the Commission will focus its initiatives on the financial services sector and it will monitor implementation, with a first review at the Internal Market Council in spring 2000. The Commission will continue to examine the beneficial effects on labour markets of removing obstacles to occupational and geographical mobility for workers, such as differences in social security systems, particularly pensions. The situation of migrant workers or retired people depending on a social security system in one country while paying income taxes in another country is to be reviewed, when it leads to a less favourable treatment than the one they would receive if they were subject either to the tax system of the country where they pay social contributions, or to the social system of the country where they pay taxes. More generally, in order to avoid distortions of treatment, the co-ordination of national policies should aim at greater compatibility between tax and social contributions schemes throughout the Union. Member States will be encouraged to take measures through the European Employment Strategy and co-operation on social protection. EU support for enterprises and a culture of entrepreneurship To derive optimum benefit from economic reforms geared towards competitiveness and job creation, Europe must build a culture of entrepreneurial dynamism, particularly in the new knowledge and ICT-related industries. Europe's strengths and weaknesses Europe is considered to have a predominant employee culture. The proportion of people who set up their own business in Italy and the United Kingdom is half the US rate. In Europe, school-leavers and graduates have a strong preference for finding, rather than creating a job. Many Member States have acknowledged the importance of this entrepreneur shortage and have already taken steps to include entrepreneurship in the curriculum, beginning at primary- school level. 14 In many Member States, the volume and complexity of regulations and administrative procedures makes setting up a new business an expensive and cumbersome affair. Research from 1997 has shown that the countries with the fewest and quickest procedures for registering companies were also often those with the highest overall employment rates. As a rule, European SMEs are undercapitalised; their level of indebtedness is on average twice the level of own funds. This can be explained by cultural barriers (the reluctance of some SME entrepreneurs to let outsiders acquire equity in their company), as well as by the the number of obstacles SMEs underdevelopment of European venture capital markets and stock markets specialised in smaller firms). The availability of risk capital is especially crucial to the development of innovative and high-growth enterprises. to equity finance (for face in access instance, To bridge the gap between the US and the EU, employment needs to grow fast in all sub- sectors: hotels, restaurants and distribution; financial and business services; local services (education, health and social services). This should be a major goal for Europe over the next 10 years. EU initiatives existing regulatory environment • In its Communication Promoting Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness1 the Commission proposed a BEST Action Plan which was endorsed by the Council on 19 April 1999. The Action Plan draws conclusions from the BEST (Business Environment Task Force) reports, and made which reviewed the recommendations for improvements. It proposes concrete measures in various areas, in particular the teaching of entrepreneurship, training, access to finance, research, innovation and improving public administration. It constitutes a reference framework for measures at Community, national and regional level and complements the SLIM (Simpler legislation for the Internal Market) initiative which aims to simplify and improve Internal Market rules. The Action Plan requires the Commission to report by the end of 2000 on implementation. for businesses • In its annual Cardiff Report, the Commission quantitatively assesses the performance of European product and capital markets. On that basis, it proposes a certain number of policy recommendations aiming to foster economic reform or eliminate obstacles preventing markets from performing efficiently. These can provide input for the preparation of the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines and serve as the basis for Commission proposals to update target actions included in the Internal Market Strategy. • In its October 1999 Communication Risk Capital: Implementation of the Action Plan. Proposals for moving forward2, the Commission has assessed the progress made with the implementation of the Action Plan3 to promote the development of risk capital markets in Europe. This Action Plan is part of the Communication adopted in 1998 by the Commission and endorsed by the Council, Risk Capital: a key to job creation in the EU, analysing the importance of pan-European risk capital markets for the European Union, highlighting the barriers to their development and proposing measures to remove them. 1 2 3 COM (98) 550 final of 30. 09. 1998 COM(1999) 493 final of 20. 10. 1999, related: Commission Working Document "Risk Capital: a key to job creation. Implementation of the Action Plan", SEC (1999) 1725. Commission Working Document “Risk Capital: A key to job creation in the European Union", SEC (1998) 552, published separately by OPOCE, Brussels/Luxembourg April 1998. 15 The October 1999 Communication concluded that, despite the progress made, the EU still suffers from major weaknesses and made proposals for further progress. The Commission will review progress regularly. • The Action Plan for innovation sets three major priority areas: promotion of a culture of innovation, setting-up of a favourable framework for innovation and creation of stronger links between research and enterprises. The 5th Framework Programme includes a horizontal programme to promote participation of SMEs and innovation, with a Community budget of 362 million over the period 1998-2002. € • The Commission continues to work on ongoing activities such as CREA, a programme which supports seed capital funds for small innovative businesses, and the European Business Angels Network (EBAN), which brings together business starters with potential investors. (cid:1) (cid:1) (cid:1) (cid:1) (cid:1) The impact of teaching entrepreneurship and business knowledge more generally will be addressed as part of the mid-term review of the Employment Guidelines. In line with the conclusions of the Luxembourg Jobs Summit, an update of the Employment Rates Report data will be included in the next Employment in Europe Report. To raise entrepreneurial awareness among young people, more must be done within educational institutions. The implementation of Community programmes and activities, such as the Leonardo II programme, will encourage Member States to include entrepreneurship in all curricula, and will provide practical support. A 4th multi-annual programme targeted at enterprises and SMEs is due to cover the period 2001-2006. The Commission will implement its strategy endorsed by the Council on enhancing tourism's potential for employment. 4 3. 3. EU support for inclusion and participation in a productive economy Primary responsibility for combating social exclusion – both the old forms and the new, associated with the Information Society –– lies with the national authorities, social partners and non-governmental organisations. However, in accordance with the new provisions of Art. 137 of the Treaty, the EU role is to support and complement the initiatives implemented in the Member States. Preventing and combating social exclusion in all its dimensions calls for comprehensive and integrated strategies. Within this framework, the EU has a particular role to play in promoting job creation, which is a fundamental precondition of welfare, as well as change in the workplace and in the way work is organised and in helping people to adapt to it. It can also support the modernisation of social protection systems to deal with new challenges (ageing, changing world of work), and help strike a new balance between flexibility and security. 