<EntPE>EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT</EntPE>
<Date>{16-11-1999}16 November 1999</Date>
<TitreType>DRAFT OPINION</TitreType>
<TitreRecueil>(Rule 162)
for the {LIBE}Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs</TitreRecueil>
<Titre>on the annual debate on the area of freedom, security and justice, 1999 (Article 39, TUE) (report by Anna Terrón i Cusi)</Titre>
<Commission>{EMPL}Committee on Employment and Social Affairs</Commission>
Draftsman: <Depute>Pierre Jonckheer</Depute>
PROCEDURE
At its meeting of {14-10-1999}14 October 1999 the {EMPL}Committee on Employment and Social Affairs appointed Pierre Jonckheer draftsman.
It considered the draft opinion at its meeting(s) of ... .
At the latter/last meeting it adopted the following conclusions by ... votes to ..., with ... abstentions/unanimously.
The following took part in the vote/The following were present for the vote: ..., chairman/acting chairman; ... (and ...), vice-chairman/chairmen; ..., draftsman; ..., ... (for ...), ... (for ... pursuant to Rule 153(2)), ... and ... .
BACKGROUND/GENERAL COMMENTS
1. Background
One of the main political goals of the European Union is to create an area of freedom, security and justice in which the free movement of persons is assured in conjunction with appropriate measures with respect to external border controls, asylum, immigration and the prevention and combating of crime. Whereas questions related to visas, asylum, immigration and other policies related to the free movement of persons are part of the EC Treaty, first pillar, police and judicial cooperation are part of the third pillar and are subject to intergovernmental decisions. Article 39 TEU gives Parliament the right to hold an annual debate on progress made in the latter areas.
In July 1998, the European Commission published a communication on the area of freedom, security and justice and in December 1998, a Council and Commission action plan provided a detailed list of objectives to be achieved. The Vienna European Council of 1112 December 1998 endorsed this plan. At the Cologne European Council of 34 June 1999 it was decided to draw up a charter of fundamental rights by December 2000. The Tampere European Council of 1516 October 1999 focused on the European area of freedom, security and justice.
Considering this development, it is the draftsperson's belief that the following issues, falling within the mandate of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, need to be addressed: Free movement and right of residence of persons, the extension of social security rights to persons from non-EU countries legally residing in the Union but moving between Member States, the Charter of fundamental rights, discrimination questions and the IGC. All these questions are linked to a well-functioning area of freedom, security and justice and must be addressed.
2. Free movement and right of residence of persons
The free movement of workers (Article 48) is one of the four freedoms initially laid down by the authors of the Treaty of Rome, and it is a basic right. Regulation 1612/68 of 15 October 1968 on the free movement of workers and the Council Directive of 15 October 1968 on the abolition of restrictions on movement and residence within the Community for workers and their families are the backbone of law in this matter. These rights have been clarified and amplified by the case law of the Court of Justice.
The concept of free movement of citizens, Article 18 EC (former Article 8a), was introduced by the Single European Act and is broader than the concept of the free movement of workers. Since then, three directives have been adopted which extend freedom of movement to retired persons, to persons having sufficient resources and to students.
There are, however, flaws in existing Community legislation and the Commission has worked very hard on identifying the outstanding issues. In October 1998, the Commission submitted a number of proposals with the aim of rectifying those problems. There was and remains a particular need to facilitate free movement and right of residence of nationals of non-member states who legally reside in a Member State; to help to solve various family-related problems when one member of a family moves between Member States; and to help frontier workers.
Parliament adopted its resolution on those proposals on 5 May 1999 (draftsperson Marie-Therèse Hermange) and was on the whole very positive. Despite the importance of the issue, the Council has still not reacted.
3. The extension of social security rights to persons from non-EU countries legally residing in the Union but moving between Member States
EC provisions on the coordination of social security rules stem from 1971 when Regulation 1408/71 was adopted. Since then, it has also been updated and amended on an almost annual basis. The Court of Justice's interpretation of the provisions of the Regulation, and necessary updates as a result of changes in national legislation has made the 1408/71 system particularly complex. It has, however, worked well, and is one of the pieces of Community legislation which most touches on the lives of European citizens.
