EURES (EUROPEAN EMPLOYMENT SERVICES) - Report on the Period 1994-1995 in accordance with Regulation (EEC) n° 1612/68, Article 19 (3)
Date: 1996-01-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EURES, employment service, free movement of workers, information network, labour market

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

* 

Tit 

Brussels, 19.01.1996 
COM(96) 3  final 

EURES 

(EUROPEAN  EMPLOYMENT  SERVICES) 

Report  on  the  Period  1994 -  1995 

in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EEC)  n°  1612/68, Article  19 (3) 

(Presented by the Commission) 

0.  Summary 

1. Introduction 
1.1  Legal  Base 
1.2  EURES  as  a renewal  of  the former  SEDOC  system 
1.3 

The Objectives  of EURES 

Structure  of  the network 

2.  The  EURES  network  and  its  components 
2.1  Member  organisations 
2.2 
2.2.1  Euroadvisers 
2.2.2  European  Coordination  Office 
2.2.3  The EURES  Working Party 
2.3 
2.4  Database  "living and working  conditions" 
2.5 

The EURES  Computer System 

The University Pilot  Project 

The specific  character  of  Crossborder collaboration 

3.  EURES  crossborder 
3.1 
3.2  Definitions 
3.3 

Existing  EURES  Crossborder Structures 

4.  Animation  and  promotion  of  the  network 

5.  Budget  and  human  resources 

Budget 

5.7 
5.2  Human Resources 

6.  Evaluation 
6.1  Monitoring 
6.2  Quantitative Results 
6.3  Qualitative Results 
6.4  Assessment  of  the Results 

Improvement  of  the  two databases 

7.  Objectives  for  the  development  of  the  EURES  network  in  the  future 
7.7. 
7.7.7  77?£ yo£  vacancies and job  applications  database 
7.7.2  77?e EURES  database  on living  and working  conditions 
7.2.  Animation  of  the EURES  network 
7.3.  Promotion  of  the EURES  network 
7.4.  Development  of  the EURES  Cross-border structures 
7.5 
7. (5. 
7.7.  National  Activity  Plans 
7.5.  Pilot projects 

Interregional  Cooperation 
Synergies with  other  Community programmes 

8.  Conclusion 

Appendix 

1 

2 
2 
2 
3 

4 
4 
4 
4 
5 
5 
6 
8 
10 

10 
10 
10 
12 

12 

13 

13 
14 

15 
15 
16 
16 
17 

19 
19 
19 
19 
19 
20 
20 
21 
21 
22 
22 

22 

Summary 

The  EURES  network  is designed  to facilitate  the  free  movement  of workers in 
the European  Union  and in the European Economic  Area and thus to contribute 
to the development  of a true  European  employment  market.  It is a  partnership 
between  the  Commission,  the  national  employment  services  of  the  Member 
States,  Norway  and  Iceland  and  (in  the  case  of  border  areas),  organisations 
representing  the  social  partners. 
Its  objectives  are  to  serve  as  a  European 
employment  agency,  as  well  as  providing  a  Europe-wide  forum  for  the 
exchange  of good  practice  and  experience  in  the  employment  field. 

Launched in November  1994 it has a human network of some 450 Euroadvisers, 
experts  on  the  European  labour  market,  and  two  data  bases,  one  containing 
information  on  job  vacancies  throughout  the  17  countries  and  the  second 
general  information  on  living  and  working  conditions  in  these  countries  and 
regional  labour market  information.  In 8 frontier  regions where there is a high 
level  of  crossborder  mobility,  special  structures  have  been  set  up,  which,  in 
addition  to  the  main  EURES  missions  of  exchanging  information  on  job 
vacancies and providing services to job-seekers, also focus their activities on the 
development  of cooperation  in  the employment  area  concerned  The  economic 
and  social  partners  contribute  actively  in  this  cooperation  A  number  of 
universities  are  cooperating  within  the  network  on  an  experimental  basis.  The 
Commission  is  responsible  for  developing  and  maintaining  the  two  European 
data  bases,  for  coordinating  the  exchange  of  information,  for  training  the 
Euroadvisers  and  animating  and  promoting  the  nework. 

In  its  first  year  of  full  operation,  EURES  has  drawn  together  the  public 
employment  services  and  the  other  partners  and  the  number  of job  vacancies 
exchanged  is  growing  month  by  month.  Good  contacts  have  been  made  with 
the  public  and  the  number  of  people  seeking  information 
is  increasing, 
particularly  in  the  crossborder  areas.  The  promotion  of  EURES  to  employers 
has begun  and  a coordinated  strategy  is being developed  for  implementation  in 
1996  A start  has been  made on the exchange of labour  market  information  and 
this will  be  continued  and  developed.  The  technical  system  is  being  constantly 
improved  to  meet  user  needs  and  in  particular  to  enhance  the  flow  of  data 
Cooperation  between 
the  public 
employment  services  has  developed  very  satisfactorily  and  has  led  to  growing 
collaboration  in  other  areas,  for  example  the  development  of  transnational 
projects  financed  by  the  European  Social  Fund  (ADAPT  initiative). 

the  partners  and  in  particular  between 

1<^ 

1.  Introduction 

7.7  Legal  Base 

The  freedom  of  movement  for  workers,  one  of  the  basic  principles  of  the 
European  Community  and  established  by  Article  48  of  the  Treaty  of  Rome, 
entails  the  right  to  accept  offers  of  employment  in  other  Member  States  and  to 
move  freely  for  this  purpose.  This  objective  has  to  be  achieved  by  cooperation 
between  the  Member  States,  in  particular  between  the  employment  services  of 
the  Member  States,  and  the  Commission. 

