The EU Employment Policy Alpeuregio Summer School 2013 Brussels, 25 June 2013

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1 The EU Employment Policy Alpeuregio Summer School 2013 Brussels, 25 June 2013 Manuela Geleng Head of Unit ESF Policy and Legislation Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

2 Outline The EU employment policy Fighting youth unemployment The European Social Fund

3 The EU Employment Policy

4 Why the EU Employment Policy? Ensuring the 4 fundamental freedoms compensating the effects of the internal market Implementing common standards of labour protection Europe as an economic area with a common labour supply (labour market participation of women, older workers and by level of education) Implementing common values (anti-discrimination, gender equity) Counterbalancing short term national policies (e.g. reducing budget cuts Improving the effectiveness of administrations, especially in smaller countries necessity of a coordinated policy for the common challenges in a common economic area

5 Instruments of the EU Employment Policy Four forms of EU governance: 1.Through legislation (e.g. directives on free movement of workers, coordination of social systems, health and safety) 2. Through negotiations between social partners on EUlevel in the Social Dialogue (introduced in Maastricht 1993) 3.Through the Open Method of open coordination (OMC) introduced in Nice (2002), (first applied for the European Employment Strategy, introduced in Amsterdam 1999) and extended to new areas: social inclusion (2000), education/training (2000), pension, health/long-term care (2005) 4. Through the European Social Fund introduced 1957

6 The four instruments of the EU Employment Policy Legislation Open Method of Coordination EU Employment Policy European Social Fund European Social Dialogue

7 1. EU governance through legislation: Subsidiarity principle: Employment and social policy are national affairs but derogations: Occupational health and safety Information and consultation of workers Labour law and working conditions

8 EU governance through social dialogue: Social partners can fix Europe-wide agreements through the social dialogue Legal base: articles 154 and 155 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union - TFEU Social partners can propose and introduce legislation through consultations, negotiations and finally common positions (more than 300 legislative texts so far) Policy advice for legislation

9 EU governance through the open method of coordination (OMC): Steps of OMC for employment and social protection Common goals for the EU and its Member States Common indicators in order to measure progress Translating EU goals in national/regional policies:national strategies for social protection and social inclusion Yearly reports on the progress in the Member States and based on this: National Reform Programmes Exchange of experience between Member States (identifying best practices) Close cooperation between European Commission and Member States through Employment Committee and Social Protection Committee

10 EU governance through the European Social Fund (ESF): Total EU budget ( ): roughly 988 bn ESF: 76 bn, roughly 10 bn /year

11 Common challenges in almost all Member States: Demographic change and its impact on pension and health systems Unemployment today shortage of workforce tomorrow? Youth unemployment Migration Poverty and social exclusion New world of work with social interaction through new technologies Impact of the economic crisis

12 Fighting youth unemployment

13 The recent trends of youth unemployment are seriously worrying

14 The crisis has hit young people exceptionally hard Nearly one out of four young people on the labour market cannot find a job: 23.7% in April 2013 EL and ES > 55%, IT, CY, PT, SK > 30%, only AT and DE < 10% EU youth unemployment rate is more than twice as high as the general unemployment rate (11.1% in April 2013) More than 30% of unemployed young people are long-term unemployed 7.5 million young Europeans aged neither in employment, nor in education and training (NEETs) Young people over-represented in temporary and part-time work

15 Key problems and possible remedies Young people dropping out of education or work; low skilled youth most at risk of unemployment and exclusion in the longer term: Youth Guarantee schemes Diversity in transition patterns across EU: Traineeships = a new labour market entry tool Transitions faster in countries with apprenticeship systems (AT, DK, DE) Growing skills and geographical mismatches, 2 million vacancies across EU Labour mobility Transitions more difficult in countries with segmented labour markets: Reforms in labour market regulation

16 Youth Employment Initiative Aim: fight youth unemployment in EU regions with >25% youth unemployment rate in 2012 Budget: at least EUR 3 bn from the ESF + additional EUR 3 bn YEI aims to directly support the Youth Employment Package, in particular the Youth Guarantee Target group: NEETs (aged 15-24), inactive or unemployed (+long-term), registered or not as job seekers, residing in the eligible regions Available but frontloaded to MS (quick results)

17 Youth Guarantee Council Recommendation of 22 April 2013 to Member States: " ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. "

18 The European Social Fund

19 The ESF: background information The ESF is one of the EU's Structural Funds, set up to reduce differences in prosperity and living standards across EU Member States and regions and therefore promoting economic and social cohesion. The ESF supports policies and priorities aiming to: achieve progress towards full employment enhance quality and productivity at work increase the geographical and occupational mobility of workers within the EU improve education and training systems promote social inclusion to achieve economic, social and territorial cohesion

20 The ESF: background information The ESF promotes employment in the EU It helps Member States to make Europe's workforce and companies better equipped to face new and global challenges Funding is spread across the Member States and regions, in particular those where economic development is less advanced It is a key element of the Europe 2020 Strategy targeted at improving the lives of EU citizens by giving them better skills and better job prospects Over the period around EUR 76 billion will be distributed to the EU Member States and regions

21 ESF priorities :

22 The ESF: how does it work?

23 Thank you for your attention!