2003 discharge: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

PURPOSE : to present the financial statements of the European Foundation or the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions for the 2003 financial year.

CONTENT : the appropriations entered in the final budget amount to EUR 16.8 million of which 98.2% was contributed by the Community.

As regards the staffing policy, 88 posts were allocated in the establishment plan with only 76 occupied.

+ 16 other posts (auxiliary contracts, national experts on secondment, local staff, employment agency staff) making a total of 92 assigned to operational, administrative and mixed duties.

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, whose headquarters are based in Dublin, aims to contribute to the establishment of better living and working conditions by increasing and disseminating knowledge which is relevant to this subject.

In 2003, the activities of the Foundation can be summarized as follows.

As regards living conditions : Survey of the quality of life in Europe (28 countries covered, 26 000 interviews); Maintenance and extension of a base of comparable data (Member States and candidate countries); Study of employment in health care services; Study relating to a new organisation of time over working life.

On working conditions : Report on working conditions in the acceding and candidate countries; Creation of a network of experts for the new European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO); Studies relating to the hotel and catering and road transport sectors; Inventory of existing surveys of living and working conditions.

As regards industrial relations: Development of indicators in the field of financial participation; Study relating to migration and employment; Expansion of the ‘European Industrial Relations Observatory’ network (EIRO); Joint report with the Commission: ‘Development of industrial relations in 2002’; Case studies of European Company Committees in 37 multinational companies.

Concerning the European Monitoring Centre on Change (EMCC) : Development of electronic publications; Organisation of four seminars and two workshops.

On transversal projects : a Report on corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Lastly, as regards information and communication : Communication activities in the Member States and candidate countries; Establishment of seven national liaison centers and 91 publications (this figure does not include translations).