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BackJust less than two weeks until the EU Employment and Social Affairs Ministers will meet in Brussels. This is the last opportunity for the Italian Council Presidency to prove whether it is capable of bringing important social policy initiatives to conclusion. However, the way things stand this is unlikely to be achieved, even though allegedly, the agenda includes politically charged dossiers. Thus, instead of political agreements one will only present reports to be at least able to show that one has definitely made an attempt to find solutions. In doing so, the Italian Presidency has not lived up to expectations; admittedly it is of course not solely responsible for this lack of progress.
In spite of years of negotiation no progress regarding the Maternity Leave Directive
The proposal of the EU Commission regarding the Maternity Leave Directive has been negotiated at Council level since October 2008. Sometimes, the situation had been so hopeless that for example the dossier had not been touched since the Irish Presidency. The reasons for this are the strongly diverging opinions because of the length of the maternity leave - the EU Council demands 14, the EU Parliament 20 weeks - as well as because of the linking of maternity leave and parental leave, which has been requested by the European Parliament. The first ones to approach the issue again were the Italians, also because of the fact that the EU Commission considered to withdraw the proposal within the scope of the REFIT Programme. This put both EU Parliament and Council on the alert and in a mood to restart negotiations; however, once again no agreement has been reached and therefore the upcoming Employment Council will only discuss the issue and present a report.
Little movement regarding the proposal for more women on supervisory boards
The centrepiece of the proposal of the EU Commission for more women on supervisory boards is that codes of practice have to be implemented and adhered to until a quota of 40 % on supervisory boards of listed companies has been achieved. This would affect about 5,000 European enterprises. What is interesting is the fact that Germany that had blocked this notion for years, has now achieved a breakthrough at national level by implementing a 30 percent female quota from 2016, which will also apply to public sector companies. And it is exactly this resolution, which makes it now extremely difficult for Germany to support the proposal by the EU, as this might undermine the national agreement. Hence, it will also for Italy be very difficult to reach agreement at the upcoming Council as their will simply not be any agreement against the will of Germany.
Italian Presidency will not go down in history regarding the dealmakers
Another point on the agenda of the Council will be a proposal on the regulation of certain aspects of organisation of working time in inland waterway transport. However, it is also doubtful whether agreement will be reached regarding this issue. The same applies to the Anti-Discrimination Directive, which has been discussed since 2008 and which is supposed to provide protection against discrimination outside the workplace. However, here too there will be no more than a progress report and a discussion. Hence, the Italian Presidency will probably not go down in history and will not be able to succeed as a dealmaker, as apart from fine words, honest efforts and many meetings, success at social and employment policy level will probably fail to materialise.
The proposal of the EU Commission regarding the Maternity Leave Directive has been negotiated at Council level since October 2008. Sometimes, the situation had been so hopeless that for example the dossier had not been touched since the Irish Presidency. The reasons for this are the strongly diverging opinions because of the length of the maternity leave - the EU Council demands 14, the EU Parliament 20 weeks - as well as because of the linking of maternity leave and parental leave, which has been requested by the European Parliament. The first ones to approach the issue again were the Italians, also because of the fact that the EU Commission considered to withdraw the proposal within the scope of the REFIT Programme. This put both EU Parliament and Council on the alert and in a mood to restart negotiations; however, once again no agreement has been reached and therefore the upcoming Employment Council will only discuss the issue and present a report.
Little movement regarding the proposal for more women on supervisory boards
The centrepiece of the proposal of the EU Commission for more women on supervisory boards is that codes of practice have to be implemented and adhered to until a quota of 40 % on supervisory boards of listed companies has been achieved. This would affect about 5,000 European enterprises. What is interesting is the fact that Germany that had blocked this notion for years, has now achieved a breakthrough at national level by implementing a 30 percent female quota from 2016, which will also apply to public sector companies. And it is exactly this resolution, which makes it now extremely difficult for Germany to support the proposal by the EU, as this might undermine the national agreement. Hence, it will also for Italy be very difficult to reach agreement at the upcoming Council as their will simply not be any agreement against the will of Germany.
Italian Presidency will not go down in history regarding the dealmakers
Another point on the agenda of the Council will be a proposal on the regulation of certain aspects of organisation of working time in inland waterway transport. However, it is also doubtful whether agreement will be reached regarding this issue. The same applies to the Anti-Discrimination Directive, which has been discussed since 2008 and which is supposed to provide protection against discrimination outside the workplace. However, here too there will be no more than a progress report and a discussion. Hence, the Italian Presidency will probably not go down in history and will not be able to succeed as a dealmaker, as apart from fine words, honest efforts and many meetings, success at social and employment policy level will probably fail to materialise.