The  main  elements  of  this  cooperation  are  laid  down  in  the  Regulation  (EEC) 
No  1612/68 of the  Council  of  15 October  19681,  modified  by  Regulation  (EEC) 
No  2434/922  which  constitutes  the  basis  for  the  creation  of  the  EURES 
network 

7.2  EURES  as  a  renewal  of  the former  SEDOC  system 

On  the basis  of this  legislation  the Commission  and  its  national  partners,  mainly 
the  employment  services  of  the  Member  States,  created  the  EURES  network 
(EURopean  employment  services)  which  was  set  up  by  Commission  Decision 
No  93/569/EEC  of  22  October  19933 

rapidly,  notably  due 

In  this  way  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  renovated  the  former 
SEDOC  system  (European  system  for  the international  clearing  of vacancies  and 
applications  for  employment)  which  no  longer  met  the  requirements  of  the 
labour  market  in  Europe.  The  SEDOC  System,  which  was  established  in  1972, 
technology  and  a  weak 
had  aged 
documentation  base.  In  the  context  of  the  completion  of  the  Single  Market  and 
the  implementation  of  the  Community  Charter  of  the  fundamental  social  rights 
of  workers,  the  Commission  made  appropriate  proposals  for  the  revision  of  Part 
II  of  Regulation  No  1612/68  and  the  renovation  of  the  SEDOC  system  The 
European  Parliament  supported 
its  Resolution  of  13 
September  19904. 

these  proposals 

to  outmoded 

in 

This  present  report  describes  the  setting  up  of  the  EURES  network  and  the 
achievements  of  the  first  year  of  operation. 

^ O.I  No  !  2*"7.  19  10.I96X.  p.  2 
2  ().!  No  1.  2-»N  2<>  >'-  1992  .  p  1 
'n.l  No.  I.  274.  c.l  I  1993.  p.  M 
4O.I  No  C  260  15.10.1990.  p.  16" 

1.3  The  Objectives  of  EURES 

The  Commission  Decision  93/569/EEC  of  22  October  1993  designates  EURES 
as  a  network  to 

develop  cooperation  between  Member  States  and  in  particular  between 
the  employment  services  of  the  Member  States  and  the  Commission 

exchange  job  vacancies  and  applications  at  Community  level 

ensure  the  exchange  of  information  on  working  and  living  conditions 
between  the  Member  States 

coordinate  and  follow  up  the  resultant  exchange  of  information  at  the 
appropriate  European  level 

set  up  special  cooperation  and  service  structures  providing  information 

relating  to  mobility  in  border  regions 

- 

exchange  information  concerning  the  situation  and  trends  in  the  labour 
market 

The  importance  of the  EURES  network  for  the  support  of  a Community  labour 
market  is  also  cited  in  the  White  Paper  on  'Growth,  Competitiveness  and 
Employment'  and  the  White  Paper  on 
'European  Social  Policy'  specifies  that 
EURES  is: 

"a  comprehensive  European  employment  agency  with  a  mandate  to 
inform,  counsel  and  place job-seekers  across  Europe,  and 

a  forum  for  discussion  of  European  employment  issues  at  operational 
level." 

Moreover,  it  reflects  the  demands  for  a  tool  to: 

- 

reduce  existing  structural  labour  market  barriers 

-  develop  the  links  between  training  and  employment  at  European  level 

-  facilitate  the  liaison  between  other  EU  initiatives  and  the  world  of  work 

-  become  a  transnational  framework  for  the  exchange  of  experience  and 

good  practice  relating  to  all  issues  in  the  field  of  employment. 

2.  The  EURES  network  and  its  components 

2.1  Member  organisations 

The  EURES  network  consists  of  the  European  Commission  and  the  public 
employment  services  of  the  15  member  states  as  well  as  Norway  and  Iceland. 
Due  to  national  specificities  there  is  more  than  one  partner  in  three  countries. 
Belgium  has three  public employment  services (FOREM,  VDAB  and  ORBEM), 
in  France  there  is  a  special  organisation  concerned  with  the  labour  market  for 
executives  (APEC)  and  another  one  for  migrants  (OMI)  and  in  Germany  under 
the coordination  of the 'Bundesverwaltungsamt' several  welfare  organisations  are 
responsible  for  counselling  immigrants  and  people  willing  to  emigrate.  In  the 
case  of  border  areas  F3URES  cooperation  is  extended  to  include  trade  unions, 
employers  and  certain  other  institutions  interested  in  mobility 

2.2  The  structure  of  the  network 

The installation  of  the  network  was  started  in  1992  and  after  a test  phase  of  the 
computer  system  in  1994  it became  operational  when  it  was  launched  officially 
on  17  November  1994  during  the  second  European  Employment  Week. 

