Print   

TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES(as amended by the Amsterdam Treaty)Excerpts: Articles 2, 3, 13, 137, 141( emphasis are added)Article 2The Community shall have as its task, by establishing a common market and an economic and monetary union and by implementing common policies or activities referred to in Articles 3 and 3a, to promote throughout the Community a harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities, a high level of employment and of social protection,equality between men and women, sustainable and non-inflationary growth, a high degree of competitiveness and convergence of economic performance, a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment, the raising of the standard of living and quality of life, and economic and social cohesion and solidarity among Member States."Article 31. For the purposes set out in Article 2, the activities of the Community shall include, as provided in this Treaty and in accordance with the timetable set out therein:(a) the prohibition, as between Member States, of customs duties and quantitative restrictions on the import and export of goods, and of all other measures having equivalent effect;(b) a common commercial policy;(c) an internal market characterized by the abolition, as between Member States, of obstacles to the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital;(d) measures concerning the entry and movement of persons as provided for in Title IV;(e) a common policy in the sphere of agriculture and fisheries;(f) a common policy in the sphere of transport;(g) a system ensuring that competition in the internal market is not distorted;(h) the approximation of the laws of Member States to the extent required for the functioning of the common market;(i) the promotion of coordination between employment policies of the Member States with a view to enhancing their effectiveness by developing a coordinated strategy for employment;(j) a policy in the social sphere comprising a European Social Fund;(k) the strengthening of economic and social cohesion;(l) a policy in the sphere of the environment;(m) the strengthening of the competitiveness of Community industry;(n) the promotion of research and technological development;(o) encouragement for the establishment and development of trans-European networks;(p) a contribution to the attainment of a high level of health protection;(q) a contribution to education and training of quality and to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States;(r) a policy in the sphere of development cooperation;(s) the association of the overseas countries and territories in order to increase trade and promote jointly economic and social development;(t) a contribution to the strengthening of consumer protection;(u) measures in the spheres of energy, civil protection and tourism.2. Inall the activitiesreferred to in this Article, the Community shallaim to eliminate inequalities, and to promoteequality, between men and women.Article 13Without prejudice of the other provisions of this Treaty and within the limits of the powers conferred by it upon the Community, the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament,may take appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age of sexual orientation.Article 137 (ex Article 118)1. With a view to achieving the objectives of Article 136, the Community shall support and complement the activities of the Member States in the following fields:improvement in particular of the working environment to protect workers' health and safety;working conditions;the information and consultation of workers;the integration of persons excluded from the labour market, without prejudice to Article 150;equality between men and womenwith regard to labour market opportunities and treatment at work.2. To this end, the Council may adopt, by means of directives, minimum requirements for gradual implementation, having regard to the conditions and technical rules obtaining in each of the Member States. Such directives shall avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and medium-sized undertakings.The Council shall act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 after consulting the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.The Council, acting in accordance with the same procedure, may adopt measures designed to encourage co-operation between Member States through initiatives aimed at improving knowledge, developing exchanges of information and best practices, promoting innovative approaches and evaluating experiences in order to combat social exclusion.3. However, the Council shall act unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, after consulting the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions in the following areas:social security and social protection of workers;protection of workers where their employment contract is terminated;representation and collective defence of the interests of workers and employers, including co-determination, subject to paragraph 6;conditions of employment for third country nationals legally residing in Community territory;financial contributions for promotion of employment and job creation, without prejudice to the provisions relating to the Social Fund.4. A Member State may entrust management and labour, at their joint request, with the implementation of directives adopted pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3.In this case, it shall ensure that, no later than the date on which a directive must be transposed in accordance with Article 249, management and labour have introduced the necessary measures by agreement, the Member State concerned being required to take any necessary measure enabling it at any time to be in a position to guarantee the results imposed by that directive.5. The provisions adopted pursuant to this Article shall not prevent any Member State from maintaining or introducing more stringent protective measures compatible with this Treaty.6. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to pay, the right of association, the right to strike or the right to impose lockouts.Article 141 (ex Article 119)1. Each Member State shall ensure that theprinciple of equal payfor male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value is applied.2. For the purpose of this Article, "pay" means the ordinary basic or minimum wage or salary and any other consideration, whether in cash or in kind, which the worker receives directly or indirectly, in respect of his employment, from his employer.Equal pay without discrimination based on sex means:a) that pay for the same work at piece rates shall be calculated on the basis of the same unit of measurement;(b) that pay for work at time rates shall be the same for the same job.3. The Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee, shall adopt measures to ensure the application of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation, including the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value.4. With a view to ensuring full equality in practice between men and women in working life, the principle of equal treatment shall not prevent any Member State from maintaining or adoptingmeasures providing for specific advantagesin order to make it easier for the under-represented sex to pursue a vocational activity or to prevent or compensate for disadvantages in professional careers.