What about the role of small- and medium-sized enterprises or farmers' representatives in the agreement on social policy?

The Commission is bringing forward this proposal to the Council pursuant to article 4(2) of the agreement on social policy.

Although the representative bodies involved in the sectoral dialogue are numerous, only three organizations participate in the agreement on social policy.

The aims of the Agreement on Social Policy are:

The United Kingdom's accession, in Amsterdam, to the agreement on social policy, has strengthened this development.

To achieve aims of the Agreement on Social Policy the European Union was to "support and complement" the policies of member states.

The Agreement on Social Policy annexed to the Treaty on European Union reflects this approach.

Matters covered by the Agreement on Social Policy may be implemented by way of Council decision at the joint request of the signatory parties.

We also think that the criticism of articles 3 and 4 in the agreement on social policy, as it is presented in paragraphs 12 and 16, is unwarranted.

Article 2(4) of the agreement on social policy provides that a Member State may entrust management and labour, at their joint request, with the implementation of directives adopted under the agreement.

First and foremost here is the decision to incorporate the Agreement on Social Policy into the Treaty, which rectifies an anomaly from the past and creates a firm basis for socio-economic development in Europe.

The UK subsequently adopted the main legislation previously agreed under the Agreement on Social Policy, the 1994 Works Council Directive, which required workforce consultation in businesses, and the 1996 Parental Leave Directive.

For example, Article 3 of the Agreement on Social Policy provides a legal basis for the consultation of management and labour at the Community level by the Commission before ii submits its proposals in the social policy field.

In relation to the agreement on social policy at Maastricht, I noted that Jacques Delors has suggested that the United Kingdom will now be a haven for inward investment from the United States and Japan.

At the eleventh hour of the Summit, it was decided that instead of the United Kingdom 'opting-out' from the revised treaty provision on social policy, the other eleven would 'opt-in'for a separate protocol and agreement on social policy.

Fourthly, the central provisions where an agreement between the social partners is reached before 30 September 1998 and if the parties so request the Commission will make a proposal for a Council decision in accordance with Article 4(2) of the agreement on social policy.

The UK subsequently was the only member state to veto the Social Charter being included as the "Social Chapter" of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty - instead, an Agreement on Social Policy was added as a protocol.

I am referring to the Directive on European Works Councils, which, without the social dialogue, between the European Trade Union Confederation and UNICE, and the hearing in accordance with the agreement on social policy, would have come to nothing.

In order to respect the autonomy of the social partners under the social protocol procedure, the Commission made it clear in its communication on 14 December 1993 concerning the application of the agreement on social policy that the Council could not amend the social partners agreement.

If the UK government has not signed the Agreement on Social Policy by the time it comes into force, it will be possible for the Commission to present a revised proposal including those mentioned above, which could then be adopted by a qualified majority of the eleven signatory states [see page 34].

Furthermore, the insertion into the treaty instituting the European Community of the agreement on social policy will provide for the creation of a single market in social and labour affairs, contributing to the development of a consistent policy at the Community level and, I emphasize this, with respect to applicant countries.

Following the election of Tony Blair as UK Prime Minister in 1997 the UK formally subscribed to the Agreement on Social Policy, which allowed it to be included with minor amendments as the Social Chapter of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam.

The Commission's clear remit to promote social dialogue, the European Social Charter, the Agreement on Social Policy which has now been incorporated into the Amsterdam Treaty, the employment chapter in this Treaty and not least the effects of imminent monetary union give the social dialogue greater significance than ever before.