Documents

Collective agreement No. 62 quinquies modifying collective agreement No. 62 of 6 February 1996 on the establishment of a European Works Council or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and consulting employees, modified by collective agreements No. 62 bis of 6 October 1998, No. 62 ter of 6 October 2004 and No. 62 quater of 30 January 2007 -

A bio-based economy is one in which enterprises manufacture non-food products from biomass. Such products include fuel for the transport industry, chemicals, materials, and energy. Biomass is the biological material of living or recently living organisms, either animal or vegetable. With technology becoming more sophisticated, it is growing easier to turn plants, trees, crops, and residual animal waste into biomass. Waste and waste streams are increasingly being used as input in production processes, thereby gaining an economic value of their own. They are giving rise to new, sustainable products with considerable added value that replace products based on non-renewable materials. New bio-based products may offer the Netherlands new economic opportunities. The Dutch can already boast a number of distinct advantages in that respect, thanks to the sophistication of their industrial sector, agro-industry, chemicals and energy industries, and transport and logistics sector – all key sectors in a bio-based economy. However, the growing world population and increasing level of prosperity worldwide, and the environmental and climate problems associated with such growth, are adding to the complexity of policy-making aimed at developing a bio-based economy. The shift from fossil-based to bio-based materials must be part of a comprehensive policy aimed at achieving a sustainable economy.

The Council considers that the involvement of the European social partners was decisive in the process leading to the directive’s adoption, and expresses satisfaction regarding the inclusion of its positions in the final text.But the Council highlights the fact that, in its members’ view, some of the terms used in the draft bill are unduly vague and imprecise. The Council considers that this may complicate its interpretation, with the consequent risk of generating legal uncertainty. In the same connection, the Council deems that it would be advisable to unify the terminology used in the draft bill so as to avoid the use of different terms to refer to the same reality.

The aim of the draft decree is to adopt an integral framework for qualifications in higher education, i.e. an easily intelligible and comparable system of qualifications, facilitating the recognition and transparency of university degrees and diplomas in European universities, thereby promoting academic and professional mobility. As a country involved in the Bologna process, Spain has undertaken, especially as from the Conference of European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education in Bergen in 2005, to devise and implement a framework of higher education qualifications comparable with its European counterpart. In its opinion the Council notes that this new framework, compatible with the European Higher Education Area, may help facilitate the international recognition of qualifications and courses, thereby increasing mobility in learning and work.However, the text approved by the Council’s plenary session states that greater account should have been taken of the existing framework, while opening the way for the changes to be introduced to make the national and European frameworks compatible. Thus, the Council says, ambiguities could be avoided in instruments intended to give the system greater transparency. In this connection the Council considers that the future integration of education and training systems should involve a greater standardization of educational terminology.

The Spanish ESC notes that the extended jurisdiction of labour courts provided for in the draft bill will result in a larger overall volume of cases submitted to labour courts and tribunals. It remarks that insufficient resources are envisaged to cater for this greater workload, in an opinion adopted without a single vote against by the Council’s plenary session.Another consideration stressed by the Council is the need to promote mechanisms for the extrajudicial resolution of labour disputes. It cites consolidated instruments in this connection, such as mediation. It also highlights the advisability of facilitating the judge’s role as conciliator during the process.

This book is intended to serve as a resource for those who want to understand the recent reforms of local government organisation, tasks and funding in Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. A special focus of the book is on Finnish local government and how the present Finnish situation compares with developments in other countries. However, this book also offers a more general view of localgovernment reforms and in the way that fiscal federalism has been affected by the global fiscal crisis.

The opinion highlights the fact that the preliminary draft bill goes much further than simply applying the Convention: parts of the bill address very specific aspects of protection for people with disabilities.The opinion also notes that the preliminary draft bill sets out commitments on disability which have been in place in Spain for some time. Some of these commitments are included in action plans which are currently operational, such as the general strategy on employment for people with a disability.

In the current context of developing and consolidating decentralisation while also building the European Union, the ESC has decided to embark on a set of case studies to assess the current situation in different areas of public policy with respect to decentralisation, social cohesion, and competitiveness.The health system was the first issue to be tackled. In Spain, devolving health services has strengthened decentralisation: regional health services – acting as part of the national health system – now manage health services provided under the social security system. Advantages of a decentralised health system include the fact that there is more of an incentive to innovate in terms of organisation and management, and there is also potential for developing ways of working which are more focused on the patient and local health needs. However, there are significant challenges involved in managing the decentralised model, as far as both efficiency and fairness are concerned. There is therefore a need to define more clearly a common portfolio of basic services and establish what the healthcare card should entitle the service user to throughout Spain, to ensure that operating different health policies does not lead to levels of service coverage and access varying between different parts of the country. The report certainly recognises the fact that the health system makes a significant contribution to social cohesion and stimulating production. It also highlights the efforts of the different administrations and sectors involved to discuss common problems of coordination and cooperation and seek consensus. This is more necessary than ever given the current economic and budgetary crisis.

The ESC supports the proposals in the draft bill on the quality of agri-foods. The idea is to improve coordination of the sector, encourage the production of quality and differentiated products, and improve the balance between different operators in the food supply chain.