4 COM (1999)205 of 28 April 1999 16 Proportion of Internet users by income group 1998 37% 19% % Internet users 13% high-income medium-income low-income (Source:IDC) Europe's strengths and weaknesses According to current Eurostat data, some 18 % of the EU population live with less than 60 % of national median incomes, the low income threshold taken to measure relative poverty5. This figure is EU average reflecting national poverty rates which vary from 11 to 24 %, and has been roughly stable during the last ten years. This share would be 26 % in the absence of social benefit systems other than pensions. When social benefits are taken into account, it falls to 18 %, which indicates both the successes and the limits of income redistribution policies6. Eurostat data also show that those living under this poverty line are experiencing deprivation and serious difficulties in fully participating in society7. A purely market-based income distribution without the redistribution effect provided by the European welfare systems would keep a significant proportion of the population under the poverty line. Changes in the economy, the labour market, society's demographic profile and family patterns weaken social cohesion, by increasing income inequalities and vulnerability. The problem of permanent poverty is compounded by more widespread insecurity: a high percentage of people experience poverty or are threatened by it at some point in their lives. This is notably due to labour market segmentation, which confines a number of people to low-paid, precarious jobs alternating with frequent spells of unemployment, making it extremely difficult for them to escape from poverty8. The Community's strength lies in the political commitment to an EU-wide strategy to prevent unemployment, promote activation and the adaptability of the workforce, develop education and training policies and modernise social security systems. Discrimination-free access to the labour market will be stimulated by the adoption of the proposals recently made by the Commission,9 as well as by the strengthening of the efforts which are under way with regard to gender equality. 5 6 7 8 9 Eurostat, Statistics in Focus, 1/2000 Social exclusion in the EU Member States and 13/1999. The figures relate to second wave of the European Community Household Panel and refer to the income situation in 1994 in 13 Member States (EU except Sweden and Finland). Applied to the 15 Member Sates, the 18 % rate would represent more than 65 million people. Eurostat, Statistics in Focus, 8/1999. European welfare systems remain an important instrument to reduce poverty, keeping in mind that the presence of a large welfare system itself affects people’s behaviour and household structure, for example, allowing people to live in their own households while relying on benefits. Eurostat Statistics in Focus 1/2000; see also the Commission Communication "Social Trends : prospects and challenges" See the statistical annex to the communication "Building an inclusive Europe". COM(1999) 565 to 567 17 EU initiatives The following initiatives are part of a coherent strategy and demonstrate the EU's commitment to combining modernisation, growth and employment with European social values. (cid:1) (cid:1) (cid:1) (cid:1) (cid:1) including the EQUAL initiative, will be used to support the The Structural Funds, National Action Plans for employment in the fight against exclusion. Community programmes, particularly Socrates II, will fund measures aimed at people who left school with no qualifications. In line with the Employment Guidelines, vigorous measures will be encouraged to cut the number of people who leave school early. The European Strategy to promote employment and labour market reforms will continue to focus on the prevention of long-term unemployment. Member States will give special attention to equal opportunities for women and men, the disabled, ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged groups and individuals. Helping people adapt to the changing world of work strengthens social cohesion and prevents exclusion. The Vienna European Council asked Commission and Council to follow up the High Level Expert Group's recommendations on economic and social implication of industrial change, which include a proposal for a Forum on Industrial Change. The Commission is examining how best to respond to these requests. The Commission will also encourage companies to produce Managing Change Reports as an important anticipation tool to become learning businesses that help their workforce respond to economic change. In line with the Commission's Communication A Concerted strategy for Modernising Social Protection, the Commission and Member States have initiated a dialogue on social protection. This should develop into cooperation on four objectives: to provide people with secure income through work; to make pension systems safe and sustainable; to promote social inclusion and to ensure high-quality and sustainable health care. The co- operation process will be linked to the European Employment Strategy. Social inclusion will be taken into consideration in the other Community policies. The Commission intends to suggest further activities in this field, including the development of expertise trans-national co-operation, exchange of good practices, common indicators and policy dialogue on social inclusion, in full compliance with the subsidiarity principle. The forthcoming Commission Report on the Social situation in the European Union 2000 provides information and analyses on underlying trends and future needs. For the implementation of the above strategy, the Commission will continue to co-operate with the Member States and all actors, including social partners. This will help them to invest in balanced economic development and will provide a competitive advantage in a globalised economy. 3. 4. EU support for developing employment at regional and local level Local initiatives and local development are essential entrepreneurship, tackling unemployment and fostering inclusion: for promoting innovation and 18 • Would-be entrepreneurs and businesses benefit from support from local research networks, businesses services, public administrations and financial institutions which can pool their knowledge of the local market. • Public employment services can implement active measures tailored to specific patterns of unemployment and labour market requirements. • All actors, including NGOs, may be involved in local measures to fight social exclusion, particularly in deprived urban areas. Europe strengths and weaknesses The commitment of people working locally for employment and social cohesion – be it in the public or private sectors – is real. The social or intermediary sector provides a good deal of support to local job creation. The synergies where fully exploited between these three partners have a considerable impact on employment. The NAP process has not taken sufficient account of the local dimension of regional development. Co-ordination of activities directed at the local level has been poor, irrespective of whether they originated from national governments or the EU. Local agencies of national or regional authorities (e. g. local employment services, local agencies of welfare ministries, etc. ) have not always been given sufficient encouragement to work together with local authorities. EU initiatives • The Community intends to provide support for employment at local and regional levels through the Employment Strategy and the Structural Funds. Both are strongly geared towards helping local actors to launch new job-creation initiatives, promote participation and fight exclusion. The Territorial Employment Pacts, involving representatives of local interests, will be assessed to determine what changes could be made to maximise their effect on local development and employment creation. In view of their success, the Pacts will now be integrated into the mainstream of the Structural Funds. 