15. Calls on the Commission to take full account of the correct horizontal social clause as specified in Article 9 TFEU, under which the EU has to take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health, and calls on the Commission to specify how the Platform will affect assessments of the implementation of that clause; calls for more in-depth social impact assessments of EU policies, even where those policies are initiated by the European Council rather tha ...[+++]n the Commission, as in the case of the Euro Plus pact; takes the view that such in-depth analysis of the application of this clause will make it possible to avoid a levelling-down of social standards in Europe and facilitate the development of a common social basis in Europe; calls for this social impact assessment to be carried out in conjunction with associations active in combating poverty, and for it to take the situation of the poorest people in Europe as a benchmark; takes the view that such assessments should involve Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Commission departments responsible for social affairs, under the supervision of a director-general reporting to the Commission Secretariat;

9. Considers that the current trend of the Commission's approach is clearly anti-social, in obvious contradiction with the main social advances of the Lisbon Treaty, penalising wage-earners, encouraging precarious work, generating more inequalities between people and countries and ignoring poverty and social rights; asks therefore the Commission to operate a dramatic shift in policy and pull all its strengths into shaping a new social strategy to guarantee as a minimum well established social rights, national practices of collective wage bargaining and income distribution, but also to promote social rights and social progress for all European citizens; requests a strong commitment especially on the horizontal ...[+++]social clause to be formalised in a legislative text as well as an horizontal anti-discrimination strategy and a review of the conditionalities imposed through ‘bail-outs’ from the perspective of social acquis and this horizontal social clause;

26. Recognises that, although the international trend on bilateral trade agreements is gradually moving towards a greater acceptance of labour and social standards linked to trade agendas, FTAs still generally contain few references to social standards; regrets that the EU does not have a homogenous formula for a ‘social clause’ to be inserted in all bilateral trade agreements; urges the EU to incorporate a social clause in line with other internationally agreed and recognised standards (i.e. ILO core labour standards) into all EU external trade agreements, including those coming within the ambit of the WTO;

In order to monitor the impact of the Agreement and Clause 4 thereof on the development of the market, the Commission undertook in a declaration made at the time of the adoption of the Directive to submit a report to the Council, taking account of the economic and social impact of the Agreement on companies and workers and of the discussions between social partners on all the relevant topics, including Clause 4.

It will also attempt to assess the economic and social impact of the Agreement on the companies and mobile workers affected and report on the negotiations under way between the social partners, including with regard to Clause 4 of the Agreement.

During the discussions concerning the Directive, particular attention was given to Clause 4 of the Agreement, according to which a daily rest period away from home must be followed by daily rest at home, with the option for the social partners of negotiating a second consecutive rest period away from home at railway company or national level.