2.2.1  Euroadvisers 

The  human  basis  of  the  network  is  formed  by  Euroadvisers,  experts  on  the 
European  Labour  Market  who  are  nominated  by  public  employment  services 
and  other  partner  organisations.  They  receive  a  special  basic  training  which  is 
organized  under  the  aegis  of  the  European  Commission  Their  task  is  to  inform 
and  advise  mobile  workers  as  well  as  employers  intending  to  recruit  at 
European  level,  they  may  also  cany  out  or  support  transnational  placement 
operations. 

By  the  end  of  1994  basic  training  had  been  organized  and  in  large  part  financed 
by  the  Commission  for  358  Euroadvisers  Norway  and  the  three  new  Member 
States  financed  this  training  from  their  own  resources  In  addition  seventeen 
specialist  staff  from  universities  in  several  countries  of  the  European  Union 
work  together  in  a  pilot  project  within  the  EURES  network  and  were  also 
trained  as  Euroadvisers.  This  brought  the  total  to  375.  A  basic  training 
programme  for  a  further  100  Euroadvisers  was  launched  in  September  1995 
which, 
trained 
Euroadvisers  to  about  450  by  the  middle  of  1996. 

turnover,  will  bring 

the  number  of 

into  account 

taking 

In  addition  to  basic  training  Euroadvisers  are  provided  with  a  programme  of 
continuing  training  including  courses  to  improve  their  language  and  computer 
skills  and  thematic  seminars  on  a  range  of  topics  such  as  social  security  and  tax 
legislation  at  European  and  national  level 

The  number  of  Euroadvisers  and  their  distribution  by  organisation  is  given  in 
table  1 of  the  appendix. 

Depending  on  the  specificities  of  national  organisations  Euroadvisers  are  often 
assisted  by  other  staff  (e.g.  technicians,  assistants). 

2.2.2  The  European  Coordination  Office 

The  European  Coordination  Office  has been  established  within  the  Commission 
(DGV/D/4-EURES).  It  has  the  following  tasks  within  EURES: 

-  installation,  promotion,  administration  and  management  of  the  network 

-  coordination  of  cooperation  between  all  partners  of  EURES 

-  cooperation  with  other  Community  services  and  programmes 

-  analysis  of  movement  of  workers  and  provision  of  information  on 

labour  market  trends 

-  installation  and  updating  of  the  databases  of job  vacancies  and  of 

general  information  on  living  and  working  conditions 

-  training  of  Euroadvisers  and  animation  of  the  network 

-  operation  and  development  of  the  computer  system 

2.2.3  The  EURES  Working  Parly 

in  that  organisation  Representatives  of 

Each  partner  organisation  has  appointed  a EURES  manager  to be  responsible  for 
the  development  of  EURES 
the 
Commission  and  these  managers  form  a  working  party  in  order  to  provide  for 
the  maintenance  and  development  of  EURES  in  accordance  with  the  needs  of 
the  users.  The  meetings  of  this  working  party  are  organized  by  the  Commission 
in  order  to  discuss  all  issues  concerning  the  network  and  to  take  decisions  on 
a  common  basis. 

In  addition,  experts  have  been  nominated  by  the  EURES  partners  in  the  fields 
of  promotion,  general  information  and  computer  systems  Arrangements  are 
made  by  the  European  Coordination  Office  for  these  experts  to  meet  frequently 
in  order  to  solve  current  problems,  specify  details  of  future  development  and 
integrate  their  knowledge  on.national  level  into  the  work  of  the  Commission 

2.3  The  EURES  Computer  System 

The  EURES  System  is  a  computerised  tool  to  help  Euroadvisers  in  their  work 
Through  this  system,  they  have  access  to  a database  of  European  Job  Vacancies 
and  a  database  of  information  concerning  living  and  working  conditions 
throughout  the  European  Economic  Area.  They  can  also  communicate  with 
other  Euroadvisers  through  the  Electronic  Mail  facility.  The  system  has  been 
developed  within  the guidelines  of  the Commission's  IDA  (Interchange  of  Data 
between  Administrations)  programme,  and 
this 
programme. 

supported  by 

fully 

is 

The  primary  objective  of  the  IDA  Programme  is  to  allow  the  European 
Commission  to  contribute  to  projects  in  the  field  of  telematic  interchange 
between  administrations  with  a  view  to  facilitating  cooperation  between  them. 
A  list  of  projects  is  laid  down  for  the  period  1995  -  1997  for  which  a  specific 
need  is  recognised  for  a  Community  contribution  in  order  to  ensure  that  they 
are  implemented  throughout  the  Community. 

