Equal


Equal : A European Community (EC) initiative concerning transnational cooperation to promote new means of combating discrimination and inequalities in connection with the labour market. The increasing interdependence of the European Union (EU) Member States' economies led to a new employment chapter (Title VIII) being incorporated in the Treaty of Amsterdam, which entered into force in 1999. This provides for the development of a European employment strategy and annual adoption of guidelines (2001), which the Member States are asked to take into account in their national policies. The employment guidelines, which are transposed into national action plans (NAP) for each Member State, are based on four pillars: employability; entrepreneurship; adaptability; and equal opportunities. The EU is also developing an integrated strategy to combat social exclusion and discrimination on grounds of sex or sexual orientation, race or ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, and disability or age. There are policies and programmes in this area, particularly under Articles 13 - new Article III-8, TEC (combating discrimination) and 137 - new Article III-104, TEC (promoting social integration). EQUAL also helps to implement this strategy, but is confined to action in the labour market. The European Commission would like to build on the experience gained with the ADAPT and EMPLOYMENT programmes implemented in the period 1994-99. For the period 2000-06, it is therefore including EQUAL in the four new Community initiatives, along with INTERRE.G. III (strengthening cross-border cooperation to promote balanced development and European integration), LEADER (integrated territorial development strategies and support for cooperation between rural territories) and URBAN II (economic and social regeneration of troubled urban districts in the EU), as presented in Regulation No 1260/1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds. See: Communication from the Commission to the Member States of 14.04.2000 establishing the guidelines for the Community initiative EQUAL. Partnerships are an essential component in implementing EQUAL. Development partnerships, which are the ultimate beneficiaries of financial aid, bring together all the parties that are interested and have something to contribute: public authorities at national, regional or local level; local authorities; public employment services; non-governmental organizations (NGOs); enterprises, and especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and the social partners. All these players cooperate to draw up a strategy for action, define and decide upon joint aims (empowerment principle) and seek innovative ways of combating inequality and discrimination. The EU Member States define which of the following two types of partnership caters best for national circumstances: (a) geographic development partnerships, which bring together players in a specific geographical area; and (b) sectoral development partnerships, which cover a particular economical industrial sector and may also be geared to a specific target group. As the European Social Fund (ESF) is the only Community fund supporting development partnerships, action eligible under other Structural Funds - Employment Regional Development Fund (ERDF), "guidance" section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Funds (EAGGF), Financial Instruments for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) - may attract subsidies as long as they comply with the provisions of the Treaty, especially those concerning state aid. EQUAL round 2, which involves each EU Member States' selecting its own Development Partnerships, started in autumn 2004 and will be extended progressively to all Member States. The launch date for the transnational cooperation search is set for 1 January 2005. The EU Member States base their EQUAL strategy on specific thematic areas under the four pillars of the employment guidelines. These can be reviewed every two years in the light of developments in the labour market and are as follows: Pillar 1: Employability (a) To ease access to the labour market for those who are having problems entering and returning to the labour market. (b) To combat racism and xenophobia at work. Pillar 2: Entrepreneurship (c) To make it possible for anyone to start up a business by providing the tools necessary to do so, and to identify new opportunities for employment in urban and rural areas. (d) To enhance the social economy (third sector), especially services of public interest, by concentrating on improving job quality. Pillar 3: Adaptability (e) To promote lifelong learning and inclusive practices encouraging recruitment and stable employment for those suffering from discrimination or unequal treatment at work. (f) To foster the ability in enterprises and amongst workers to adapt to economic change and the use of new information technologies. Pillar 4: Equal opportunities for men and women (g) To reconcile family and working life, and boost employment amongst women and men who have left work by developing more effective and flexible forms of organization of work and personal services. (h) To reduce the gender pay gap and combat job segregation. See: ADAPT; European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); European Social Fund (ESF); other entries under "Equal" and "Equality"
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