19-20 March Economic and Social Committee

Date: 27/03/1997

THE Committee supported a ban on the production, sale and use of anti-personnel mines when it adopted an opinion on the challenges facing Europe's defence-related industry. The ESC said that the European Commission should concentrate on ensuring that jobs and technological expertise were protected at a time when the defence industry was going through major restructuring. It also called on member states to favour European armaments producers when buying new weapons and to try to ensure that, where possible, they took a 'single market' approach to industries which have traditionally been protected by national security considerations.

VOLUNTARY service schemes should not jeopardise 'real' jobs, the Committee warned. Adopting an opinion on the Commission's proposed European Voluntary Service for Young People project - set to run between 1998 and 2002 - the ESC said that while the programme would provide valuable experience for young people at the start of their working lives, it was important to avoid any distortion of the labour market. Workers' and employers' organisations needed to be involved at all levels of the scheme in order to prevent 'normal' employment being replaced by voluntary work. The Committee stressed that its endorsement of the programme was conditional on the Commission providing guarantees to this effect.

TURKISH universities should be included in the Commission-sponsored Socrates and Leonardo educational exchange programmes, said ESC members. The Committee argued that there were considerable cultural and educational advantages for both the EU and Turkey in such a proposal. The ESC stressed it was still concerned about Turkey's human rights record and in particular its treatment of the country's Kurdish minority. Members added that they remained unhappy about the lack of progress on the Cyprus question in recent months. But the Committee noted that the European Parliament had called on the Commission to block certain funds earmarked for Turkey under the MEDA programme, “with the exception of [money] destined for the promotion of democracy, human rights and a civil society”. Education was clearly covered by such parameters, the Committee argued.

CRAFT industries should be given support at Union level through measures to complement existing programmes designed to promote small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the Committee said. The proposed measures should take account of the specific nature of craft industries as a breeding ground for new enterprises and new jobs. The ESC argued that the specific nature of the industry meant that any effective support programme for craft workers must be tailored to meet their needs.