Employment and social cohesion: programme Progress for employment and social solidarity, 2007-2013

PURPOSE : to establish the Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity, named PROGRESS, to financially support the implementation of the objectives of the European Union in the employment and social affairs area and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy goals in these fields. It shall run from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013.

PROPOSED ACT : Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT : the European Union has an important role to play in the development of a modern, innovative and sustainable European Social Model with more and better jobs in an inclusive society based on equal opportunities. Article 2 of the Treaty states that the Community shall have as part of its tasks that of promoting a high level of employment and of social protection and the raising of the standard of living and quality of life throughout the Community and economic and social cohesion.

The overall objective of this proposal is to reinforce the initiative role of the Commission in proposing EU strategies; implementing and following-up EU objectives and their translations into national policies; transposing and following-up of EU legislation's application in a coherent way through Europe; promoting the co-operation and co-ordination mechanisms between Member States and cooperating with organisations that represent civil society.

The general objectives of the programme have been defined to address this overall objective:

- improving the knowledge and understanding of the situation prevailing in the Member States (and in other participating countries) through analysis, evaluation and close monitoring of policies;

- supporting the development of statistical tools and methods and common indicators in the areas covered by the programme;

- supporting and monitoring the implementation of EU law and policies objectives in the Member States and assessing their impact;

- promoting networking, mutual learning, and identification and dissemination of good practice at EU level;

- enhancing the awareness of the stakeholders and the general public about the EU policies pursued under each of the 5 sections;

- boosting the capacity of key EU networks to promote and support EU policies.

The objectives set for each section have finally been translated into operational objectives which correspond to the types of supports (analytical and mutual learning activities, awareness and dissemination activities, support to main actors) to be addressed in each policy domain. The operational objectives will correspond to the need to carry out actions, financed at Commission level, to target some specific actors who need to act in this context.

The Programme will be divided in 5 sections corresponding to the 5 main fields of activities:

§         Section 1: Employment: will support the implementation of the European Employment Strategy as stipulated in the Employment Title of the EC Treaty.

§         Section 2: Social protection and inclusion: will support the implementation of the open method of coordination in the field of social protection and inclusion.

§         Section 3: Working conditions: will support the improvement of the working environment and conditions including health and safety at work.

§         Section 4: Anti-discrimination: will support effective implementation of the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. It will furthermore promote the mainstreaming of antidiscrimination in EU policies and the benefits of diversity.

§         Section 5: Diversity and gender equality: will support, on the one hand, an effective implementation of the principle of gender equality and, on the other hand, a better gender mainstreaming in EU policies.

For further information concerning the financial implications of this measure, please refer to the financial statement.