10 • The Employment Guidelines for 2000 call for the promotion of measures to exploit fully the possibilities offered by job creation at local level and to support the special role and responsibility of partners at the regional and local levels. The review of the National Action Plans in 2000 will give greater consideration to views and experiences of people responsible for local responses to unemployment. • A new campaign "Act Locally for Employment" is being prepared in co-operation with the Committee of the Regions, in order to support the major role concerted local actions can play in the European Employment Strategy. To underpin it, a budget of 12 million euros has been made available for 2000 to increase awareness of the local dimension of the Strategy, promote co-operation and exchange of best practice, develop local enterprise especially in the social economy, and evaluate what impact National Actions Plans are having at regional and local levels. 10 See the Guide to Territorial Employment Pacts 2000-2006, SEC(1999)1933. 19 • The regulations governing the Structural Funds in the period 2000-2006 have been adjusted to increase the amount of support they can give to new activities and partnerships at regional and local levels. The overall transfer of 195 billion, including phasing out support, Community initiatives and innovative actions should have a significant impact on development and economic growth at regional and local levels when combined with national expenditure. € • The European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund have a major role to play in enhancing competitiveness and social cohesion and thereby creating the right conditions for sustainable jobs. The focus on integration, thematic and geographic concentration, and partnership in the new ERDF regulation should increase the efficiency of structural measures. Employment issues are given special consideration in programmes aiming at the economic and social conversion of "Objective 2" areas. Under the ERDF, employment creation is also helped by two Community initiatives: INTERREG, which supports cross-border, trans-national and inter-regional co-operation and URBAN, concerned with restructuring in deprived urban areas. • The European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) promotes sustainable rural development, which is becoming the second pillar of the EU Common Agricultural Policy, notably through the diversification of activities and job creation, with the aim to use existing potential more effectively. The related LEADER initiative supports this integrated rural development policy and stimulates responses to new demands for employment intensive services in a range of sectors. • The ESF is the main financial instrument to promote the employment strategy and has a horizontal priority for local employment development. The ESF regulation provides that programmes implemented at Member States level promote the priorities put forward in the Employment Guidelines and in the National Action Plans for employment. In this framework, activities co-funded by the ESF should include active and preventive labour market measures, support for lifelong learning schemes, and the vigorous promotion of a skilled, well trained and adaptable workforce. The Community Initiative EQUAL, funded by the ESF, provides support for new means of combating all forms of discrimination and inequalities in connection with the labour market. (cid:1) The Commission is envisaging to adopt a Communication ("Acting Locally for Employment") to promote employment at local level. This will tie the above initiatives in with other European measures, and launch a consultative process. Through this, the Commission hopes to develop a consensus on the measures to be taken, at the appropriate levels, to enable Europe to take full advantage of its untapped local potential. 4. CONCLUSIONS 4. 1. Conditions for progress the EU's This Communication has examined key characteristics and dimensions of employment performance and has considered how the transition towards an inclusive knowledge-based economy impacts on the employment challenges that Europe faces. The Communication analysed in section 3 a set of Community policies that form an important part of the comprehensive policy approach that is necessary to building an inclusive and dynamic knowledge-based economy. 20 Intensifying the positive interactions between growth and structural change, encouraged by the range of structural policies discussed in this Communication, will further support this policy strategy. Such a comprehensive policy approach could enhance the rate of growth and create the conditions for a gradual return to full employment. If an average rate of yearly economic growth of around 3 per cent was ensured over 5 years, for example, the EU's employment rate could be increased by some 4-5 per cent – to more than 65 per cent – a rate last achieved by the Union three decades ago. Similar growth performance for 10 years could bring the employment rate close to 70 per cent. The impact on the rate of unemployment is much less predictable – since it would depend, inter alia, on the scale of new entries onto the labour market – but it could fall to 6-7 per cent after 5 years, and around 4 per cent after 10. At the heart of many of the employment challenges identified in this Communication, and of lie questions of human resources and capabilities. the Community policies discussed, Ensuring a wide distribution and high level of skills and knowledge is central to the development of a dynamic and inclusive knowledge economy and can make a major including contribution to the solution of different aspects of the employment challenge, regional imbalances, employment of older workers, gender gap issues, skills gaps and long run unemployment. Policies addressing human resources cover a wide-range of issues from lifelong learning, training of researchers, and entrepreneurial skills, to the minimum skills necessary for effective participation in work - and in wider society - in the knowledge economy. In a situation of continuous change, exemplified by the knowledge economy, such human resources policies must reflect and match the changing conditions people, businesses and governments face. They must be policies that face up to the different needs of different groups and areas, and to differing individual needs over the life cycle. Human resources policies must be complemented by effective policies promoting the competitive infrastructure and investment necessary for the successful knowledge economy. Furthermore, as shown in the discussion of the internal market and entrepreneurship, policies for competition and openness in product markets have a very important role in tackling employment challenges in the knowledge economy, such as the imbalance in the services sector. Developing and taking forward the policy approaches described in this Communication will require close cooperation between the Community and the Member States. National, regional and local authorities will also have to look for increased synergies and co-operation. Furthermore, in order to free resources for the promotion of an inclusive knowledge based economy Member States will need to put decisively into practice the conclusions of the Florence European Council to focus public spending on investment in emerging activities, education, training, R&D and infrastructure, notably in the knowledge area. Most Member States