---

Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council

My Right Honourable Friend The Minister for Employment (Esther McVey MP) has made the following Written Statement.

I will be attending the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO), which will be held on 11 December 2014 in Brussels.

The Council will seek political agreement on a Directive concerning Working Time in inland waterway transport. It will also seek agreement on a General Approach to a Directive on the employment rights of seafarers.

The Council will seek a General Approach to the proposed Regulation on the European network of employment services (EURES).

There will be an exchange of views on the subject of “Investing in Youth Employment”, including discussions on the implementation of the Youth Guarantee and the European Alliance for Apprenticeships.

The European Commission will present the Annual Growth Survey 2015, the Joint Employment Report and the Alert Mechanism Report, and seek the views of Member States.

The Italian Presidency will report on the progress of the Directive to encourage improvements in the workplace health and safety of women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. The Council will also seek a general approach to the proposed Directive on the gender balance of non-executive directors on company boards.

There will be a progress report and orientation debate on the first reading of a proposed Directive on equal treatment of persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. The Council will also adopt Conclusions on the review of progress of the EU institutions and Member States on the Beijing Platform for Action – “Beijing + 20”

Under Any Other Business, the Italian Presidency will present a report of the Rome conference on “Unlocking the potential of the Social Economy for EU Growth”, held in Rome on 17-18 November 2014. The Latvian delegation will present the work programme of their upcoming Presidency.