AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL POLICY CONCLUDED BETWEEN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND. The undersigned eleven HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, that is to say, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Hellenic Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Portuguese Republic (hereinafter referred to the "the Member States"), WISHING TO implement to the 1989 Social Charter on the basis of the "acquis communautaire", CONSIDERING the Protocol on social policy, HAVE AGREED as follows: ARTICLE 1 The Community and the Member States shall have as their objectives the promotion of employment, improved living and working conditions, proper social protection, dialogue between management and labour, the development of human resources with a view to lasting high employment and the combating of exclusion. To this end the Community and Member States shall implement measures which take account of the diverse forms of national practices, in particular in the field of contractual relations, and the need to maintain the competitiveness of the Community economy. ARTICLE 2 1. With a view to achieving the objectives of Article 1, the Community shall support and complement the activities of the Member States in the following fields: - improvement in particular of the working environment to protect workers' health and safety; - working conditions; - the information and consultation of workers; - equality between men and women with regard to labour market opportunities and treatment at work; - the integration of persons excluded from the labour market, without prejudice to Article 127 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (hereinafter referred to as "the Treaty"). 2. To this end, the Council may adopt, by means of directives, minimum requirements for gradual implementation, having regard to the conditions and technical rules obtaining in each of the Member States. Such directives shall avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and medium-sized undertakings. The Council shall act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 189c of the Treaty after consulting the Economic and Social Committee. 3. However, the Council shall act unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, after consulting the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee, in following areas: - social security and social protection of workers; - protection of workers where their employment contract is terminated; - representation and collective defence of the interests of worker and employers, including co-determination, subject to paragraph 6; - conditions of employment for third-country nationals legally residing in Community territory; - financial contributions for promotion of employment and job-creation,