have a lot to gain - in terms of both budgetary savings and improved policy outcomes - from such a restructuring of public expenditure. Seeking to cut social support in order to drive the people concerned into work, but without any compensating positive actions to improve their ability to obtain, and keep, regular employment - risks serious negative consequences - driving down actual living standards, and reducing both aspirations and motivation. However, the positive impact of the comprehensive strategy outlined in this Communication risks being reduced if taxation systems keep on being employment adverse. The reversal of 21 the upward trend of effective labour taxation is one of the guidelines of the European Employment Strategy. Achieving this aim could imply in many Member States a change in the financing structure of social protection, and/or a reduction of public expenditure and/or an increase in revenues from other tax bases (an increase in public deficits being excluded). Successful promotion of this policy approach also requires dialogue and partnership between public authorities and other stakeholders. The ongoing macroeconomic dialogue and the discussions with the Social Partners in the framework of the social dialogue are major contributions to this. Finally, as set out in section 3 of this Communication, the benefits of growth and structural change must be distributed in such a way as to ensure inclusion. A return to full employment will represent an essential step in this direction. This implies the removal of the barriers making it difficult for many groups and individuals to access the labour market. Actions to create more and better jobs are a major dimension of a comprehensive strategy to promote inclusion, but they must be complemented by policies designed to tackle multiple deprivation, as well as discrimination. Successful promotion of inclusion will have economic as well as social benefits and contribute to a positive interaction between competitiveness and cohesion in the knowledge economy. 4. 2. The Lisbon European Council and beyond The Council Presidency is looking to the Extraordinary European Council in Lisbon to establish short and long term objectives for employment, economic reform and social cohesion in the Union, paying particular attention to the need to develop the necessary broad capacity to respond to new policy challenges – notably the potential of the knowledge–based economy. Such objectives should be pursued within a common methodology - developing common objectives, translating them into benchmarks, and monitoring success and failure. The Commission will follow up the policy orientations and initiatives of the Lisbon Summit in its submissions for the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines 2000 and the Employment Guidelines 2001. In order, to follow up the Lisbon Summit and to pursue the mainstreaming of employment in Community policies in line with the Employment title, and especially Article 127 of the Treaty, the Commission will: • Strengthen and deepen its examination of developments and prospects in employment and labour markets across the Union and its international environment through the annual Employment in Europe Report. This will include a more extensive analysis of the linkages between employment in this Communication. and the broader highlighted structural changes • Develop a systematic, multiannual assessment of the relevance of Community policies for employment. This will be based on a more in-depth examination of the employment and labour market effects of major areas of Community policies. It will include the monitoring of the achievement of agreed objectives and a review of benefits of the EU's financial instruments on the development of employment and its structure. • Improve the targeting of Community incentive measures to support innovative actions by the Member States in the employment area. • Further strengthen the dialogue at all levels between Community institutions, Social Partners and other actors with a view of enhancing their responsibility and commitment to promote EU employment objectives. 22 ANNEX Employment in advanced services, 1998 465 23


title: 2000/197/CE: Decisione della Commissione, del 1o marzo 2000, che modifica la decisione 1999/187/CE relativa alla liquidazione dei conti presentati dagli Stati membri per le spese dell'esercizio finanziario 1995 finanziate dal Fondo europeo agricolo di orientamento e di garanzia, sezione «garanzia» [notificata con il numero C(2000) 486] (I testi in lingua tedesca e italiana sono i soli facenti fede)

eurovoc_concepts: conciliation procedure (part of ordinary legislative procedure)

formats: html pdf print

text: 8. 3. 2000 IT Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee L 61/15 DECISIONE DELLA COMMISSIONE del 1o marzo 2000 che modifica la decisione 1999/187/CE relativa alla liquidazione dei conti presentati dagli Stati membri per le spese dell'esercizio finanziario 1995 finanziate dal Fondo europeo agricolo di orientamento e di garanzia, sezione «garanzia» [notificata con il numero C(2000) 486] (I testi in lingua tedesca e italiana sono i soli facenti fede) (2000/197/CE) LA COMMISSIONE DELLE COMUNITÀ EUROPEE, (2) visto il trattato che istituisce la Comunità europea, visto il regolamento (CEE) n. 729/70 del Consiglio, del 21 aprile 1970, relativo al finanziamento della politica agricola comune (1), modificato da ultimo dal regolamento (CE) n. 1287/95 (2), in particolare l'articolo 5, paragrafo 2, sentito il comitato del Fondo europeo agricolo di orientamento e di garanzia, considerando quanto segue: (1) Prima che la Commissione stabilisca una rettifica finan- liquidazione dei ziaria nell'ambito di una decisione di conti, lo Stato membro deve avere la possibilità, se lo desidera, di far ricorso alla procedura di conciliazione introdotta con la decisione 94/442/CE della Commis- sione, del 1o luglio 1994, relativa all'istituzione di una procedura di conciliazione nel quadro della liquidazione dei conti del FEAOG, sezione garanzia (3), e in tal caso è necessario che la Commissione, prima di prendere la decisione, esamini la relazione redatta dall'organo di conciliazione. I termini fissati per tale procedura non erano scaduti; per tutte le rettifiche ammissibili, alla data di adozione della decisione 1999/596/CE della Commis- sione, del 28 luglio 1999, che modifica la decisione 1999/187/CE relativa alla liquidazione dei conti presen- tati dagli Stati membri per le spese dell'esercizio finan- ziario 1995 finanziate dal Fondo europeo agricolo di orientamento sezione garanzia (4), che ha modificato da ultimo la decisione 1999/187/CE della Commissione, del 3 febbraio 1999, relativa alla liquidazione dei conti presentati dagli Stati membri per le spese dell'esercizio finanziario 1995 finanziate dal Fondo europeo agricolo di orientamento e di garanzia, sezione «garanzia» (5). Le decisioni 1999/ 187/CE e 1999/586/CE non concernevano gli importi corrispondenti delle spese dichiarate dagli Stati membri interessati per l'esercizio 1995. La procudura di concilia- zione si è ora conclusa per tutte le rettifiche finanziarie in causa. Occorre pertanto liquidare con la presente decisione le spese attinenti. (FEAOG), garanzia di e (1) GU L 94 del 28. 4. 1970, pag. 13. (2) GU L 125 dell'8. 6. 1995, pag. 1. (3) GU L 182 del 16. 7. 1994, pag. 45. (4) GU L 226 del 27. 8. 1999, pag. 26. (5) GU L 61 del 10. 3. 