§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which words(a) are in the Social Agreement attached to Protocol 14 of the treaty on Economic Union signed at Maastricht and have not been transposed into the social chapter of the draft Treaty of Amsterdam and (b) have been added to draft articles in that draft treaty and do not appear in the current Social Agreement; and what are the reasons for the changes specified in (a) and (b) above. [7378]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonA copy of the draft Treaty of Amsterdam has been placed in the libraries of the House. The Social provisions, which incorporate the Social Agreement, are on pages 59–66 (Articles 117–120). The changes that have been made to the Social Agreement text are intended to: incorporate elements of the existing Articles 117–120 TEC; replace co-operation with co-decision as the mechanism for consulting the European Parliament when legislation is adopted by QMV; allow the adoption by QMV of measures to encourage co-operation between Member States on combatting social exclusion; slightly broaden the provisions on the equality of men and women.