But, in order to meet its policy objectives, it must clearly lay out the responsibilities of individuals to seek, and to use, real opportunities to get into work and training. And it must, equally, lay out the mutual responsibility of the Member State, its partners and its institutional arrangements, to offer real, relevant, opportunities to jobseekers, in return. The next question, therefore is how we finance these commitments. It is important that we realise that this stronger emphasis on active, rather than passive, support does not mean more spending. What it does mean is smarter spending, better use of resources, by investment in the productive capacity of the whole workforce.
Costs are, of course, important.
But relieving costs in real terms, in sustainable terms, means enabling more of the workforce to contribute. The key to the dilemma on social protection lies in higher employment. A high employment level is the only feasible way to make EU social protection systems more sustainable, since that is how revenue is increased and payments to those in need are decreased. The Danish example offers us inspiration in this difficult area, and it offers us proof, too, that restructuring public expenditure to shift finance towards a more active approach can addrees unemployment more effectively, but can also help improve the health of public finances themselves. The Danish have shifted from having one of the most passive labour market systems in the Union, to one of the most active, in four short years.