1999, pag. 37. In riferimento alla causa C-245/97, concernente il supe- ramento dei termini di pagamento in Germania per l'esercizio finanziario 1993, all'esame della Corte di giustizia contro la decisione 97/333/CE della Commis- sione, del 23 aprile 1997, relativa alla liquidazione dei conti presentati dagli Stati membri per le spese dell'eser- cizio finanziario 1993 finanziate dal Fondo europeo agricolo di orientamento e di garanzia (FEAOG), sezione garanzia (6), la Commissione si è dichiarata disposta ad accettare le prove dell'osservanza dei termini di paga- mento da parte delle autorità tedesche per gli aiuti al ritiro temporaneo dei seminativi e di ritirare la rettifica finanziaria attinente. A norma dell'articolo 8 del regolamento (CEE) n. 729/ 70, le conseguenze finanziarie delle irregolarità o negli- genze non sono a carico della Comunità se risultano da irregolarità o negligenze imputabili alle amministrazioni o agli organismi degli Stati membri. Occorre includere nel campo d'applicazione della presente decisione alcune di queste conseguenze finanziarie che non possono essere accollate al bilancio comunitario. La presente decisione lascia impregiudicate le conse- guenze finanziarie da trarre nel corso di una successiva liquidazione dei conti per quanto riguarda aiuti nazionali o infrazioni le cui procedure, avviate ai senti degli arti- coli 88 e 226 del trattato, sono attualmente in corso o si sono concluse dopo il 31 ottobre 1999. La presente decisione lascia impregiudicate le conse- guenze finanziarie che la Commissione trarrà, nel corso di una successiva liquidazione dei conti, da indagini in corso alla data della presente decisione, da irregolarità ai sensi dell'articolo 8 del regolamento (CEE) n. 729/70 o da sentenze della Corte di giustizia sulle cause pendenti alla data dal 31 ottobre 1999 e relative a questioni oggetto della presente decisione, (3) (4) (5) HA ADOTTATO LA PRESENTE DECISIONE: Articolo 1 Le parti dell'allegato della decisione 1999/187/CE riguardanti la Germania e l'Italia sono sostituite dall'allegato della presente decisione. (6) GU L 139 del 30. 5. 1997, pag. 30. L 61/16 IT Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee 8. 3. 2000 Articolo 2 Gli importi supplementari di – 74 991 756 585 ITL e + 485 466,68 DEM indicati ai punti 3 dell'allegato e imputati dalla presente decisione vanno contabilizzati tra le spese di cui all'articolo 4, paragrafo 1, del regolamento (CE) n. 296/96 della Commissione (1) a titolo del mese di aprile 2000. La Repubblica federale di Germania e la Repubblica italiana sono destinatarie della presente decisione. Articolo 3 Fatto a Bruxelles, il 1o marzo 2000. Per la Commissione Franz FISCHLER Membro della Commissione (1) GU L 39 del 17. 2. 1996, pag. 5. 8. 3. 2000 IT Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee L 61/17 ALLEGATO GERMANIA Spese a carico del FEAOG, sezione «garanzia» Esercizio: 1995 DEM 1. Spese riconosciute a) Spese dichiarate dallo Stato membro a valere per la presente liquidazione 10 424 357 455,08 b) Spese dichiarate nell'esercizio precedente ma escluse dalla relativa liquidazione 625 852 168,80 c) Spese dichiarate, escluse dalla presente liquidazione d) Spese dichiarate, già oggetto di una decisione di liquidazione 0,00 0,00 e) Spese dichiarate, oggetto della presente liquidazione (a + b + c + d) 11 050 209 623,88 f) Spese non riconosciute g) Totale delle spese riconosciute (e + f) 2. Spese imputate – 42 621 660,21 11 007 587 963,67 a) Spese imputate al presente esercizio 10 420 913 174,43 b) Spese imputate all'esercizio precedente ma escluse dalla relativa liquidazione 625 852 168,80 c) Spese imputate al presente esercizio, ma escluse dalla presente liquidazione d) Spese imputate al presente esercizio, già oggetto di una decisione di liquidazione e) Spese imputate a titolo di un esercizio ulteriore 0,00 0,00 0,00 f) Totale delle spese imputate, oggetto della presente liquidazione (a + b + c + d + e) 11 046 765 343,23 3. Disponibilità finanziarie (2f – 1g) 39 177 379,56 L 61/18 IT Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee 8. 3. 2000 ITALIA Spese a carico del FEAOG, sezione «garanzia» Esercizio: 1995 ITL 1. Spese riconosciute a) Spese dichiarate dallo Stato membro a valere per la presente liquidazione 8 244 825 976 202 b) Spese dichiarate nell'esercizio precedente ma escluse dalla relativa liquidazione 449 078 987 827 c) Spese dichiarate, escluse dalla presente liquidazione (voce bilancio) d) Spese dichiarate, già oggetto di una decisione di liquidazione e) Spese dichiarate, oggetto della presente liquidazione (a + b + c + d) f) Spese non riconosciute g) Totale delle spese riconosciute (e + f) 2. Spese imputate 0 0 8 693 904 964 029 – 235 094 232 639 8 458 810 731 390 a) Spese imputate al presente esercizio 8 204 701 239 447 b) Spese imputate all'esercizio precedente ma escluse dalla relativa liquidazione 449 078 987 827 c) Spese imputate al presente esercizio ma escluse dalla presente liquidazione d) Spese imputate al presente esercizio, già oggetto di una decisione di liquidazione e) Spese imputate a titolo di un esercizio ulteriore 0 0 0 f) Totale delle spese imputate, oggetto della presente liquidazione (a + b + c + d + e) 8 653 780 227 274 3. Disponibilità finanziarie (2f – 1g) 194 969 495 884


title: Verslag van de Commissie aan de Raad over de toepassing van artikel 7 van Richtlijn 86/362/EEG van de Raad en artikel 4 van Richtlijn 90/642/EEG van de Raad met betrekking tot de bewaking van bestrijdingsmiddelenresiduen

eurovoc_concepts:
consumer protection
foodstuff
pesticide residue
plant health control

formats: html pdf

text: COMMISSIE VAN DE EUROPESE GEMEENSCHAPPEN Brussel, 01. 03. 2000 COM(2000) 98 definitief VERSLAG VAN DE COMMISSIE AAN DE RAAD over de toepassing van artikel 7 van Richtlijn 86/362/EEG van de Raad en artikel 4 van Richtlijn 90/642/EEG van de Raad met betrekking tot de bewaking van bestrijdingsmiddelenresiduen VERSLAG VAN DE COMMISSIE AAN DE RAAD over de toepassing van artikel 7 van Richtlijn 86/362/EEG van de Raad en artikel 4 van Richtlijn 90/642/EEG van de Raad met betrekking tot de bewaking van bestrijdingsmiddelenresiduen Inleiding 27 november 1990 Richtlijn 86/362/EEG van de Raad van 24 juli 1986 tot vaststelling van maximumgehalten aan residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen in en op granen1 en Richtlijn 90/642/EEG van de Raad van van bestrijdingsmiddelen in en op bepaalde producten van plantaardige oorsprong, met inbegrip van groenten en fruit2, bevatten allebei bepalingen inzake de bewaking van het gehalte aan residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen. van maximumgehalten vaststelling residuen aan tot In artikel 7, lid 5, van Richtlijn 86/362/EEG en artikel 4, lid 5, van Richtlijn 90/642/EEG (laatstelijk gewijzigd bij Richtlijn 1999/71/EG3) is bepaald dat de Commissie uiterlijk op 31 december 1999 een verslag over de toepassing van de bepalingen inzake de bewaking van residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen bij de Raad moet indienen. Op grond van die bepalingen wordt dit verslag bij de Raad ingediend. Het bevat de volgende elementen: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Doel van de bewaking Instanties die met de bewaking zijn belast Bewakingsprogramma's Organisatie van de bewaking Rapportering Maatregelen van de Commissie Controlebezoeken door het Voedsel- en Veterinair Bureau Aandachtspunten Conclusies en aanbevelingen (1) Doel van de bewaking De bewaking heeft in het algemeen ten doel de Commissie in de gelegenheid te stellen te werken aan een systeem aan de hand waarvan de reële blootstelling aan bestrijdingsmiddelen via de voeding kan worden geraamd. Andere doelstellingen betreffen de raming van de overschrijdingen van de maximumresidugehalten, alsmede de verhouding tussen de werkelijke residugehalten en de vastgestelde maximumresidugehalten. 1 2 3 PB L 221 van 7. 8. 1986, blz. 37. PB L 350 van 14. 12. 1990, blz. 71. PB L 194 van 27. 7. 1999, blz. 36. 