The  EURES  Computer  System,  as  a  discrete  project,  was,  and  remains,  an 
obvious  candidate  for  a  project  covered  by  the  IDA  programme.  The  objective 
of  EURES  is  precisely  to  link  the  job  vacancy  computer  systems  of  the 
employment  service  administrations  of the Member  States  and  set  up  a  network 
of  "Euroadvisers'1  all  connected  to  the  centre  and  to  each  other.  EURES  was 
therefore  able  to  take  advantage  of  the  experience,  advice  and  sharing  of  good 
practice  that  characterises  the  IDA  programme.  The  economies  of  scale  of  this 
to  the  sharing  of 
approach,  as  well  as  the  avoidance  of  mistakes  due 
information  has  greatly  helped  EURES  and  of  course  helps  to  ensure  against 
duplication  of  effort  at  Commission  and  Community  level.  EURES  has  adhered 
to  the  central  guidelines  and  the  centrally-defined  commom  architecture  of  the 
IDA  programme  and  has  made  progress  at  a  rate  that  would  not  have  been 
possible  had  we  been  acting  alone. 

The  contribution  of  the  IDA  budget  has  also  proved  indispensable 

The  diagram  below  shows  the  elements  of  the  EURES  System 

At  the  heart  of  the  EURES  System  are  two  separate  computers  that  contain  the 
information  that  Euroadvisers  need.  The  first  of  these  is  the  EURES  Job 
Vacancy  Database  This  is  where  EURES  Job  Vacancies  are  held,  following 
notification  by  employers,  for  use  by  Euroadvisers,  according  to  the  needs  of 
jobseekers.  Much  of  the  system  is  interactive,  in  that  Euroadvisers  can  add  and 
modify  Job  Vacancies  and  address  them 
to  colleagues.  The  EURES  Job 
Vacancy  Database  is available  in  most  of  the  languages  of  the  European  Union, 
except  Greek.  The  machine  itself  is  located  in  Brussels. 

The  second  computer  is  the  EURES  General  Information  Database  (see 
chapter  2.4)  and  this  is  located  in  Luxembourg 

Euroadviser 

Workstation 

Domestic 

Job Vacancy 

System 

Domestic 
System 
Termina) 

EURES 
Job Vacancy 
Database 

Telecommunications 
Network 

'' 

lnfo92 

E U R ES 
Général 
Information 
Database 

The  computer  housing  the Job  Vacancy  Database  also  houses  the software  that 
gives  Euroadvisers  access  to an Electronic  Mail  (E-Mail)  facility.  Euroadvisers 
can  use this  facility  to send  free-text  messages  to each  other,  and to the central 
EURES  Help  Desk. 

Access  to the two databases  and the E-Mail  facility  is through  a  PC-based 
Workstation  Euroadvisers  can input,  maintain  and query  Job Vacancies,  scroll 
through  the information  on the General  Information  database  and compose E-
Mail  messages.  Since  the  Workstation  is a Personal  Computer,  they  can  also use 
it  for software  packages  such  as Word  Processing  and  Spreadsheets. 

The  EURES  Job Vacancy  Database  is fed by vacancies  from  the member 
countries  of the  EEA  Euroadvisers  can  input  Job  Vacancies  directly  from  their 
Workstation  However,  although  this  process  has been  made  as  simple  as 
possible,  it still  takes  up valuable  time  that  could  be better  spent  advising and 
counselling  clients 

For  this  reason,  the main  input  of Job  Vacancies  to the EURES  Job Vacancy 
Database  comes  directly  from  the Domestic  Job  Vacancy  Systems  oi~  the 
employment  services  of most  of the  member  countries 

A  "Eront-end"  computer  called  the National  Access  Server  (NAS)  connects 
each  Domestic  System  to the EURES  Job Vacancy  Database  This  means  that 
when  a job  vacancy  is input  into  the domestic  system,  it can be "flagged"  as  a 

potential  EURES  vacancy  (according  to  certain  criteria)  and  sent  automatically 
to  the  EURES  System  There  is  no  need  for  the  Euroadviser  to  re-enter  the 
details  from  a  Workstation 

Using  the  same  system  architecture,  Job  Vacancies  can  also  be  addressed  and 
sent  to  other  Domestic  Systems. 

The  Euroadviser  Workstations  of  each  administration,  and  the  Domestic  Job 
Vacancy  Systems  in  each  employment  service  are  connected  to  the  National 
Access  Server 
central 
Telecommunications  Network,  to  the  EURES  Job  Vacancy  Database  and  the 
EURES  General  Information  Database.  In  this  way,  the  various  elements  of  the 
EURES  System  are  linked  together  and  can  communicate  with  each  other 

Each  NAS 

connected, 

(NAS). 

via 

is 

a 

2.4  Database  "living  and  working  conditions" 

This  database  contains  general  information  on  the  living  and  working  conditions 
and  on  the  labour  market  of  the  European  Economic  Area  Member  States  It  is 
an  essential  element  of  the  tools  which  the  EURES  network  places  at  the 
disposal  of Euroadvisers for  their work  of counselling,  informing  and  placement 

