3.1

The opinion is urgently needed for a number of reasons: a) In its communication on employment in rural areas, the Commission looks in some detail at quantitative trends in the labour market. It stresses that, although agricultural work in rural areas is, in percentage terms, marginal, the sector itself is of major importance. The Commission expects that 4-6 million of the current 10 million workers (calculated as full-time equivalents) will leave the sector by 2014 (2 million in the EU-15, 1-2 million in the ten Member States that joined the Union in 2004, and 1-2 million in Romania and Bulgaria). b) In the EU-15, the number of full-time workers is set to stabilise or even, as in the Länder of the former West Germany for instance, to increase slightly. In the accession countries, a further fall in the numbers of full-time workers is to be expected. It is clear that, if this trend continues, businesses will require more seasonal workers in fruit- and vegetable-growing regions. c) Forecasts indicate that many countries are set for a shortage of skilled workers able, for instance, to take up senior company positions or operate complex on-farm technology. d) Businesses are already complaining that they are unable to find seasonal workers. Calls are beginning to be made not only to allow workers to move more freely within the EU, but increasingly also to admit workers from non-EU countries to take up seasonal employment. Poland has already started to open up in this way, granting permits to workers from Belarus and Ukraine. e) On the other hand, unemployment is still high in many regions, particularly in rural areas. The Commission is pursuing a strategy to boost worker mobility. However, the jobs on offer also need to be attractive. f) There is no doubt that migrant work generates conflicts and difficulties. g) It is also clear that, in the agricultural sector, demand for labour peaks at certain times of the year in line with vegetation periods. Work is, therefore, available. Under the Lisbon strategy, the aim is to create jobs — but better-quality jobs. h) In the Gothenburg strategy, Member States agreed on the goals of sustainable development. The same weight must thereby be given to the social dimension as to economic and environmental objectives. It follows that social standards must also be complied with in relation to migrant workers. In this regard, businesses must shoulder their social responsibility. Migrant workers have a right to equal treatment and to decent housing and living conditions. Moreover, they must also be fully integrated into the social security systems. i) In the light of the European Commission's initiative to combat discrimination, an anti-discrimination debate on the working and living conditions of foreign workers is also on the agenda. j) Complete freedom of movement for workers within the EU also means a change in governments' scope for action. This increases competition both between workers and between employers. k) Given the Commission's forecast figure of 4-6 million workers leaving the sector, any discussion of the common agricultural policy must also include quality-related aspects of work. The position of permanent workers is set to change. A shortage of skilled workers is forecast, with workforce numbers set to stabilise in the long term.