2 (2) Instanties die met de bewaking zijn belast In de richtlijnen is bepaald dat de lidstaten instanties aanwijzen die erop moeten toezien dat de in artikel 4, lid 4, van Richtlijn 86/362/EEG en artikel 3, lid 4, van Richtlijn 90/642/EEG genoemde inspecties en controles ook werkelijk worden uitgevoerd. De lidstaten hebben de instanties aangewezen die met de uitvoering van die bewaking zijn belast. In de richtlijnen is voorts ook bepaald dat de vereiste inspecties en controles moeten worden verricht overeenkomstig het bepaalde in de Richtlijnen 89/397/EEG4 en 93/99/EEG5 van de Raad betreffende de officiële bewaking van levensmiddelen. Op grond van deze laatste richtlijn moeten de laboratoria erkend zijn vóór 1 november 1998. (3) Bewakingsprogramma's Oorspronkelijk was bepaald dat de lidstaten hun nationale programma's voor het volgende jaar uiterlijk op 30 juni van elk jaar bij de Commissie moesten indienen. Vele lidstaten kwamen daardoor evenwel in de problemen met betrekking tot de planning voor de volgende jaren, aangezien die in belangrijke mate afhankelijk is van de analyse van de controleresultaten van het voorafgaande jaar. In de oorspronkelijke richtlijnen van de Raad was met deze situatie rekening gehouden, aangezien aan de Commissie de bevoegdheid werd gegeven om die data te wijzigen. De Commissie heeft het probleem opgelost bij Richtlijn 1999/65/EG6 waarbij de uiterste termijn van 30 juni werd verschoven naar 30 september. Dat moest de lidstaten de gelegenheid geven hun nationale programma's voortaan tijdig bij de Commissie in te dienen. Sedert 1996 had de Commissie jaarlijks een ontwerp inzake aanbevelingen op het vlak van de bewaking voor advies ingediend bij het Permanent Plantenziektekundig Comité. Indien dat comité een gunstig advies uitbracht, werd het voorstel door de Commissie goedgekeurd en bekendgemaakt in het Publicatieblad als Aanbeveling 96/199/EG7 (voor 1996), 96/738/EG8 (voor 1997), 97/822/EG9 (voor 1998), 1999/333/EG10, (voor 1999, met voor het eerst procedures voor kwaliteitsbeheersing bij de analyse van bestrijdingsmiddelenresiduen), en voor 200011. is telkens bepaald aanbevelingen bovenbedoelde een periode van vijf combinaties In bestrijdingsmiddelenresidu/product in het betrokken jaar moeten worden bewaakt. Deze combinaties worden zodanig gekozen dat zij passen in een ruimere algemene strategie om jaar voldoende producten voor de diverse groepen over bestrijdingsmiddelen te bewaken om de Commissie en de lidstaten in de gelegenheid te stellen een idee te krijgen van de werkelijke inname van die bestrijdingsmiddelen via de voeding. In 2001 wordt de eerste cyclus van vijf jaar afgesloten en dan zou een eerste voor de hele Gemeenschap geldende raming moeten kunnen worden gemaakt van de werkelijke inname via de belangrijkste soorten groenten- en fruitcomponenten van de voeding voor de welke 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 PB L 186 van 30. 6. 1989, blz. 23. PB L 290 van 24. 11. 1993, blz. 14. PB L 172 van 8. 7. 1999, blz. 40. PB L 64 van 14. 3. 1996, blz. 18. PB L 335 van 24. 12. 1996, blz. 54. PB L 337 van 9. 12. 1997, blz. 14. PB L 128 van 1. 5. 1999, blz. 25. Gunstig advies van het PPC op 28. 8. 1999. 3 eerste groep van vijf bestrijdingsmiddelen in die periode. In de daaropvolgende jaren worden soortgelijke programma's uitgevoerd. In de aanbeveling voor 1999 werd nog een nieuw element geïntroduceerd, namelijk een onderzoek naar de variabiliteit. Dat moet de Commissie en de lidstaten de kans geven om, wanneer zich acute problemen voordoen met betrekking tot de inname van bepaalde zeer toxische bestrijdingsmiddelen, het probleem te kunnen aanpakken op basis van werkelijke gegevens. In de praktijk komt de nieuwe aanpak erop neer dat voor elke combinatie als bestrijdingsmiddel/product verzamelmonster geanalyseerd, het tweede wordt uitgesplitst in individuele items die ook apart worden geanalyseerd teneinde de variabiliteit binnen het monster te kunnen evalueren. twee monsters worden genomen; het eerste wordt (4) Organisatie van de bewaking Het aantal monsters dat elk jaar wordt onderzocht verschilt sterk naargelang van de lidstaat. In 1997 schommelde het tussen 220 monsters in Luxemburg en 9. 540 monsters in Nederland. Aangezien in de richtlijnen alleen is bepaald dat monsters moeten worden genomen maar niet hoeveel, bepaalt elke lidstaat zelf hoeveel monsters hij nodig acht om aan de voorschriften te voldoen. In de meeste jaarverslagen inzake nationale bewakingsprogramma's die bij de Commissie worden ingediend, worden de criteria beschreven aan de hand waarvan de producten worden geanalyseerd. Het aantal monsters en het aantal bewaakte residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen is in hoofdzaak gebaseerd op de mogelijkheden op het gebied van de analyse. De voorzieningen en de situatie in de laboratoria van de lidstaten zijn niet altijd bevredigend gebleken in de lidstaten waar controlebezoeken zijn verricht. Deze problemen zijn ook besproken in de loop van diverse controlebezoeken aan de instanties van de lidstaten (zie punt 7). Ook voor de keuze van de gewassen zijn criteria vastgesteld. De autoriteiten proberen meestal de bewaking aan te passen aan de producten die in de handel zijn en bij het opstellen van de bewakingsprogramma's trachten zij ook rekening te houden met de verhouding invoer/eigen productie. De Commissie beschikt evenwel niet voor alle lidstaten over informatie ter zake. Ook in de gevallen waarin wel criteria worden medegedeeld, is de situatie niet altijd bevredigend; voor de bemonstering wordt immers vaak uitgegaan van de beschikbare middelen en die zijn beperkt. (5) Rapportering Krachtens de richtlijnen moeten de lidstaten uiterlijk op 31 augustus bij de Commissie een verslag indienen over het voorafgaande jaar. Vervolgens dient de Commissie de ontvangen gegevens uiterlijk op 30 september over te leggen aan het Permanent Plantenziektekundig Comité. Evensals bij de programmering (zie punt 3 hierboven) hebben zich ook hier problemen voorgedaan om ieder jaar de termijn in acht te nemen. Ook hier is het probleem opgelost doordat bij Richtlijn 1999/65/EG van de Commissie de uiterste datum is verschoven van 30 september naar 31 december. In het kader van de jaarlijkse bewakingsprogramma's werd reeds in de beginfase tussen de lidstaten en de Comissie overeenstemming bereikt over het bekendmaken van de informatie aan het publiek. Momenteel zijn verslagen inzake de bewaking van residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen in de Europese Unie beschikbaar voor de eerste twee jaren (1996 en 1997) en die verslagen zijn bekendgemaakt op de internetsite van DG SANCO (http://europa. eu. int/comm/dg24/health/fnaoi/reports/pesticides/mon_rep/index_en. html). Bij de bekendmaking van die verslagen heeft de Commissie ook enkele persberichten gepubliceerd met verklaringen van de bevoegde leden van de Commissie. 4 niveau de op communautair geïnterpreteerd De werkelijke gehalten aan residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen die in 1996 en 1997 zijn vastgestelde geconstateerd, werden vergeleken met maximumresidugehalten (MRG's). De resultaten van elk jaar vertoonden onderling grote overeenkomsten. In ongeveer 60 % van de in het kader van de nationale programma's onderzochte monsters werden geen aantoonbare residugehalten gevonden. Minder dan 4% van de monsters bevatten een gehalte aan residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen boven het MRG. In het kader van het gecoördineerd bewakingsprogramma van de Gemeenschap is bij 0,3 à 0,5 % van de monsters een gehalte aan residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen boven het MRG geconstateerd. In één geval bevatte een product een zodanig hoog residugehalte dat de aanvaardbare dagelijkse inname (ADI) tijdelijk werd overschreden, maar deze cijfers moeten worden de Wereldgezondheidsorganisatie12 dat een kortstondige overschrijding van de ADI geen reden is voor bezorgdheid. Uit realistische berekeningen van de inname op basis van de beschikbare acute reële betrekking gezondheidsproblemen met combinaties bestrijdingsmiddel/product dat is onderzocht. Derhalve werd het niet nodig geacht op communautair niveau maatregelen te nemen op het gebied van de volksgezondheid in verband met gerapporteerde overschrijdingen van de maximumgehalten. In 2001 