Spanish Presidency sets out priorities

The Spanish Presidency of the EU runs from 1 January to 30 June 2002. The Presidency's priorities in the social and employment field include continuing the Lisbon and Luxembourg strategies, removing obstacles to employment and to mobility within the EU, and improving the quality of work.

The Spanish government took over the six-month Presidency of the Council of Ministers on 1 January 2002. Its main goals for its term, which runs until 30 June 2002, are set out in a policy document entitled More Europe. Programme of the Spanish Presidency of the EU.

The document lists a total of six priorities, including a section devoted to the Lisbon strategy, formulated at the March 2000 European Council (EU0004241F), of modernising and liberalising the European economy. Looking forward to the Barcelona Council, which will be held in March 2002, the Presidency states that this meeting will 'provide an opportunity to consolidate the social modernisation objectives established in Lisbon and, in particular, to progress towards the objective of full employment by 2010'.

The programme notes that considerable progress towards the achievement of the Lisbon goals – notably an overall employment rate of 70% and a female employment rate of 60% by 2010 – has already been achieved. It is estimated that this will entail the creation of a total of 10 million new jobs and the Presidency states that more than 2 million jobs have been created since the Lisbon Council. However, it also maintains that there is still a long way to go. It cites the 'Luxembourg employment strategy' of annual Employment Guidelines and National Action Plans for employment (EU9711168F) as a key tool in fulfilling the Lisbon objectives, and states that it will try to 'bring the Luxembourg process into line with the spirit of Lisbon in order to achieve the best possible result from both'. Particular emphasis will be placed on issues such as worker mobility throughout Europe, tax and social protection systems, labour market institutions and removing structural obstacles to job creation. In this context, the Presidency looks forward to the Commission's forthcoming action plan to develop European labour markets, based on the recently-issued report of the high-level task force on skills and mobility (EU0201234N).

The Spanish Presidency also gives a special mention to the concept of 'active ageing', within the context of increasing labour force participation. It also focuses not only on the quantity, but also the quality of jobs, continuing the 'quality of work' theme which has gained prominence in EU debate in recent months. The Presidency states that improving the quality of work should include improvements in the areas of equality between men and women and for people with disabilities, lifelong learning and health and safety at work.

In the area of social dialogue, the Presidency states that it will convene a 'social summit' with the participation of the social partners in order to draw up a multiannual programme of work (EU0112262F).