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The Council makes a generally positive assessment of the draft bill submitted for its consideration, deeming that it correctly and adequately transposes the relevant directives. This opinion was approved by the Plenary Council on 30 September. The Council?s opinion notes that the transposition made in the draft bill is adequate. It points out that most of the precepts correspond closely, sometimes literally, to the content of the directive. It remarks, however, that on occasion the additions may give rise to some confusion in interpretation. In this respect the Council considers that in order for the interests of consumers and users to be effectively protected and safeguarded it is necessary to set this legislation in a solid framework of concepts, avoiding unclear definitions, so as to facilitate its application in all contexts in which such interests may be compromised.

The Council?s report stresses the need to increase the supply of homes for rent.The Council considers that the 5th National Plan for Social Inclusion (PNAin) should more firmly address the issue of inter-regional equity (given the differences between the various Spanish regions). The Council draws attention to the poverty risk rates according to which Spain is four points above the EU level. But the report makes a positive assessment of the Plan?s stronger measures on access to employment and education, though it notes that such measures are of a general nature and are not always directly linked to situations involving a risk of social exclusion. The Council regrets the lack of measures to guarantee closer coordination between active employment policies and social inclusion policies in a context of strengthening mechanisms for cooperation between social services and public employment services. As to the goal of guaranteeing a minimum income, the Council still sees a need for standardization at national level of minimum criteria for basic guaranteed income, and an orientation of programmes for guaranteeing minimum income towards vocational integration. Regarding the social integration of immigrants, the report notes that the draft plan contains hardly any specific new measures for immigrants in a situation or at risk of social exclusion. The Council considers that the PNAin should reflect the additional effort required by the population increase undergone by Spain in recent years in budget appropriations and management of access to education, health, housing or social services, introducing specific mainstream measures aimed at facilitating social inclusion in the migrant population in each of these fields.The Council considers that, in the sphere of social housing, the Plan should include the objective of boosting the supply, promoting home improvements for this purpose and increasing the supply of homes for rent, especially those accessible to groups at risk or in a situation of social exclusion.

This study examines the cost competitiveness of the manufacturing sectors of China and Estonia withregard to Finland, Germany and the United States. The analysis is based on national accounts data,mainly relative unit labour costs in manufacturing.

The report describes the current status and future outlook for the Baltic Sea economic area, as well asthe special role of the region for Finland. The degree of mutual economic dependence among the eightcoastal states belonging to the European Union and the northwestern areas of Russia varies from onecountry to the next. The small Baltic countries have the strongest economic links to the Baltic Searegion, while the links of the largest countries, Germany and Russia, are the loosest. The economicfocus in the Baltic Sea region is predicted to shift eastwards from the Stockholm?Hamburg axis. Inconsequence, Finland is well situated to utilise the increasing potential of the region.