zal een vollediger overzicht van de inname van de eerste groep bestrijdingsmiddelen via de voeding beschikbaar zijn en zal dit aspect opnieuw worden bezien. Bij aanzienlijke overschrijding van de MRG's en in gevallen waarin er sprake is van ernstig risico op acute toxiciteit, kan gebruik worden gemaakt van het communautaire "Rapid Alert System" voor voedingsmiddelen. De Commissie en de lidstaten onderzoeken momenteel op welke wijze de werking ervan kan worden verbeterd op het gebied van residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen in de voeding. geen sprake het chronische aantal is gebleken dat is van geringe samenhang conclusie gegevens met van tot de of er in Bij de rapportering inzake overschrijdingen van MRG's werd nagegaan wanneer er, in technisch en statistisch opzicht, sprake is van een zodanige overschrijding van een MRG dat de overschrijding als een overtreding kan worden aangemerkt. In de richtlijn is daarover niets bepaald en de lidstaten hebben in die gevallen allemaal een andere mening en een ander antwoord. Tot nu toe heeft dit nog geen aanleiding gegeven tot problemen bij het handelsverkeer, maar die problemen kunnen zich op elk moment voordoen en het zou nuttig zijn om reeds nu een oplossing daarvoor te bedenken. (6) Maatregelen van de Commissie Zoals reeds gezegd in de punten 3 en 5, heeft de Commissie bij Richtlijn 1999/65/EG de data voor kennisgeving en rapportering gewijzigd. De Commissie heeft ook uitvoeringsbepalingen vastgesteld in de vorm van richtsnoeren met betrekking tot vormvoorschriften en kwaliteitsbeheersing, die zijn bekendgemaakt samen met de aanbevelingen voor 1999. Deze documenten worden voortdurend herzien en in de financiering van die activiteiten is voorzien in een ontwerp-verordening inzake bewaking die op 2 december 1999 voor advies is ingediend bij het Permanent Plantenziektekundig Comité. De lidstaten nemen ook deel aan regelmatige bekwaamheidsproeven die samen met en met financiële steun van de Commissie worden georganiseerd. Met het oog op de verdere uitbreiding van de Gemeenschap hebben de diensten van de Commissie ermee ingestemd dat ook laboratoria uit Midden- en Oost-Europese landen aan deze proeven deelnemen. 12 Richtsnoeren voor de raming van de inname van residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen via de voeding, WHO/FSF/FOS/97. 7. 5 De ontwerp-verordening voorziet ook in regelmatige bekwaamheidsproeven, bijwerking van het document inzake kwaliteitsbeheersing en berekening van de werkelijke inname door de consument aan het einde van de vijfjarige bewakingscyclus. De erkenning wordt verleend door daartoe aangewezen nationale instanties. Zij worden in hun taken bijgestaan door de Commissie via de organisatie en de sponsoring van tweejaarlijkse bekwaamheidsproeven en via de opstelling van richtsnoeren inzake kwaliteitsbeheersing. (7) Controlebezoeken door het Voedsel- en Veterinair bureau Het Voedsel- en Veterinair Bureau van de Commissie brengt controlebezoeken aan de lidstaten om de wijze waarop de bewaking wordt uitgevoerd, te controleren en om na te gaan of aan de bepalingen van artikel 4, lid 4, van Richtlijn 86/362/EEG en artikel 3, lid 4, van Richtlijn 90/642/EEG wordt voldaan. Deze bezoeken omvatten soms ook inspecties van de controles die door de lidstaten worden verricht overeenkomstig Richtlijn 91/414/EEG van de Raad (artikel 17) betreffende het op de markt brengen van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen. De rapporten inzake deze controlebezoeken worden bekendgemaakt op de internetsite van DG SANCO (zie (5)). Tot nu toe zijn controlebezoeken gebracht aan vijf lidstaten. De erkenning van laboratoria is nog steeds een probleem in vele landen. In twee landen (Portugal en Ierland) is nog geen enkel laboratorium erkend. (8) Aandachtspunten Residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen in levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong worden 1) niet bewaakt in het kader van het gecoördineerd bewakingsprogramma van de Gemeenschap overeenkomstig bovengenoemde artikelen van de richtlijnen. Zij worden in de lidstaten bewaakt op grond van de bepalingen van Richtlijn 96/23/EG van de Raad van 29 april 1996 inzake controlemaatregelen ten aanzien van bepaalde stoffen en residuen daarvan in levende dieren en in producten daarvan en tot intrekking van de Richtlijnen 85/358/EEG en 86/469/EEG en de Beschikkingen 89/187/EEG en 91/664/EEG. In die richtlijn is ook bepaald dat uiterlijk op 31 maart van elk jaar een verslag bij de Commissie moet worden ingediend. Bovendien zijn er bepalingen inzake het verzamelen van de resultaten op communautair niveau en de opneming daarvan in de jaarverslagen van de Commissie op grond van Richtlijn 96/23/EG. Bovendien heeft de bewaking in het kader van Richtlijn 96/23/EG ten doel toe te zien op de naleving van de communautaire wetgeving en noch de omvang van de bewaking, noch de wijze waarop de bewaking is opgezet, zijn bevorderlijk voor de complementariteit met het gecoördineerde bewakingsprogramma van de Gemeenschap op grond van de artikelen. 2) MRG's voor bestrijdingsmiddelen in producten van dierlijke oorsprong worden vastgesteld door de Commissie (Richtlijn 86/363/EEG van de Raad van 24 juli 1986 tot vaststelling van maximumgehalten aan residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen in en op levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong13). Sommige stoffen kunnen niet alleen als bestrijdingsmiddel, maar ook in diergeneesmiddelen worden gebruikt. In dat geval worden de stoffen geëvalueerd overeenkomstig Verordening (EEG) nr. 2377/90 van de Raad houdende een communautaire procedure tot vaststelling van maximumwaarden voor residuen van geneesmiddelen voor diergeneeskundig gebruik in levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong14. 13 14 PB L 221 van 7. 8. 1986, blz. 43. PB L 224 van 18. 8. 1990, laatstelijk gewijzigd bij Verordening (EG) nr. 1570/98 van de Commissie, PB L 205 van 22. 7. 1998, blz. 10. 6 De gegevens worden in het EBG geëvalueerd door het Comité voor geneesmiddelen voor diergeneeskundig gebruik. Op basis van die evaluatie stelt de Commissie de MRG's vast. Sommige discrepanties op het gebied van de definitie van residuen en de producten waarop ze van toepassing zijn, zijn het gevolg van de toepassing van verschillende berekeningsmethoden die resulteren in verschillende residugehalten voor dezelfde stof in hetzelfde levensmiddel. Geconstateerd is dat de door het Comité voor geneesmiddelen voor diergeneeskundig gebruik voorgestelde waarden stringenter zijn dat die welke gelden wanneer dezelfde stof als bestrijdingsmiddel wordt gebruikt. Deze discrepanties komen ook meer in het algemeen voor bij de Codex Alimentarius. Derhalve doen de diensten van de Commissie momenteel al het mogelijke om die discrepanties weg te werken, zowel in de Gemeenschap als bij de Codex Alimentarius. Verdere aanpassingen zijn evenwel slechts mogelijk indien eerst de wetgeving wordt gewijzigd. Daarom zou het wenselijk zijn de bijlagen bij de residurichtlijnen en die bij Verordening (EEG) nr. 2377/90 op parallelle wijze te herzien teneinde de transparantie en de toepasbaarheid van de communautaire wetgeving te verbeteren. 