The Commission presented a proposal at the end of 1997 with the aim of applying the principles of regulation 1408/71 to non-EU nationals in the same way that they applied to EU nationals. It had been a longstanding wish of Parliament, expressed in a number of resolutions, to obtain such an extension and Parliament's resolution (draftsperson Christine Oddy) endorsed the Commission's proposal.
As repeatedly established in previous amendments to Regulation 1408/71 and the subsequent case law, the Regulation does not aim to harmonise the national social security systems but to coordinate those systems so that there are no financial consequences for people moving within the European Community. This is achieved by ensuring that there is no loss of accrued entitlement to social security as a result of moving and avoiding situations in which an individual is required to pay contributions simultaneously to more than one national social security system.
The draftsperson points out with regret that as yet no response has been received from Council on this issue.
4. Discrimination questions (Article 13)
The Commission announced in its "Action plan against racism" (COM (1998) 183) its intention to table a proposal before the end of 1999 for legislation to combat racial discrimination using Article 13 EC. The draftsperson believes the time is right for a directive to tackle race discrimination, which would not only demonstrate political will at EU level, but also, at an individual level, provide the legal framework through which cases could be brought to the European Court of Justice. In spite of political pressure from Parliament, including the resolution on the action plan against racism and during the hearings with Mrs Diamantopoulou, the Commission has not yet presented the promised proposal.
5. The Charter of Fundamental Rights
The Cologne and Tampere European Council meetings have set the framework for the drafting of the Charter. The rights derived from the European Social Charter and the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers as well as social rights of Third Country workers should be fully included, in one form or other, in the Charter. In turn and on the basis of the fact that fundamental rights are only of value if they offer legal guarantees, the Charter of Fundamental Rights should be fully incorporated into the Treaties.
6. The next Intergovernmental Conference
It is the draftsperson's view that the adoption of legislation under Article 13 EC and Article 22 EC should take place under qualified majority voting in the Council and the codecision procedure.
Considering the new competencies that the European Court of Justice would have to take on for the issues mentioned at paragraphs 4 and 5, it would be necessary to reinforce and specialise the means of the Court.
CONCLUSIONS
The {EMPL}Committee on Employment and Social Affairs calls on the {LIBE}Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following paragraphs in its resolution:
1. Calls on the Council to adopt a common position, on the basis of the codecision procedure, taking into account the amendments submitted by Parliament, <Titre>on:
· the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Regulation amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community (COM(1998) 394 C4-0575/1998 98/0229(COD)),
· on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive amending Directive 68/360/EEC on the abolition of restrictions on movement and residence within the Community for workers of Member States and their families (COM(1998) 394 C4-0576/98 - 98/0230(COD)),
· on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision establishing an Advisory Committee on freedom of movement and social security for Community workers and amending Council Regulations (EEC) No 1612/68 and (EEC) No1408/71</Titre> <DocRef>(COM(1998) 394 C4-0577/1998 98/0231(COD))</DocRef>;
2. Calls on the Council to adopt a common position, taking into account the amendments submitted by Parliament, on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 as regards its extension to nationals of third countries <Titre> <DocRef>(COM(1997) 561 C4-0012/1998 97/0320(CNS));
3. Calls on the Commission to proceed immediately with a proposal for a directive against discrimination under Article 13 EC;
4. Considers the adoption and incorporation in the Treaties of the Charter of Fundamental Rights to be of utmost importance and insists on the inclusion in the Charter of all elements contained in the European Social Charter and the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers as well as the social rights of Third Country workers;
5. Calls for, in the context of the next Intergovernmental Conference, the extension of majority voting and the codecision procedure to Article 13 EC and Article 22 EC.
</DocRef>
<PathFdR>PA\386075EN.doc</PathFdR> 3/1 PE 232.414