Promotion of health and safety at work has become one of the critical elements of the EU action in the field of social policy in recent years. As established at the European Council in Lisbon (March 2000) and in Nice (December 2000) - and confirmed at the European Council in Barcelona (2005) - we want more jobs and of better quality. So, to promote the creation and maintenance of a safe and healthy working environment is a core issue for the European Union Countries.
This priority has a strong legal basis. The article 137 of the Treaty establishing the EC (2002), formally asserted the strong commitment of the Community to support and complement the activities of the Member States, among others, in the field of protection workers health and safety. In these years, the European Commission has undertaken several official activities to promote an improvement along the dimensions of safe and health in working environment. First, a Communication (European Commission, 2002) from the Commission entitled “Adapting to change in work and society: a Community strategy on health and safety at work 2002-2006 ” attached particular importance to greater prevention of occupational diseases, revitalizing the debate about policy on health and safety at work in European countries.
Second – and more recently – a new Communication from the Commission (European Commission, 2007) entitled “Community Strategy 2007-2012 on health and safety at work” succeeds the former document and set the agenda for the next five years in terms of policy development on safety and health at work in Europe fixing new and ambitious quantitative targets.
All document - Report of Dott. Stefano Supino