COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 27 March 1995

on the transposition and application of Community social legislation

(95/C 168/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to the Council conclusions of 21 December 1992 on the effective implementation and enforcement of Community legislation in the area of social affairs (1),

Whereas there is already a significant body of Community legislation in the area of social affairs, notably in the area of health and safety at work;

Whereas it is essential that each Member State fully and accurately transpose into national legislation the Community legislation addressed to it, within the required deadlines;

Whereas it is also essential that measures be taken by the Member States so that national legislation transposing Community legislation is effectively applied;

Whereas citizens of the Union must have the right to avail themselves of Community legislation as it concerns them; whereas the European Court of Justice has held that national courts must interpret national legislation transposing Community Directives in the light of these Directives;

Whereas only if the Directives are transposed into the national legislation of each of the Member States do the undertakings entered into by those States within the Community framework have any meaning; whereas if the Directives are not fully and accurately transposed, the very existence of a European social area may be put at risk;

Whereas the quality of drafting of Community legislation, on which the Council adopted guidelines in its resolution of 8 June 1993 (2), together with the use of consistent legal provisions and the setting of appropriate deadlines for transposition will facilitate the proper transposition and efficient application of Community legislation;

Whereas Member States must ensure that the Community's legal provisions in the social sphere are fully applied and effectively implemented;

Whereas in its White Paper entitled 'European Social Policy: a way forward for the Union`, and in particular Chapter X thereof, the Commission considers it essential that Community social legislation be properly applied in each Member State if it is to have a real impact on the situation of individuals in Europe,

I. EMPHASIZES THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES:

1. it is essential that Community social legislation become a tangible reality for citizens.

This aim will not be achieved unless the provisions of that legislation are applied equally effectively in all Member States and, in the case of Directives, are faithfully transposed;

2. in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty, it is the Commission's duty to ensure the full transposition of Community legislation by the Member States which have to apply it by choosing the appropriate form and methods of fulfilling their obligations.

The Court of Justice of the European Communities ensures that Community legislation is observed.

II. CALLS UPON THE COMMISSION:

3. to facilitate the transposition and application by Member States of all Community social legislation in particular by:

(a) enhancing, right from the proposal stage, the content of prior impact studies, with particular reference, to the greatest extent possible, to information on existing national and Community provisions and assessment of the implications for employment and small and medium-sized enterprises;

(b) proposing sufficiently long periods for transposition;

4. to maintain and strengthen its system of consultation, notably as regards management and labour:

(a) consultation of management and labour at Community level provides a firmer foundation for Community social legislation and must therefore be stepped up;

(b) moreover, wherever possible, Directives should allow management and labour, in accordance with national legislation and/or practices, to be involved in the transposition of Community social legislation through collective bargaining agreements or agreements concluded at national level; however, it is for the Member States to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that at all times the outcome required by the relevant Directive can be guaranteed;

(c) the relevant Committees will, where appropriate, be asked, strictly within their terms of reference, to contribute to the drawing up of documents assessing the implementation of Directives;

5. as regards assessment of the scale of occupational hazards, which is a useful indicator of the results of steps taken to improve safety and health at work, to endeavour:

- to complete the work in progress on harmonizing statistics on accidents at the workplace, and

- to improve, in agreement with the Member States, the data available on occupational diseases.

6. to improve information on the implementation of existing Directives by regularly publishing tables, Directive by Directive, listing the measures, communicated by Member States, of transposition into the legislation of each of the Member States.

III. INVITES THE MEMBER STATES:

7. (a) to make available to the Commission, in the context of the transparency which is a token of the Union's cohesion, information on the effective implementation of Community legislation, on the basis of the tables and documents referred to in points 6 and 9.

The Commission can thus relay this information by way of the usual channels to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions which will then be kept informed of the implementation of Community social legislation;

(b) to encourage management and labour to play a full and active part in the implementation of Community legislation at national level, in accordance with the procedures proper to each Member State.

IV. INVITES MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION:

8. to propose that forms of cooperation be set up to encourage the gathering and distribution of information on progress made and difficulties encountered in bringing about the effective implementation of Community legislation in each of the Member States, inter alia, via the Committee of Senior Labour Inspectors in the context of its duties;

9. to improve information on the implementation of existing Directives by drawing up a document for each Directive giving, where necessary, appropriate indicators.

This document, highlighting the experiences and/or difficulties of each Member State in applying the Directive, would make it possible to measure the impact of the Directive and/or any difficulties in putting it into effect.

V. UNDERTAKES:

10. To discuss regularly the transposition of Directives on the basis of the tables and documents, referred to in points 6 and 9, without prejudice to the Commission's supervisory powers.

11. In the context of the necessary discussion of the lessons to be drawn from implementing Community social legislation, to encourage consultation with management and labour at Community level.

(1) OJ No C 49, 19. 2. 1993, p. 6.

(2) OJ No C 166, 17. 6. 1993, p. 1.