23-24 April Economic and Social Committee

Date: 01/05/1997

THE EU faces a credibility gap if it does not respect human rights within its own borders while it attempts to push the issue with third countries, according to an opinion adopted by the Economic and Social Committee (ESC). It said that a clear definition of 'human rights' should be drawn up, rather than allowing each member state to define the criteria, and called for EU institutions - notably the European Parliament and the Commission - to be given greater influence in the area of human rights.

ESC members called for a dialogue between the European Commission and companies which decide to invest in countries with dubious human rights records. The aim would be for firms to draw up a 'code of conduct' based on EU principles. The ESC also urged the setting up of a European consultative committee on human rights. But opinion was divided on this issue, with some voting against because they wanted a clearer condemnation of certain countries - such as, for example, China - and employers who were not in favour of a code of conduct.

THE impact of economic and monetary union and budgetary restrictions on Union regions should have been considered in the Commission's first report on economic and social cohesion, said the ESC. The Commission should also improve the methodology it uses to determine which of the poorest regions in the EU should receive funding in the future.

A HUGE economic and cultural gulf divides the EU and its competitors in North America and Asia when it comes to information technology, said the Committee. It criticised a lack of concrete proposals in the Commission's Green Paper on living and working in the information society and called for the setting up of a European employment observatory to continually analyse the positive and negative effects of information technology on employment.

THE EU should develop a forestry strategy compatible with the environment, the ESC recommended. It noted that forests had never really been taken into account when decisions were taken at European level.