Working Group on Second Committee Matters

Working Group on First Committee Matters

WorkingParty on Methods for Measuring Noise Pollution

Working Party on Noise Pollution

Welcomes, in particular, the HLWG’s recommendation that the EU and the US address the environment and labour aspects of trade and sustainable development; considers that the experience of previous EU trade agreements and the long-lasting EU-US commitments should be taken into account in order to strengthen the development and enforcement of labour and environmental laws and policies and promote the core standards and benchmarks laid down by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), as well as decent jobs and sustainable development; encourages the harmonisation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standards; recognises that achieving common standards is likely to present both technical and political challenges, and emphasises that the common goal sho ...[+++]uld be to ensure that there is no diminution of environmental ambitions;

Notes, echoing the work carried out by Mario Monti, that increases in public revenue linked to good economic performance have generally led to tax cuts; notes that taxation on labour should be reduced in order to increase European competitiveness; supports Mario Monti’s proposals for the establishment of a Tax Policy Group, which would bring together representatives from the Member States, as an important way of encouraging dialogue between European countries; invites the policy group to discuss primarily the framework for a tax sy ...[+++]stem that would address environmental goals and support resource efficiency; welcomes the proposal for a directive on a common consolidated corporate tax base in the 2011 Commission work programme;

12. Believes, however, that one of the problems in the European Union concerns the supply of a skilled and adaptable workforce in competitive and innovative companies; stresses that the priority should be given to the creation of a flexible labour market by raising educational levels and expanding apprenticeship opportunities, training and retraining programmes; implementing effective policies against discrimination and breaking down barriers to the integration into the labour force of women, migrants, older or younger workers and other discriminated disa ...[+++]dvantaged groups; removing obstacles to occupational and geographic mobility; and active labour market policies that support the transition from an old job to a new job; emphasises the decisive role of skilled and adaptable employees and new technologies in education and training and recalls the new forms of flexibility offered by the social partners' agreement on teleworking, part-time and fixed-term work; disagrees with the Commission's distinction between insiders and outsiders;

12. Believes, however, that one of the problems in the European Union concerns the supply of a skilled and adaptable workforce in competitive and innovative companies; stresses that the priority should be given to the creation of a flexible labour market by raising educational levels and expanding apprenticeship opportunities, training and retraining programmes; implementing effective policies against discrimination and breaking down barriers to the integration into the labour force of women, migrants, older or younger workers and other discriminated disa ...[+++]dvantaged groups; removing obstacles to occupational and geographic mobility; and active labour market policies that support the transition from an old job to a new job; emphasises the decisive role of skilled and adaptable employees and new technologies in education and training and recalls the new forms of flexibility offered by the social partners' agreement on teleworking, part-time and fixed-term work; disagrees with the Commission's distinction between insiders and outsiders;