3) Bij Richtlijn 97/41/EG van de Raad van 25 juni 1997 tot wijziging van de Richtlijnen 76/895/EEG, 86/362/EEG, 86/363/EEG en 90/642/EEG tot vaststelling van maximumgehalten aan residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen in en op respectievelijk groenten en fruit, granen, levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong en bepaalde producten van plantaardige oorsprong, met inbegrip van groenten en fruit15 is bepaald dat de in communautair verband vastgestelde MRG's ook van toepassing zijn op diervoeders. Residuen in diervoeders worden evenwel niet bewaakt op dezelfde wijze als in primaire landbouwproducten. Pas wanneer diervoeders ook primaire landbouwproducten zijn (bijvoorbeeld granen), gebeurt de bemonstering overeenkomstig de bepalingen van de richtlijnen, hoewel diervoeders altijd kunnen worden bewaakt op grond van Richtlijn 96/23/EG. in en landbouwproducten 4) De lidstaten zijn ertoe verplicht het gehalte aan residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen in geen levensmiddelen minimumvoorschriften en de wijze van bewaking verschilt sterk van lidstaat tot lidstaat. Gezien het beperkt aantal producten dat in het kader van het gecoördineerde programma wordt geanalyseerd, duurt het vijf jaar voordat ramingen betreffende de inname kunnen worden gemaakt en dan nog kan dat slechts voor een beperkt aantal bestrijdingsmiddelen. Bovendien is slechts een klein aantal erkende laboratoria in staat om mee te werken aan de bewaking in de lidstaten. bewaken, maar zijn er te 5) Elke overschrijding van de in communautair verband vastgestelde MRG's, hoe gering ook, geeft aanleiding tot enige bezorgdheid en tot verder onderzoek. De overschrijding kan toe te schrijven zijn aan de wijze waarop de MRG's in de Gemeenschap worden vastgelegd, (waarbij er een bepaalde statistische waarschijnlijkheid van overschrijding is) maar kan ook in verband worden gebracht met ongeoorloofd gebruik van bestrijdingsmiddelen. Op een bepaald ogenblik was er een probleem met betrekking tot overschrijdingen bij tropisch fruit, maar dat was misschien toe te schrijven aan de toepassing van een niet-zerotolerantie bij invoer in bepaalde gevallen en aan een gebrek aan begeleiding inzake de indiening van gegevens daarover. In deze situatie kan verbetering komen na de vaststelling van richtsnoeren door de Commissie in oktober 1999. 15 PB L 184 van 12. 7. 1997, blz. 33. 7 De bevoegdheid van de Commissie om in de lidstaten controles te verrichten, is 6) beperkt. 7) Om een regeling te kunnen uitwerken voor de raming van de reële blootstelling aan residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen, zijn aanvullende gegevens vereist, maar de verzameling daarvan is niet vastgelegd in de richtlijnen. Die gegevens betreffen in hoofdzaak de werkelijke voeding van populaties en subgroepen van populaties en de blootstelling aan bestrijdingsmiddelen ten gevolge van bronnen die niet worden bewaakt op basis van de artikelen (bijvoorbeeld water, bewoning, huishoudproducten, producten van dierlijke oorsprong). Een groot aantal van deze punten wordt door de Commissie behandeld in het Witboek inzake voedselveiligheid en andere punten worden reeds behandeld in voorbereidende teksten voor nieuwe wetgeving. (9) Conclusies en aanbevelingen de van residuen bewaking betreffende De toepassing van artikel 7 van Richtlijn 86/362/EEG van de Raad en artikel 4 van Richtlijn 90/642/EEG van de Raad van bestrijdingsmiddelen verloopt in het algemeen in de gehele Gemeenschap zonder noemenswaardige problemen en op basis daarvan kon voor het eerst een beoordeling worden opgesteld van de feitelijke situatie in de Gemeenschap met betrekking tot de blootstelling van de consument aan residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen in groenten en fruit. Met enige tevredenheid is geconstateerd dat de gehalten aan residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen die tot nu toe werden gevonden, geen gezondheidsrisico vormen voor de consument. Toch is zelfgenoegzaamheid nog steeds misplaatst en moet de Commissie, met de lidstaten, verder werken aan de bewaking van de gehalten aan residuen van bestrijdingsmiddelen in levensmiddelen en moet zij verder blijven werken aan de onder punt 8 genoemde aandachtspunten. Met name is de Commissie voorstander van een geïntegreerde aanpak, zoals voorgesteld in het Witboek inzake voedselveiligheid. Om die aanpak, in het kader waarvan de Commissie uiteindelijk een evaluatie zal kunnen maken van de aanwezigheid van alle soorten stoffen, zoals residuen van verontreinigingen, bestrijdingsmiddelen, toevoegingsmiddelen, diergeneesmiddelen, enz. in levensmiddelen, in de praktijk te kunnen realiseren, moet de Gemeenschap geïntegreerde bewakingsprogramma's vaststellen voor alle soorten stoffen, en moeten genormaliseerde voedingsschema's worden opgesteld voor elk type consument in Europa, aan de hand waarvan de aanwezigheid van die stoffen kan worden geëvalueerd. 8


title: Regolamento (CE) n. 471/2000 della Commissione, del 1° marzo 2000, che stabilisce, per il mese di febbraio 2000, il tasso di cambio specifico applicabile all'importo del rimborso delle spese di magazzinaggio nel settore dello zucchero

eurovoc_concepts:
exchange rate
redemption
storage cost
sugar

formats: pdf print

text: 2. 3. 2000 IT Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee L 57/15 REGOLAMENTO (CE) N. 471/2000 DELLA COMMISSIONE del 1o marzo 2000 che stabilisce, per il mese di febbraio 2000, il tasso di cambio specifico applicabile all'importo del rimborso delle spese di magazzinaggio nel settore dello zucchero LA COMMISSIONE DELLE COMUNITÀ EUROPEE, visto il trattato che istituisce la Comunità europea, visto il regolamento (CE) n. 2038/1999 del Consiglio, del 13 settembre 1999, relativo all'organizzazione comune dei mercati nel settore dello zucchero (1), visto il regolamento (CE) n. 2799/98 del Consiglio, del 15 dicembre 1998, agrimonetario dell'euro (2), istituisce regime che il visto il regolamento (CEE) n. 1713/93 della Commissione, del 30 giugno 1993, recante modalità particolari per l'applicazione del tasso di conversione agricolo nel settore dello zucchero (3), modificato da ultimo dal regolamento (CE) n. 1642/1999 (4), in particolare l'articolo 1, paragrafo 3, considerando quanto segue: (1) L'articolo 1, paragrafo 2, del regolamento (CEE) n. 1713/ 93 stabilisce che l'ammontare del rimborso delle spese di magazzinaggio di cui all'articolo 8 del regolamento (CE) n. 2038/1999 deve essere convertito in moneta nazio- nale mediante un tasso di conversione agricolo specifico uguale alla media, calcolata pro rata temporis, dei tassi di conversione agricoli applicabili durante il mese di magazzinaggio; tale tasso di conversione agricolo speci- fico dev'essere fissato mensilmente per il mese prece- dente; tuttavia, per i rimborsi applicabili a partire dal 1o gennaio 1999, a seguito dell'introduzione del regime agrimonetario dell'euro a partire dalla stessa data occorre fissare i tassi di conversione limitatamente ai tassi di cambio specifici tra l'euro e le monete nazionali degli Stati membri che non hanno adottato la moneta unica. (2) In applicazione delle suddette disposizioni, occorre stabi- il tasso di cambio lire, per il mese di febbraio 2000, specifico applicabile all'importo del rimborso delle spese di magazzinaggio nelle monete nazionali, conforme- mente a quanto indicato nell'allegato del presente regola- mento, HA ADOTTATO IL PRESENTE REGOLAMENTO: Articolo 1 Il tasso di cambio specifico da utilizzare per la conversione in moneta nazionale dell'importo del rimborso delle spese di magazzinaggio di cui all'articolo 8 del regolamento (CE) n. 2038/1999 per il mese di febbraio 2000 figura in allegato. Articolo 2 Il presente regolamento entra in vigore il 2 marzo 2000. Esso si applica a decorrere dal 1o febbraio 2000. Il presente regolamento è obbligatorio in tutti i suoi elementi e direttamente applicabile in ciascuno degli Stati membri. Fatto a Bruxelles, il 1o marzo 2000. Per la Commissione Franz FISCHLER Membro della Commissione (1) GU L 252 del 25. 9. 1999, pag. 1. (2) GU L 349 del 24. 12. 1998, pag. 1. (3) GU L 159 dell'1. 7. 1993, pag. 94. (4) GU L 195 del 28. 7. 1999, pag. 3. L 57/16 IT Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee 2. 3. 2000 al regolamento della Commissione, del 1o marzo 2000, che stabilisce, per il mese di febbraio 2000, il tasso di cambio specifico applicabile all'importo del rimborso delle spese di magazzinaggio nel settore dello zucchero ALLEGATO Tassi di cambio specifici 1 EUR = 7,44520 333,142 8,51245 0,614659 corone danesi dracme greche corone svedesi lire sterline