Mr President, may I thank the rapporteur very much for a really good piece of work. On behalf of the Group of the , I should like to say that we are very satisfied with the conciliation achieved. Cooperation with a view to increasing employment in Europe is a matter to which both our group and Parliament as a whole attach crucial importance. Unemployment is unfortunately too high in Europe, but we do in fact have documentary evidence that a coordinated employment policy produces far more jobs than is the case when an individual country pursues its own policy without taking account of what is happening in neighbouring countries. The incentive measures on which conciliation has now been achieved are specifically designed to support and strengthen cooperation on employment in the EU. This is to take place through, for example, analyses, statistics, reports, information activities and evaluations. I think that the outcome of the conciliation is commendable in many ways. It is important that employment policy not only be something that is conducted in offices and in more or less secret meetings of the Council of Ministers. People must know which method we are using, even when its designation is something as difficult as the ‘open coordination method’. Moreover, information must be provided about what is happening in terms of employment policy. What is still more important is that local authorities, which must play a part in getting things moving, should also be involved. That is why it is also so incredibly encouraging that the local dimension of employment policy has successfully been given a still more prominent place. I am delighted that the Commission and the Council have come to the conclusion that it is precisely local and regional authorities that are important in efforts to promote employment. The same is true of the two sides of industry and of voluntary organisations. Partnerships are the way forward in this area. The practical work involved in getting people into jobs is done locally, and that is why local players must be involved in employment policy. It requires targeted support for local efforts. One of the routes to a more effective employment policy involves disseminating good experiences of employment policy to everyone who does practical work on getting people into jobs. There must therefore be adequate means of being able to learn effectively from each other’s methods and experiences, and that is also of course something to which we must make a positive contribution. It is also important, therefore, that we should obtain thorough evaluations of the results and methods of employment policy. Only by having access to such evaluations can we become still more effective, and I am therefore very satisfied that agreement has been achieved on increasing the budget – by a modest amount, admittedly, but nonetheless to EUR 55 million in place of the original amount of EUR 50 million. That is something encouraging, I think, precisely because we have reached a phase in which we are to point out and demonstrate to people that employment policy does in fact work and that the open coordination method has something specific to offer. I should like to conclude by thanking all the rapporteurs, especially for their fruitful cooperation, and wishing the Commission luck on getting these measures put into effect.

Political group: PSE