It  enables  the  Euroadviser  to  set  out,  through  his/her  computer,  precise  and 
practical  information  for  any  person  seeking  a  job  or  wishing  to  follow  a 
training  course  in  another  EEA  Member  State.  It  also  provides  essential 
information  to  help  the  job-seeker's  family  to  integrate  in  the  host  country 

An  inventory  of  the  information  to  be  found  in  this  database  was  decided  by 
Commission  Decision  93/569  (cf.  Annex  I,  item  2.5  1).  Currently,  important 
chapters  such  as  Working  conditions.  Living  conditions.  Social  Security, 
Conditions  of  entry  into  another  state  or  Useful  addresses  are  available,  on 
computer,  for  all 
the  Community 
languages  (see  table  below).  Information  concerning  the  labour  market  and 
cross-border  workers  will  be  included  in  the  next  important  phase  of  updating 
of  the  base.  With  regard  to  the  "Labour  Market"  section,  a  call  for  tender  was 
launched  to  develop  a  model  which  will  allow  for  the  addition  of  qualitative 
data  to  EU  statistical  data  on  the  underlying  trends  of  each  regional  labour 
market. 

the  Member  States,  translated 

into  all 

The  database  is  accessible,  free  of  charge,  through  the  Euroadviser's  personal 
computer,  in  an  environment  identical  to  the  one  offered  for  the  consultation  of 
EURES  job  vacancies  The  Euroadviser  must,  however,  be  connected  to  the 
main  computer,  located  in  Luxembourg  and  managed  bv  the  Commission's 
Computer  Centre 

Searching  for  information  is  a  simple  process:  the  Euroadviser  can  select  the 
information  by  tree  or  by  direct  access  (via  indexes  or  numbers)  It  is  also  easy 

to obtain the selected text in various languages or to find  the equivalent text  for 
another Member  State. 

In the last few  months,  a particular  effort  has been  made to  ensure  an  efficient 
follow-up  and  up-dating  of  the  information  available.  In  this  context  a 
permanent  structure  has  been  set  up  consisting  of  a  group  of  national  experts 
(one  expert  for  each  country  participating  in  EURES).  They  are designated  by 
the  Public  Employment  Services  and  their  work  is  coordinated  by  the 
Commission.  These experts meet four  times a year in Brussels, under the  aegis 
of the Commission.  During these meetings, they  review the  state of their  work 
of up-dating national information,  inform  each other of important changes which 
have  occurred  in  their  country  as  regards  living  and  working  conditions, 
exchange  experience  and  suggest  amendments  for  improving  the  distribution, 
within  the  network,  of  the  data  base.  They  are  also  kept  informed  by  the 
Commission 
the 
management  of  the  database. 

representatives  of  relevant  developments  occurred 

in 

Contacts  have  also  been  made  with  the  various  operators  who,  within  the 
network,  have  developed  or  are  planning  to  develop  one  or  more  local 
databases. These contacts led to a meeting,  organised by the Commission,  of all 
the persons  concerned.  This exchange  made it possible to identify  the topics on 
which  a common  approach  must  be  formulated  in  order  to  achieve  the  agreed 
goal,  namely  the  connection  between  the  central  base  and  these  local  bases,  or 
at  least  the  exchange  of  the  data  contained  in  each  one  of  these  information 
systems.  These  key-topics  are  as  follows:  standardisation  of  the  data  formats, 
harmonisation  of  drafting  methods  and  bibliographical  references,  adoption  of 
tools  for  indexing  (thesaurus). 

The  question  of  the  modernisation  of  the  way  in  which  the  database  is 
distributed  is always of interest. In the near future,  this issue will  most probably 
take two  complementary  directions: the distribution  of the EURES  database on 
the  new  Info'92  version  (which  has  been  baptised  Infoplus)  and  the  opening, 
under  certain  conditions,  of  this  EURES  database  to  a  larger  audience  in 
addition  to  EURES  members,  and  secondly  the  development  of  an  off-line 
version  of  this  same  database  adapted  to  the  individual  needs  of  the  members 
of the  network. 

A  list  of  thematic  fields  and  rates  of  coverage  of  texts  in  the  database  on 
27.10.95  in relation  to the programme  initially  established  is given  in table 2 of 
the  appendix. 

2.5  The  University  Pilot  Project 

There  are  at  present  16 universities  from  6 Member  States  (B,  F,  FIN,  IRL,  NL, 
in  EURES.  The  university 
UK)  participating  on  an  experimental  basis 
Euroadvisers  have  full  access  to  the  EURES  data  bases  and  cooperate  with  the 
other  Euroadvisers  in  the  network  and  with  the  public  employment  services. 
During  this  pilot  phase,  however,  they  are  financed  separately.  The  current 
phase  of  the  university  experiment  comes  to  an  end  in  October  1996  and  future 
developments  will  then  be  decided  in  the  light  of  the  results  obtained  so  far. 

