EMPLOYMENT COUNCIL : FRENCH PRESIDENCY LOOKS BACK ON "FRUITFUL YEAR".

At a press conference following the Employment and Social Affairs Council meeting, on 17 December, French Minister Xavier Bertrand described with satisfaction the ministers' track record over the past six months under the French Presidency - this despite the vote in the European Parliament's plenary the same day on the Council's common position on the Working Time Directive. "We launched the renewed social agenda for Europe at the beginning of our Presidency. We can say it was a fruitful year with three directives - on temporary agency work, the European works councils and the improvement of labour conditions for maritime workers - that we have successfully completed. France did not accomplish this alone, we did it together. Social Europe now has to accelerate and continue with the progress which has been made last year".

The Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Vladimir Spidla, highlighted in particular the progress Europe has made: "We made real achievements this year. We have achieved varied complicated tasks. It is not true that the European Parliament is more social than the Council. We accomplished three directives with a social focus. That is as well worth a lot".

During the morning session of the Employment Council, the ministers discussed the social impact of the financial and economic crisis. They did this on the basis of the Commission's economic recovery plan and the plans to reinforce the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. Under these plans - among a range of other issues - fell the review of the European Globalisation...