(9) On 6 December 2001 the Council adopted a series of indicators to measure 10 dimensions for investing in quality in work and called for these indicators to be used in monitoring the European employment guidelines and recommendations.

European Social Partners at interprofessional and sectoral level are invited to contribute to the implementation of the Employment guidelines and to support efforts undertaken by the national social partners at all levels, such as at interprofessional, sectoral and local level.

The Employment Guidelines 2000 agreed by the European Council in Helsinki, on 10 and 11 December 1999, stress the need to foster conditions for a socially inclusive labour market by formulating a coherent set of policies aimed at combating discrimination against groups such as ethnic minorities.

In particular, the Fund shall contribute to the actions undertaken in pursuance of the European Employment Strategy and the Annual Guidelines on Employment.

Whereas the Conclusions of the Amsterdam European Council in June 1997 and its Resolution on growth and employment (9) initiated the implementation of the European employment strategy, the annual guidelines on employment and the process of establishing national action plans for employment;

Implement the adopted National Action Plan for Employment, taking into account the revised European Guidelines and the priorities, commitments and recommendations identified in the joint assessment of employment policy priorities.

Member States will promote an adequate availability of labour and employment opportunities to support economic growth and employment, taking into account labour mobility, as indicated in specific guideline 3. In particular, they will:

In accordance with their national traditions and practices, Social Partners at national level should be invited to ensure the effective implementation of the Employment guidelines and to report on their most significant contributions in all areas under their responsibility, in particular concerning the management of change and adaptability, synergy between flexibility and security, human capital development, gender equality, making work pay and active ageing as well as health and safety at work.

(6) The Brussels European Council of 20 and 21 March 2003 confirmed that the employment strategy has the leading role in the implementation of the employment and labour market objectives of the Lisbon strategy, and that the employment strategy and the broad economic policy guidelines, which provide the overarching economic policy coordination for the Community, should operate in a consistent way.

Chapter V of the guidelines provides that, for the processing of notifications of plans to grant employment aid pursuant to Article 93 (3) of the EC Treaty, the Commission adopts an accelerated procedure and a standard notification form.

The present guidelines will apply without prejudice to the possibilites offered by other State aid rules, particularly the de minimis rule fn, which should be sufficient to meet requirements in many cases, and the guidelines on aid to employment, which are applicable in all cases where there is a net creation of jobs and aid is not linked to investment fn.

a quantified description of the current situation in the tobacco sector, of the guidelines for measures to promote a switch of production and the holdings involved, and of the socio-economic situation in the production areas, in particular as regards employment and development potential;

In order to evaluate adequately progress under the pillars of the employment policy guidelines and in particular under the third pillar on encouraging adaptability of businesses and their employees, including with regard to quality in work, comparable structural statistics are needed by the Member States and the Commission(4).

like the SNA, the concepts in the ESA are also harmonized with those in the major international guidelines on some other economic statistics, in particular the IMF Balance of Payments Manual (BPM), the IMF Government Finance Statistics (GFS), the OECD Revenue Statistics and the ILO resolutions on the concepts of employment, hours worked and labour costs.

a statement of the strategy and priorities for joint Community and national action; their specific objectives, quantified where they lend themselves to quantification; an evaluation of the expected impact, including on the environmental situation, in accordance with Article 41(2); an indication of how this strategy and these priorities have taken account of the indicative guidelines referred to in Article 10(3), the economic policies, the strategy for developing employment through improving the adaptability and skills of people and, where appropriate, the regional policies of the Member State concerned;

whereas the 1998 employment guidelines (9), and the 1999 employment guidelines, ask Member States to improve the employment prospects for young people by equipping them with skills relevant to market requirements;

In order to monitor the Employment Guidelines, the Commission needs structural statistics on flexible working time arrangements and types of employment contract.

The Commission and the Member States shall ensure that the measures of this programme have regard to the employment guidelines adopted by the Council as part of a coordinated strategy for employment.

The Commission needs comparable indicators to monitor and assess progress as an effect of the implementation of the Employment Guidelines(2).

In implementing the measures of this programme, the Commission and the Member States shall have regard to the priorities set out in the employment guidelines adopted by the Council, as part of a coordinated employment strategy.

2003 provides a particular opportunity to use streamlined key policy coordination instruments - the broad economic policy guidelines, the employment guidelines and the internal market strategy - and give them a new three-year perspective.

In addition to the employment guidelines, Member States should fully implement the broad economic policy guidelines and ensure that their action is fully consistent with the maintenance of sound public finances and macroeconomic stability,

The prohibition of age discrimination is an essential part of meeting the aims set out in the Employment Guidelines and encouraging diversity in the workforce.

concerning the guidelines on State aid for employment

The Extraordinary European Council Meeting on Employment in Luxembourg on 20 and 21 November 1997 launched an overall strategy for employment, the European Employment Strategy, encompassing the coordination of Member States' employment policies on the basis of commonly-agreed employment guidelines (the Luxembourg process), the continuation and development of a coordinated macroeconomic policy and of an efficient internal market, with a view to laying the foundations for sustainable growth, new dynamism and a climate of confidence conducive to boosting employment.

The effective implementation of the employment guidelines requires active participation of social partners, at all stages, from designing policies to their implementation.

Guidelines on aid to employment (OJ C 334, 12.12.1995, p. 4).

Following the extraordinary European Council meeting on employment on 20 and 21 November 1997 in Luxembourg, the Council resolution of 15 December 1997 on the 1998 employment guidelines(5) launched a process with high visibility, strong political commitment and a wide-ranging acceptance by all parties concerned.