3.  EURES  crossborder 

3.1  The specific  character  of  Crossborder 

collaboration 

One  group  of  people  particularly  concerned  with  the  opening  of  borders  are, 
quite  naturally,  frontier  workers.  Euroadvisers  working  in  frontier  regions  are 
directly  confronted,  more  than  others,  with  problems  of  occupational  mobility 
and  expatriation.  This  involves,  for  cross-border  Euroadvisers,  integrating  not 
only  the  European  dimension  into  their  approach  to  the  labour  market  but  also, 
more  specifically,  the  cross-border  dimension  of  this  market.  They  must  also  go 
beyond  the  administrative  logic  of  cross-border  relations  in  order  to  place  their 
activities  within  a  global  vision  of  an  employment  area  located  astride  one  or 
more  borders 

Since  for  Europeans,  working  on  the  other  side  of  a  border  has  increasingly 
become  something  natural,  cross-border  employment  areas  are  of  particular 
interest  today.  They  are  areas  where  European  integration  is  especially  well 
developed  and  lie  within  regions  which  themselves  are  characterised  by  a  high 
level  of  transnational  activity.  Crossborder  work  as  a  factor  which  unites  and 
stimulates  cooperation  contributes,  consequently,  to  the  valorisation  of  the 
economic  and  social  dimension 

However,  numerous  obstacles  remain 
to  ensure 
harmonious  crossborder  cooperation.  Because  of  the  specific  features  of  certain 
regions  (sectors  of  activity,  social  protection  system,  environment,  etc.),  some 
job  seekers  are  less  tempted  to  prospect  in  a  neighbouring  region 

in  order 

tackled 

to  be 

3.2  Definition 

While all  Member  States  collaborate  within  the  EURES  network  under  the  terms 
of  the regulation  concerning  free  movement  of workers  the  cross  border  projects 
are  created  on  a  voluntary  basis,  on  the  initiative  of  the  persons  responsible  in 
the  area  concerned. 

10 

Cross-border  EURES  consists  of  a  number  of  cooperation  structures  which, 
within  the  framework  of  the  EURES  network,  aim  at  meeting  the  need  for 
information  and  collaboration  linked  with  mobility  specific  to frontier  regions. 

Cross-border EURES brings together public employment and vocational  training 
services,  employers  and  trade  union  organisations,  local  authorities  and 
institutions  dealing  with  employment  and  vocational  training  issues  in  frontier 
regions  with  the  European  Commission. 

Cross-border  EURES, compared  with  the rest of  the EURES  network,  presents 
the  following  features: 

an  action  focused  on  regions  with  important  cross-border  flows  of 
workers, 
transnational  employment  areas  or  which 
experience  an  important  interpénétration  of  the  regional  economies; 

representing 

a  voluntary  partnership  created  at  the  local  level  In  addition  to  the 
Public  Employment  Services, they  include  social  and economic  partners 
and  local  political  authorities.  Trade union  organisations  take  an  active 
part  via  the  Interregional  Trade  Union  Councils  and  cross-border  trade 
union  associations;  the  latter  representing  approximately  half  of  the 
Euroadvisers  of  the  structures.  Within  certain  structures,  employers 
organisations  of both  sides of the frontier  are associated  and/or  have also 
provided  Euroadvisers; 

a  broader  field  of  activity,  which  consists  of  four  missions:  1) 
distribution  of  job  vacancies  and  job  applications  2)  information  on 
living and working conditions 3) exchanges of information  on vocational 
training  4)  the  stimulation  of  co-operation  on  labour  market  issues, 
thanks  to  the  links  between  the  various  partners  on  both  sides  of  the 
frontier 

To fulfil  these four  missions, Cross-border  EURES have two authorities: 

a  Steering  Committee,  which  takes  decisions  as  regards  the  budget  and 
ensures a general  coherence of the structure. It consists of representatives 
of Public  Employment  Services, the Interregional  Trade  Union  Council, 
employers  organisations,  the  Commission  and  the  other  contributors 
(local  authorities); 

working groups which have a more technical  role. They are charged  with 
carrying  out  the  actions  which  have  been  agreed.  The  members  of  the 
working groups are, in addition  to certain  Steering Committee  members, 
the  Euroadvisers  and  other  specialised  members  according  to  the 
missions  of  the  working  groups. 

11 

3.3  The  existing  EURES  Crossborder  Structures 

By  1 May  1995,  eight  EURES  Crossborder  structures  were  functioning 
in  Europe,  in  the  following  Member  States  and  frontier  regions  : 

1. 

2. 

3 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

Hainaut  / Nord-Pas-de-Calais / West  Flanders / Kent  (H.N.F  K) 
(Belgium,  France,  United  Kingdom)  since  1 July  1991; 

Schelde  /  Kempen  (IGA  1) 
(Belgium,  Netherlands)  since  1 December  1991; 

Euregio  Enschede  /  Gronau 
(Germany,  Netherlands)  since  1 January  1993; 

Euregio  Meuse  /  Rhin  (IGA  II) 
(Germany,  Belgium,  Netherlands)  since  1 June  1993; 

European  Development  Pole  (P.ED.) 
(Belgium,  Luxembourg,  France)  since  1 June  1993; 

Lorraine  /  Saarland 
(France,  Germany)  since  1 February  1994 

Provence  /  Alpes-Côte  d'Azur  /  Liguria  (Eurazur) 
(France,  Italy),  since  1 September  1994; 

Rhône-Alpes  /  Piemonte  /  Valle  d'Aosta  (Transalp) 
(France,  Italy),  since  1 September  1994 

There  are  initiatives  to  set  up  new  projects  in  other  crossborder  regions. 

