JOINT STATEMENT adopted at the end of the tripartite conference on employment and stability in the Community (Luxembourg, 24 June 1976)

1. The representatives of the workers' and employers' organizations met at Luxembourg on 24 June 1976 with members of the Council and Commission of the European Communities, under the Chairmanship of Mr Raymond Vouel, President-in-Office of the Council of the European Communities.

2. On this occasion, they discussed in depth the problem of employment and stability in the Community, thus continuing in greater detail the discussions held in Brussels on 18 November 1975 on the economic and social situation in the Community.

The conference expressed the resolve of all the participants to unify their efforts in order: - to consolidate the economic recovery, so as to

- achieve growth while maintaining stability over the coming years, and thus

- to create the conditions for full employment and further social progress.

3. All the participants emphasized the need for the rapid and simultaneous restoration of full and better employment and stability in the Community. They noted that these two aims were closely linked.

They also noted that it will not in the future be possible to solve any of these problems in isolation.

4. The conference noted that as regards both supply and demand, economic policies should be directed at achieving the conditions for sustained and balanced growth in all the regions of the Community over the coming years in order to speed up the absorption of unemployment and a return to full employment by 1980.

5. The scale of this growth will indeed depend on the particular situations obtaining in Member States ; however, for the Community as a whole, the average annual growth rate should be approximately 5 % over the period from 1976 to 1980. This will require a greater increase in investments, and particularly in investments which create new jobs.

6. To attain the above targets, joint and coordinated efforts would have to be made by the governments, by employers and labour and by the Community institutions, with each party acting within its own field of responsibility.

7. A policy of regular and lasting growth pre-supposes that all suitable measures to avoid further inflationary tendencies should be taken in good time.

The rate of inflation in the Member States should be reduced gradually to one which is compatible with lasting stability and should be approximately 4 to 5 % by 1980 at the latest.

8. The governments will make an essential contribution towards restoring price stability by means of: - a reduction of budget deficits in the medium term,

- a monetary policy corresponding to the growth prospects for the the national product,

- a dynamic competition policy,

- a dynamic labour policy.

9. Only a joint effort by all the parties to adapt trends in incomes of every kind to objective economic criteria, accompanied by price restraint, will make it possible to create once again the conditions for a more balanced and equitable economic and social situation.

10. The parties to this conference also discussed a number of specific measures for improving the employment situation, particularly for young people. Such measures will be taken according to the circumstances obtaining in the various Member States, and will be periodically examined by the Community institutions. Employers and labour will be associated with this examination.

11. Both governments and employers and labour will take appropriate measures to promote workers' interests and their participation in the life of undertakings.

12. An improvement in the coordination of the economic and monetary policies of the Member States should, moreover, contribute towards a greater alignment of economic development in the member countries and thus help towards the achievement of the common targets. For this purpose particular attention should be paid to structural and regional problems.

13. It was agreed that the dialogue begun at this conference should be continued. For this purpose, a further conference could be convened in due course to review developments in the situation and to take stock of the results achieved by the joint efforts of all parties.

14. Until then, informal contacts will be maintained between the representatives of the institutions and of employers and labour whenever this appears necessary to one of these parties.

15. The Standing Committee on Employment will continue with its work, paying particular attention to the specific measures designed to help improve the employment situation. The Economic Policy Committee will, moreover, establish contact with the representatives of employers and labour for the purpose of periodically examining with them short-term economic prospects and the Community's medium-term programme.