Europe has the best safety nets in the world in the form of job security legislation, collective agreements and social protection systems. These are valuable achievements. But we have offered too many exits from the labour market and not enough springboards to new opportunities. The role of social partners and public policies is to facilitate the development of more productive enterprises, and at the same time give individuals affected by change new skills, new starts, new opportunities. Of course, this requires a balanced approach.
Successful change needs to be a two-way street.
It is also a question of harnessing the process of change to bring about improvements in skill levels and working conditions, in the reconciliation of family and professional life, in equality. That is why the current efforts to tackle the high level of unemployment are not solely aimed at finding a solution to the immediate, if pressing, problems. They also seek to ensure that we are fully prepared to anticipate the further, inevitable, changes in the labour market. Employment will remain one of the top priorities of the European Union and of the European Commission. You have already played a key role in developing a proactive approach to change.