4.  Animation  and  promotion 

The  EURES  network  was  inaugurated  officially  on  17  November  1994  by 
Commissioner  Flynn  on  the  occasion  of  the  Employment  Week  in  Brussels  and 
at  virtually  the  same  time  by  the  public  employment  services  in  each  of  the  17 
EURES  member  countries.  The  actions  organised  for  the  official 
launch  in 
Brussels  included  a stand  at  the  Employment  Week  held  at  the  Congress  Palace 
from  14  -  17  November  1994  and  a  press  conference  A  number  of 
Euroadvisers  from  different  countries  belonging  to  the  network  were  present  on 
the  stand.  They  informed  the  public  about  the  services  provided  by  the  network 
and  invited  interested  parties  to  consult  the  two  databases  There  were  on-line 
connections  with  both  the  database  on  living  and  working  conditions  and  the 
database  containing  European  job  vacancies 

12 

The actions organised  by the members  of the network  in the member  countries 
varied  from  special  actions  directed  towards  employers,  a  demonstration  of 
EURES for the general  public, to information  campaigns targeted  towards their 
own  employment  organisations. 

The  promotion  of  the  EURES  network  commenced  in  1994  on  the  basis  of  a 
joint  strategic plan adopted by the Commission  and the members of the EURES 
network. The aim was to facilitate  access to the network, to raise awareness and 
accordingly  promote use of the services offered  by EURES.  After  a promotion 
needs'  analysis,  a group  of  promotion  experts,  comprising  active  parties  in  the 
EURES network,  was established to define the necessary promotional  activities. 
The  list  of  promotional  products  issued  by  the  Commission  includes  both 
internal  communication  products  (such  as  EURES  newsflashes,  a directory  of 
Euroadvisers,  a guide  to  the  use  of  the  computer  system  for  Euroadvisers,  an 
application  form  for jobseekers)  and  external  promotion  products  (for  example 
brochures  presenting  the  network,  posters,  leaflets  for  workers  and  employers, 
slides for  workers and employers, a radio jingle, a video, a press release and  kit, 
press  inserts). 

In  conclusion,  the  promotion  and  official 
launch  in  1994  highlighted  the 
importance  of  close  cooperation  between  the Commission  and  the  members  of 
the  network  with  a view  to  developing  products  and  measures  which  can  best 
satisfy  grassroots  requirements. 

5.  Budget  and  human  resources 

5.1  Budget 

The budget  made available by the Commission  for the development  of  EURES 
was  7 5  MECU  in  1994  and  9.4  in  1995  These  funds  were  used  for  the 
installation  of the  computer  system  and  the  development  of the database  of job 
vacancies  and  of  information  on  living  and  working  conditions,  for  the 
animation  and  promotion  of  the  network  (notably  the  training  of  Euroadvisers 
and  the  promotion  of  EURES  towards  the  public)  and  to  develop  cooperation 
in the crossborder regions and between  national  public employment  services and 
the  other  partners 

In  1994 2 5 MECU  (30%)  of the total  budget  was  reserved  for  the  crossborder 
structures  and  this  was  increased,  on  the  decision  of the  European  Parliament, 
to 3.5  MECU  (37%)  in  1995.  Each  crossborder  structure  received  a maximum 
of  110000  ECUs  for  each  region  concerned 

•'o* 

Cooperation  between the national  public employment services was supported by 
means  of  national  activity  plans  put  forward  by  each  partner  These  plans 
enable the organisation  concerned to develop additional  continuing training (e.g. 

language  training)  for  their  Euroadvisers,  to finance  actions  designed  to  promote 
EURES  services  to  employers  and  workers,  to  animate  the  network  on  a 
national  level  and  to  extend  the  capacities  of  the  Euroadviser's  workstations  in 
line  with  the  development  plan  prepared  by  the  Commission  and  agreed  with 
the  partners.  The  activity  plans  enable  the  partners  to  develop  EURES  so  that 
it  responds  to  specific  national  contexts  and  needs  while  remaining  within  the 
context  of  the  overall  aims  and  objectives  of  the  network. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  EURES  network  is  based  on  co-financing  by 
the  partners  and  that  the  public  employment  services  themselves  provide  the 
the 
salaries  of  the  Euroadvisers,  office  space  and  equipment  other  than 
workstations  (personal  computers  which  are  supplied  by  the  Commission)  and 
for 
the  costs  of 
communications  from  the  national  NAS  server  to  the  two  data  bases)  In  1995 
an  additional  sum  of  150 000  ECU  was  received  from  a separate  budget  line  for 
the development  of the  social  dialogue  by  3 pilot  actions  in  selected  crossborder 
regions. 

