Employers and Europe
2nd edition
DA
Danish Employers Confederation
Employers and Europe
December 2000
© Danish Employers Confederation
The Danish Employers Confederation (DA) consists of 16 employer organisations in different sectors:
industry, trade, transport, services and construction. DA – which has the status of a “main labour-
market organisation” - aims to co-ordinate the collective bargaining process and to promote the
interests of its member organisations vis-à-vis the political system.
Authors: Nils C. Trampe, Flemming Dreesen
Cover: Peter Stoltze
Layout: Pia Scheuer
Translation: Seán Martin
Printed by: Saloprint A/S
DA publ. no.: ###-###
ISBN no.:
Foreword
It makes sense that the European Union should address labour-market issues such as
health and safety at the workplace, the free movement of labour, equal opportunities,
education/training and measures to promote employment.
In fact, many issues obviously require a pan-European approach. The EU thus
works actively to remove hindrances to working in another member state, and takes
steps to promote mobility, e.g. via its language programmes. European cooperation on
the working environment constitutes an integral part of the overall efforts to
consolidate the Single Market. Though employment is the area most recently adopted
for European cooperation, it is one where a broader approach offers advantages,
because the member states can learn from one another’s experience. Moreover, they
can support one another in the conviction that the best solution to the problems of
unemployment and marginalisation of workers is an active labour-market policy
focusing on job creation - and with less emphasis on passive benefit schemes.
The treaties signed in Maastricht and Amsterdam stated that EU cooperation
must respect national labour-market traditions, including the role played by the
labour-market parties. At European level these parties – via the right to have their
opinions heard and to negotiate – have now gained influence on and joint
responsibility for European