There is a need for a comprehensive and comparable set of data on reconciliation between work and family life, as referred to in the EU gender policy objectives on employment indicated in the 2003 Employment Guidelines with the specific guideline on "Gender equality" as adopted by the Council on 22 July 2003(3).

Moreover, it requested that the mid-term review of the Luxembourg process should give a new impetus by enriching the employment guidelines with more concrete targets establishing closer links with other relevant policy areas.

On 6 December 2001 the Council adopted a series of indicators to measure 10 dimensions for investing in quality in work and called for these indicators to be used in monitoring the European employment guidelines and recommendations.

Council Decision of 22 July 2003 on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States

The Employment Guidelines for 2000 agreed by the European Council at Helsinki on 10 and 11 December 1999 stress the need to foster a labour market favourable to social integration by formulating a coherent set of policies aimed at combating discrimination against groups such as persons with disability.

Whereas the Conclusions of the Amsterdam European Council in June 1997 and its Resolution on growth and employment(10) initiated the implementation of the European employment strategy, the annual guidelines on employment and the process of establishing national action plans for employment;

There is a need for a comprehensive and comparable dataset on the labour market situation of people with disabilities, as referred to in the Council Resolution of 17 June 1999 on equal opportunities for people with disabilities(3), which calls upon the Commission to work together with the Member States, in particular within the framework of the European employment guidelines and in accordance with the mainstreaming principle, to monitor and analyse the development of the employment of people with disabilities on the basis of comparable data.

Member States will promote an adequate availability of labour and employment opportunities to support economic growth and employment, taking into account labour mobility, as indicated in specific guideline 3.

bringing together and exchanging experience in the Member States, including the peer review process, in terms of both the pillars and individual guidelines, as defined in the annual Employment Policy Guidelines for the Member States.

The Commission will continue to assess employment aid schemes against the criteria set out in the existing guidelines(1), which will therefore remain in force, until the entry into force of revised guidelines on aid for employment or of an exemption regulation on aid for employment under Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98 of 7 May 1998(2) on the application of Articles 92 and 93 (now 87 and 88) of the Treaty to certain categories of horizontal State aid.

A special evaluation exercise shall be completed at the end of the first period of application of the annual employment policy guidelines agreed in accordance with the Luxembourg process;

The guidelines on State aid for employment(7) cease to apply from the date of entry into force of this Regulation, as do the notice on monitoring of State aid and reduction of labour costs and the notice on an accelerated procedure for processing notifications of employment aid(8).

The Brussels European Council of 20 and 21 March 2003 confirmed that the employment strategy has the leading role in the implementation of the employment and labour market objectives of the Lisbon strategy, and that the employment strategy and the broad economic policy guidelines, which provide the overarching economic policy coordination for the Community, should operate in a consistent way.

The extraordinary European Council on employment held in Luxembourg on 20 and 21 November 1997 adopted a coordinated employment strategy in which lifelong education and training have a fundamental role to play in implementing the guidelines set out in the Council resolution of 15 December 1997(6) for the Member States' employment policies in order to enhance employability, adaptability and the culture of entrepreneurship and to promote equal opportunities.

The Commission has applied Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to employment aid in and outside assisted areas in numerous decisions and has also stated its policy, in the guidelines on aid to employment(3), in the notice on monitoring of State aid and reduction of labour costs(4), in the guidelines on national regional aid(5) and in Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises(6).

In its Recommendation 86/379/EEC of 24 July 1986 on the employment of disabled people in the Community(7), the Council established a guideline framework setting out examples of positive action to promote the employment and training of disabled people, and in its Resolution of 17 June 1999 on equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities(8), affirmed the importance of giving specific attention inter alia to recruitment, retention, training and lifelong learning with regard to disabled persons.

In the interests of coherence, the ceilings should be harmonised with those fixed in the guidelines on national regional aid and in Regulation (EC) No 70/2001, which allowed aid to be calculated by reference to the creation of employment linked to investment projects.

According to the European social policy agenda adopted by the Nice European Council in December 2000, Council Decision 2002/177/EC of 18 February 2002 on guidelines for Member States' employment policies for the year 2002(3) and Council Recommendation 2002/549/EC of 21 June 2002 on the broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States and the Community(4), the way in which work is organised must be adapted to the needs of both businesses and individuals.

an indication of how this strategy and these priorities have taken account of the indicative guidelines referred to in Article 10(3), the economic policies, the strategy for developing employment through improving the adaptability and skills of people and, where appropriate, the regional policies of the Member State concerned;

Conditions for compatibility under Article 87(3) have been laid down in frameworks or guidelines such as those for State aids for small and medium-sized enterprises(19) (SMEs), undertakings in deprived urban areas(20), employment(21) and training(22), national regional aid(23), environmental protection(24) and research and development(25).

This Regulation should not exempt aid for the creation of employment where this is cumulated with other State aid, including aid granted by national, regional or local authorities, or with Community assistance, in relation to the same eligible costs or to the costs of investments to which the employment concerned is linked, when such cumulation exceeds the thresholds fixed in this Regulation or in the Community rules on State aid for investment, in particular the Guidelines on national regional aid and Regulation (EC) No 70/2001.

From 1 January 1986 to 31 December 1988, 44,5 % of appropriations available for operations under Article 3 (1) shall be reserved for operations which are eligible and which conform to the Guidelines for the Management of the Fund aimed at promoting employment in Greece, the autonomous regions of Andalucia, the Canary Islands, Castilla-Leon, Castilla-La-Mancha, Extremadura, Galicia, Murcia Ceuta and Melilla, the French overseas departments, Ireland, the Mezzogiorno, Portugal and Northern-Ireland.