Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council
Xavier Bertrand and Marie-Josée Jacobs
© Le Conseil de l'Union européenne
- On: 02.10.2008
- In: Luxembourg
The first meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) under the French Presidency will be held on 2 October 2008 in Luxembourg.
The competent ministers of the 27 Member States will start the meeting with an exchange of views on the mid-term report from the 'Mission for flexicurity'. On 14 December 2007, the European Council adopted the Common Principles of Flexicurity that the EPSCO Council had previously approved on 5 December 2007.
The Council invited the Member States to take these principles into account when developing and implementing national flexicurity 'career paths'. At the Council's request, the European Commission lauched a "Mission for flexicurity" with the participation of the social partners, in partnership with the Slovenian and French Presidencies. The role of the mission, chaired by the French Senator Gérard Larcher, is to facilitate the ownership of the common principles by stakeholders. Its mid-term report - the definitive version of which is to be presented to the EPSCO Council on 15 and 16 December - will provide a first review of the mission's visits to France, Sweden, Finland, Poland and Spain.
The ministers will continue their work with a policy debate on the proposal for a Directive relating to the implementation of the principle of equal treatment beyond the workplace presented by the European Commission in the framework of the "Renewed Social Agenda".
The Commission proposed this new text to prohibit direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds of religion or convictions, disability, age or sexual orientation in the areas of social protection, health care, education and access to goods and services.
Lastly, in the area of social protection, the ministers should reach an agreement on the chapter on accidents at work of the proposed regulation on the coordination of social security systems. This regulation, which was established in 1971, guarantees the rights associated with the various social security benefits to all insured persons and the members of their families who move to a country other than their country of origin, thus facilitating mobility. This regulation is in the process of being revised in order to simplify the existing, often complex, rules and to improve relations between social security bodies and users. An agreement on this chapter will complement the work that has already been achieved in this area. Indeed, most of the other chapters of this regulation on the various benefits have already been the subject of an agreement during previous sessions of the Council.
- Updated: 23.12.2008
