Social policy agenda: 3rd scoreboard, report for the implementation in 2002

The committee adopted the own-initiative report by Ilda FIGUEIREDO (GUE/NGL, P) on the scoreboard on implementing the social policy agenda. In the report, MEPs expressed concern at the social situation in Europe, pointing out that economic activity was slowing down alarmingly and that recent forecasts were adding to the fears of a rise in unemployment, poverty and social exclusion. The committee repeated its call for the policy initiatives announced in the social policy agenda to be put into effect, to that end making use of the scoreboard which in each instance should specify the policy method employed (be it legislative or non-legislative), the parties responsible and the time-frames. The report also deplored the fact that the Commission was still failing to produce new initiatives in areas already called for by Parliament and reiterated these proposals, e.g.: - incorporating a social dimension in competition policy; - revising the 1994 directive on the establishment of a European Works Council, the 1993 directive on working time and the 1992 directive on the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding; - producing a Green Paper on illiteracy and social exclusion. The committee also wanted the Commission to mark European Year of Disabilities by submitting a proposal for a directive, based on Article 13 of the Treaty, aimed at combating discrimination on grounds of disability. Other points raised in the report included the need for increased investment to provide childcare facilities and pre-school education as well as greater investment in education, training and lifelong learning. MEPs also stressed the importance of measures to combat undeclared work and to assign special status to jobs that are difficult to regularise, such as domestic work and childcare. Lastly, the report issued a reminder of the problems of poverty and social exclusion facing the Outermost Regions and called for social inclusion policies and specific support measures for those regions. �