(1)

In its Communication ‘A Concerted Strategy for modernising social protection’ of 14 July 1999 the Commission made suggestions for the enhancement of cooperation in the field of social protection by, among other things, setting up a group of high-level officials.

(2)

In its resolution of 16 February 2000, the European Parliament welcomed the Commission's communication and the creation of such a group.

(3)

In its Conclusions of 17 December 1999 on the strengthening of cooperation for modernising and improving social protection (1), the Council supported the Commission's proposal to establish a mechanism for enhanced cooperation, brought about by the work of the group of high-level officials, for the implementation of this action. The Council stressed that this kind of cooperation should cover all forms of social protection and, where necessary, help the Member States to improve and strengthen their social protection systems in accordance with their national priorities. It also recalled the competence of the Member States for the organisation and financing of social protection and endorsed the four broad objectives within the overall challenge of modernising social protection systems as identified by the Commission: namely to make work pay and provide secure income, to make pensions safe and pension systems sustainable, to promote social inclusion and to ensure high quality and sustainable health care. It also underlined that equality between women and men must be mainstreamed in all activities aiming at these four objectives. Finally, the Council recognised that the aspects relating to finance are common to all the objectives.

(4)

The conclusions of the Lisbon European Council on 23 and 24 March 2000 acknowledged the importance of social protection in further developing and modernising an active and dynamic welfare state in Europe, and called upon the Council to strengthen cooperation between Member States by exchanging experiences and best practice on the basis of improved information networks.

(5)

At Nice and at its subsequent meetings, the European Council has regularly endorsed the work done by the Social Protection Committee in promoting and enhancing the Union policy exchange and coordination of social protection.

(6)

The Social Protection Committee set up by Council Decision 2000/436/EC (2) repealed and replaced by Council Decision 2004/689/EC (3) has clearly demonstrated its utility as an advisory body for both the Council and the Commission and has contributed actively to the development of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC), as established by the Lisbon European Council on 23 and 24 March 2000. The opinion of the Social Protection Committee ‘Reinvigorating the social OMC in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy’ as endorsed by the Council on 17 June 2011, reaffirms the validity of the objectives and tools of the social OMC. The Committee's role in the framework of the OMC should be reflected in this Decision.

(7)

In its conclusions of 27 and 28 June 2013, the European Council stated that the social dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union should be strengthened. As a first step, it is important to better monitor and take into account the social and labour market situation within the Economic and Monetary Union, notably by using appropriate social and employment indicators within the European Semester. It is also important to ensure better coordination of employment and social policies, while fully respecting national competences.

(8)

In its conclusions of 24 and 25 October 2013, the European Council stated that the coordination of economic, employment and social policies will be further enhanced in line with existing procedures while fully respecting national competences. The European Council considered that this requires more work to strengthen cooperation between the various Council configurations in order to ensure consistency of those policies in line with the common objectives.

(9)

This Decision should reflect the development of the European Semester and the role of the Committee in this process. In particular, Council Regulation (EC) No 1466/97 (4) provides that the Economic and Financial Committee, the Economic Policy Committee, the Employment Committee and the Social Protection Committee are to be consulted within the framework of the European Semester, where appropriate. Moreover, Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) provides that the in-depth reviews are to take into account, where appropriate, Council recommendations or invitations addressed to Member States. It also provides that a corrective action plan for any Member States for which an excessive imbalance procedure is opened is to take into account the economic and social impact of the policy actions and is to be consistent with the broad economic policy guidelines and the employment guidelines.

(10)

The Committee and the Union bodies involved in the coordination of economic and social policies, in particular the Employment Committee, the Economic and Financial Committee and the Economic Policy Committee, should work closely together. Where appropriate and mutually agreed between the involved Committees, the Committee's cooperation with the Employment Committee, the Economic and Financial Committee and the Economic Policy Committee may include the organisation of joint meetings, in particular in the context of the Committees' respective roles within the European Semester.

(11)

In order to effectively deliver on its Treaty mandate and to allow for the necessary flexibility to adapt to the timetable of the activities of the Committee, in particular within the framework of the European Semester cycle, the governance provisions relating to the functioning of the Committee should be revised with a view to ensuring efficiency and continuity.

(12)

Decision 2004/689/EC should be repealed,