During the Dutch presidency, the following Councils will meet to discuss this policy area:

- 08-07-2004 t/m 10-07-2004 - Maastricht - The Netherlands
- 09-09-2004 t/m 10-09-2004 - Noordwijk - The Netherlands
- 04-10-2004 - Luxembourg - Luxembourg
- 06-12-2004 t/m 07-12-2004 - Brussels - Belgium
Click here for a full list of upcoming meetings

Employment
The Treaty of Rome (1958) contained little on the subject of social policy. Its few provisions in this area mainly concerned the implementation of the free movement of employees and the freedom of establishment in the framework of the Common Market. Social policy received more attention after the entry into force of the Single European Act. And with the Treaty of Amsterdam, the promotion of a high level of employment became one of the EU’s key objectives.

At the suggestion of the Council of the EU, the Cologne European Council (June 1999) adopted the European Employment Pact, which contains the following essential elements:

- improvement of mutually supportive interaction between wage developments, fiscal policy and monetary policy;
- further development and better implementation of the coordinated employment strategy;
- strengthening of the structural reforms in order to improve competitiveness and the functioning of the markets for goods, services and capital.

Social policy
At the Strasbourg Summit in December 1989 the ‘Community Charter of the fundamental social rights of workers' was adopted with a view to strengthening the social dimension in the development of the European Community. Its provisions were incorporated into the Treaty of Amsterdam.

The Nice Summit (2000) launched a European Social Agenda, with the aim of modernising the existing European social model. In this modernised model it was agreed that fundamental human rights would be included in all future treaties. The main goals in the area of social policy are:

- to bring the employment rate up to 70% by 2010;
- to increase the opportunities for effective lifelong learning;
- to give an essential role to the social partners;
- to prevent skills shortages;
- to eradicate poverty and illiteracy;
- to invest more in human resources;
- to combat discrimination and develop a gender equality policy.

Health
Although the health of Europeans is good on the whole, it is still the case that one-fifth of people die before they reach the age of 65. The main causes of premature death are heart disease, strokes, cancer and accidents. In recent years the EU has also had to deal with new health hazards in the form of BSE and SARS.

The Maastricht Treaty provided an impetus to Community action in the area of public health with the introduction of provisions specifically on this subject. Under Article 152 of the Treaty, a high level of human health protection must be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Community policies and activities. The Treaty of Amsterdam fully endorses the importance of good public health and encourages Member States to take additional measures to obviate all sources of danger to human health.

The principal objectives of the EU in the field of public health are:

- to encourage the adoption of a healthy lifestyle;
- to prevent life-threatening illnesses and diseases, such as AIDS and cancer;
- to improve public health with regard to illnesses and diseases related to infections, accidents, drugs and rare diseases;
- to monitor and analyse improvements in health care in the EU Member States;
- to ensure the economic viability and quality of health care services for the elderly;
- to improve the provision of information.

Consumer protection
European consumer policy dates back to the 1970s. The heads of state and government first declared their political interest in this subject at the Paris Summit in 1972. Shortly after the Summit the European Commission formulated five fundamental rights in the field of consumer policy:

- the right to protection of health and safety;
- the right to protection of economic interests;
- the right to damages;
- the right to information and education;
- the right to representation.

The term 'consumers' was introduced into a treaty for the first time in 1986, in the Single European Act. Further measures were implemented in the area of consumer policy when the internal market was established on 1 January 1993. Consumer protection was enshrined in Community policy with the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty, the general objective being that the Community must contribute to strengthening consumer protection. The Treaty of Amsterdam also gave fresh impetus to consumer policy. According to this Treaty, the fundamental objectives of this policy are to protect the health, safety and economic interests of consumers, as well as to promote their right to information and education and their right to organise themselves in order to safeguard their interests. The interests of consumers must also be taken into account in defining and implementing other Community policies and activities.