Date of release : 28-06-2005

Policy area : Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs

Within the framework of the 2005 Luxembourg Presidency, the Employment Committee (EMCO), set up by Decision of the Council (No 98/2000/EC) on 24 January 2000, will meet in Luxembourg on 29 and 30 June 2005.

The mission of the Employment Committee (EMCO) was defined as follows:

• promote the taking into account of the objective of a high level of employment in preparing and implementing Community policies and measures. It formulates opinions at the request of the Council of Ministers, the European Commission or on its own initiative, and prepares the discussions of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Protection Council at the request of the EU Presidency;
• contribute to the procedure of adopting the major economic policy guidelines in order to ensure that they are consistent with the employment guidelines and contribute to synergy between the European strategy for employment, the coordination of macro-economic policies and the economic reform process;
• promote exchanges of information and experience between Member States and with the Commission in these fields;
• participate in the dialogue on macro-economic policies at Community level.

Following the review of the Lisbon Strategy by the European Council in March 2005 and its impact on European employment strategy, the work of the EMCO in Luxembourg will focus on presentations and debates on EU strategy for growth and employment, on the macro-economic analysis of the European employment Strategy and the implementation of the European Youth Pact.

In this order of ideas, special attention will be paid to the implementation of the guidelines that highlight the following 3 priorities:

· attracting and maintaining the largest possible number of people on the job market, strengthening the available workforce and modernising social protection systems;

· improving the ability of workers and companies to adapt;

· investing further in human capital by improving education and skills.

It is important to note that the new integrated guidelines introduce aspects of work on modernising social protection and combating social exclusion and highlight the need for the correct interaction between social protection, work and economic policies.

Finally, with a view to preparing the informal Council of Employment Ministers in July 2005, the members of EMCO will deal with questions on "how to attract and maintain more people in jobs?".

Together with discussions about integrating the issue of disablement, national policies on the craft industry and employment will be presented.