Subsidiarity monitoring in the area of social Policy
Legal basis
Social policy: Articles 151 to 161 TFEU
Click here to see the consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon.
Under the Treaty of Lisbon, social policy is an area where competence is shared between the Union and the Member States (Article 4 TFEU).
The Social Policy Agreement signed by eleven Member States at the Maastricht Conference was incorporated into the EC Treaty by the Treaty of Amsterdam. Between 1993 and 1999, there were two distinct legal bases for social policy measures: the EC Treaty itself and a separate agreement which the United Kingdom opted out of. Under the Lisbon Treaty, all social policy measures are now adopted on the basis of Title X of the TFEU.
The social policy objectives set out in the Lisbon Treaty are: the promotion of employment, improved living and working conditions, proper social protection, dialogue between management and labour, the development of human resources with a view to lasting high employment and the combating of exclusion. They were inspired by the 1961 European Social Charter and the 1989 Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights for Workers.
Under the Lisbon Treaty, a new article, Article 152 TFEU, specifically addresses the role of the social partners. The role of the tripartite social summit is also recognised in this article.
Article TFUE 156, which requires the Commission to encourage cooperation between the Member States in this field, also adds that the Commission's action may take the form of initiatives particular to the open method of coordination (i.e. the establishment of guidelines and indicators, the organisation of exchanges of best practice, periodic monitoring and evaluation). It should also be pointed out that this article makes specific reference to the requirement to keep the European Parliament fully informed about such initiatives. Lastly, a declaration annexed to the Final Act emphasises that such initiatives are of a complementary nature and are not aimed at harmonising national systems.
Further information on the CoR's work in this area
The CoR commission responsible for work in this area is the
Commission for Economic and Social Policy (ECOS). Click here for comprehensive information about this commission, its work programme and activities.
See also the website of the
Committee of the Regions' Europe 2020 Monitoring Platform (
click here), as the "Europe 2020 Strategy", which replaced the "Lisbon Strategy" in June 2010, covers a number of cross-cutting fields which have a direct impact on the areas on which the Committee of the Regions must be consulted.
