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EUROPEAN REVIEW

ISSUE 14 - Page 3

Stockholm summit disappoints some as more liberalisation blocked

THE NOW REGULAR Council of Ministers (often called the European Council) Spring meeting took place at Stockholm in late March. The progress made was seen by many as small scale and disappointing. For the U.K., Prime Minister Blair arrived late and left early and, perhaps because of this, he found many of the initiatives that he supported delayed or blocked.

While postal services were scheduled for liberalisation by the end of this year, opening up competition throughout the EU, similar plans for gas and electricity were dropped by an alliance between France and Germany which raised concerns about the possible impact on prices and customer service. Mr. Blair voiced 'regret' that the summit had failed to set deadlines on electricity and gas markets, but insisted prospects remained good. 'Our aim is for the Council of Ministers to reach agreement before the end of the year', he told Parliament.

Two other measures were also stymied: a plan for a unified air traffic control system in the EU area stumbled on the disagreement between the U.K. and Spain on the status of Gibraltar airport and the establishment of an EU patent to rival the dominance of US patent protection foundered on details. However successes included setting a deadline of 2005 for a single market in financial services, though even here there is disagreement with the

European Parliament, and on social issues where the Member States agreed on targets of an employment rate of 67% (57% for women and 50% for people aged 55 to 64). In general the leaders re-affirmed their commitment to full employment and to implement national action plans on poverty and social exclusion. This was in line with the hopes of the European Trades Union Congress (ETUC) which called, before the summit, for national and EU-wide employment targets.

Göran Persson, the Prime Minister of Sweden

They also received endorsement from the Council on improving the quality of work, indicators on which will be presented at the December meeting, and equal treatment for men and women where existing legislation will be updated by the end of the year on training and working conditions and discriminatory pay differentials will be analysed by the Council of Ministers and the Commission. At his closing press conference, the Swedish Prime Minister, Mr Göran Persson, tried to put a brave face on the summit's modest outcome, 'Anyone who knows anything about European politics will know this was the best we could achieve,' he said.

Commission wants more women at work but pay gap deters

FOLLOWING THE ENACTMENT of the European Union directive on equal treatment in employment the spotlight has again fallen on the differences in the position of women and men at work. Commissioner for social affairs Anna Diamantopoulou linked the problems in sustaining European social security systems with the disincentive which many women feel to enter the labour market. Speaking at an informal meeting of ministers for Gender Equality and Social Security from Member States, held in Sweden, the Commissioner opined 'Gender equality in tax and social security systems is also essential for the sustainability of the systems in the future...don't ask what social protection systems can do for women. Imagine what women can do for social protection systems if they participate fully in the labour market. The meeting concluded that because of ageing populations and low birth rates, family friendly employment policies must be adopted.

'All EU Member States are facing the same problem' said Ingela Thalén, Swedish social security minister, 'If we are to sustain adequate welfare provision over the long term and achieve greater gender equality, more women and men must be given the opportunity to combine jobs and family responsibilities'. As well as these policies, though, the meeting stressed the problem of the gender wage gap and the principle of equal pay for equal work.

This is also highlighted by a recent survey from the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO). Its 'Gender perspectives - annual update 2000' shows that women's average earnings were only 78.6% of men's across the EU in 1999. Furthermore the employment rates (the percentage of economically active people in the working age population) were nearly 20% higher for men than for women; this figure varied enormously from country to country with 74% of Swedish females in work compared to just 29% of Italians.

Ingela Thalén, Swedish minister for social security

Unemployment (among those counted as economically active) was also greater among women, by about 3% EU-wide but with this figure again disguising great differences between Member States. Spain, where female workers (22.8%) were twice as likely to be unemployed as their male countrymen and seven times worse off then women in Luxembourg (3.3%), recorded the worst statistics. Perhaps one reason for lower pay for females is the low proportion of trade union members that are women. Women made up only 39.2% of union membership among countries which reported gender-differentiated statistics in 1999.

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Two other measures were also stymied: a plan for a unified air traffic control system in the EU area stumbled on the disagreement between the U.K. and Spain on the status of Gibraltar airport and the establishment of an EU patent to rival the dominance of US patent protection foundered on details. However successes included setting a deadline of 2005 for a single market in financial services, though even here there is disagreement with the		European Parliament, and on social issues where the Member States agreed on targets of an employment rate of 67% (57% for women and 50% for people aged 55 to 64). In general the leaders re-affirmed their commitment to full employment and to implement national action plans on poverty and social exclusion. This was in line with the hopes of the European Trades Union Congress (ETUC) which called, before the summit, for national and EU-wide employment targets.
	Göran Persson, the Prime Minister of Sweden

'All EU Member States are facing the same problem' said Ingela Thalén, Swedish social security minister, 'If we are to sustain adequate welfare provision over the long term and achieve greater gender equality, more women and men must be given the opportunity to combine jobs and family responsibilities'. As well as these policies, though, the meeting stressed the problem of the gender wage gap and the principle of equal pay for equal work.		This is also highlighted by a recent survey from the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO). Its 'Gender perspectives - annual update 2000' shows that women's average earnings were only 78.6% of men's across the EU in 1999. Furthermore the employment rates (the percentage of economically active people in the working age population) were nearly 20% higher for men than for women; this figure varied enormously from country to country with 74% of Swedish females in work compared to just 29% of Italians.
	Ingela Thalén, Swedish minister for social security