Economic aspects of European Union enlargement: the crucial years ahead

Recommendation 1647 (2004)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 30 January 2004 (8th Sitting) (seeDoc.10012, report of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development, rapporteur: Mr Severin). Text adopted by the Assembly on 30 January 2004 (8th Sitting).

Thesaurus

The Parliamentary Assembly refers to its Resolution 1365 (2004) on economic aspects of European Union enlargement: the crucial years ahead, and recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

1 consider the setting up of a joint Council of Europe-European Union working committee with a mandate to devise policy orientations and to encourage the harmonisation of European laws and policies in favour of social, economic and territorial cohesion, as well as sustainable development, in greater Europe;

2 examine the possibility of creating a European forum for social dialogue involving representatives of major European organisations, trade unions, employers’ associations and civil society in regular consultations to assess national and European policies for economic and social cohesion, support the work of regional co-operation structures, foster the exchange of best practices among countries and encourage a multi-party cross-sector dialogue at the national, regional and pan-European levels;

3 urge the member states of the Council of Europe:

3.1 to thoroughly implement the framework of the Revised Social Charter and make better use of it in reducing social and economic disparities between regions and states;

3.2 to ensure full support for the Council of Europe anti-corruption and anti-money-laundering measures, including through full adherence to the principles set out in the Civil Law Convention on Corruption (ETS No. 173) and the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (ETS No. 174) and the Additional Protocol to the latter (ETS No. 191), Committee of Ministers Recommendation Rec(2003)4 on common rules against corruption in the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns, the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime (ETS No. 141), the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (ETS No. 30) and its two Additional Protocols (ETS Nos. 99 and 182), and the Octopus and Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) projects;

3.3 to promote the mobility of their labour force while ensuring fair access to social security services and equal rights of workers;

3.4 to pursue the efforts to achieve higher quality in public services administration and regulatory convergence;

3.5 to invest more in pan-European research and development networks;

3.6 to devise national strategies to reduce levels of poverty.