B3-0771/93

Resolution on the Social Protocol agreed at Maastricht

The European Parliament,

A.having regard to the fact that the United Kingdom did not sign the Social Charter in 1989 and that no decisions have yet been taken on many of the proposals of the Social Action Programme tabled by the Commission as an instrument for social cohesion for the internal market because of the United Kingdom government's refusal to sign,

B.having regard to its resolution of 7 April 1992 on the results of the Intergovernmental Conferences,

C.whereas one Member State has chosen not to be part of the Agreement on Social Policy concluded between the other Member States,

D.having regard to the process of ratification of the Maastricht Treaty in the Member States,

E.believing that the Agreement on Social Policy should be an integral part of the development of a people's Europe that is relevant to its citizens' daily experience,

F.believing that the Agreement on Social Policy is only the beginning of a social dimension of the Community, because important points such as minimum social security rules and works councils still have to be decided unanimously in the Council, even after the Maastricht Treaty is ratified,

1.Reaffirms its view that the Agreement on Social Policy should be applicable to all twelve Member States;

2.Asks the Commission and the Member States at the next Intergovernmental Conference to adopt, in cooperation with the European Parliament, qualified majority voting procedures for all minimum social legislation;

3.Instructs its Legal Service to formulate appropriate advice for the Parliament to ensure that the benefits of the Agreement on Social Policy apply to all citizens of the Community;

4.Calls on the Community authorities and the Member States to implement social policies which permit social dumping to be opposed, respect for accepted social benefits to be guaranteed by preventing any levelling down, and the promotion of social rights to be ensured in all the Member States;

5.Considers that there is a need for Parliament to promote the social dialogue by keeping in touch with the social partners;

6.Calls upon the British House of Commons to support the accession of the United Kingdom to the Agreement on Social Policy when voting on this issue after Royal Assent for the Maastricht Treaty in the United Kingdom;

7.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the social partners and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.