telecommunications  costs  (the  Commission  pays 

local 

5.2  Human 

resources 

the  essential  human  resource  element  of  EURES. 
The  Euroadvisers  form 
Nevertheless  a  flexible  structure  has  been  developed 
their 
activities  and  to  ensure  the  harmonious  development  of  EURES  services. 
Starting  from  the  objectives  set  out  in  its  legal  base,  the  network  is  designed  to 
be  as  responsive  as  possible  to  user  needs  and  a  structure  has  therefore  been 
established  which  is  based  on  the  principle  of  collaboration  in  order  to  identify 
problems  and  find  solutions  acceptable  to  all  EURES  members 

to  coordinate 

The  European  Coordination  Office  is  a  separate  section  of  some  12  persons 
which  forms  part  of  Unit  4  (Migration  policy  and  promotion  of  free  movement 
of workers)  of  Directorate  D (Social  Dialogue  and  Free  Movement  for  Workers) 
of  DG  V.  They  are  assisted  by  a small  number  of  consultants  responsible  under 
the  control  of  the  Commission  for  the  development  and  implementation  of  the 
informatics  system 

level  each  partner  organisation  has  nominated  a  EURES 
At  the  national 
manager  to  be  responsible  for  the  implementation  of  EURES  within 
the 
organisation  concerned  and  he/she  is  assisted  by  technical  experts,  general 
information  experts  and  experts  responsible  for  promotion  All  of  these  meet 
regularly  under  the  auspices  of  the  Commission.  The  Crossborder  coordinators 
play  an  important  role  in  the  management  of  the  crossborder  structures,  they 
participate  in  meetings  of  the  EURES  working  party  and  ensure  that  regular 
meetings  of  the  crossborder  steering  committee  are  organised 

Occasional  use  is  made  of  outside  consultants  for  specific  specialist  activities 
eg  studies  and  evaluation,  the  preparation  of  certain  promotional  tools 

14 

Evaluation 

On the basis  of the  legal  obligations  of the  EURES  network  its evaluation  must  be 
mainly focused  on the efficiency  of its services, which must be provided  for the target 
groups: information,  counselling and placement for job seekers, employers and others 
taking part in the labour market. 

6.1  Monitoring 

As a first step procedures have been established to make sure that  all components of 
the  network  are  available  and  functioning  in  accordance  with  the  agreed  planning. 
These  procedures  are  designed  to  monitor  structural  or  functional  problems  on  a 
continuing basis. 

The training of Euroadvisers was begun in  1992 and took into account  that there is a 
fluctuation  staff in public administrations so that a certain turnover had to be expected. 
By July  1995 in fact  26 out  of 360 trained  Euroadvisers were no longer available for 
the network so that for the future  a rate of 3-5% turnover per year must be assumed 
for the planning of basic training. 

Approximately 40% of Euroadvisers are working full-time for EURES, the others are 
spending on average of  15 hours per week on their transnational activities. 

The EURES computer system is operational everywhere in Europe. Availability of the 
central job  vacancy  database  is  more  than  98%.  All  Euroadvisers  workstations  are 
connected  to  this  computer  in  Brussels  via  INFONET  telecommunication  lines.  At 
present the access is only used  on a regular basis by 80% of the authorized  users. In 
consultation with the managers the Commission  is taking steps to identify  the reasons 
for  this  in  order  to  ensure  that  the  network  reaches  full  capacity  use  as  soon  as 
possible. 

Generally speaking all components of the technical  network are fully  operational, that 
is the  network  can  be  used  for  the  delivery  of  EURES  services.  Current  problems 
(more  user-friendly  interface  for  both  databases,  improved  speed  and  comfort  of 
access) have been recognized and are being addressed (see chapter 7). 

Many Euroadvisers  stress that  the human  network  is functioning  well  With  the help 
of EURES they  have all built  up  personal  relations  to  colleagues  in each  country  of 
the European  Economic  Area who are ready to help them in counselling  and  placing 
mobile workers. 

6.2  Quanti tali ve  Results 

To  establish  whether  the  quantitative  objectives  are  being  met  statistical 
information  is  collected  and  compiled  automatically  by  the  computer  systems. 
In  those  cases  where  this  is  not  possible  (e.g.  for  certain  activities  of 
euroadvisers),  statistical  information  is  collected  manually. 

For  the  first  10  months  after  the  network  was  officially  launched  Euroadvisers 
reported  nearly  180,000  contacts  with  jobseekers  (by  telephone,  post  or  in 
person).  More than  30,000  applications  were handled  and  5500  placements  were 
made  (see  detailed  statistics  in  table  3  of  the  appendix). 

The  development  of  the  number  of job  vacancies  stored  in  the  central  database 
in  Brussels  at  the  end  of  each  month  is given  in  table  4  of  the  appendix.  At  the 
end  of  September  1995  nearly  5000  posts  were  on  offer  in  the  database.  The 
distribution  by  countries  and  level  of  education  is  given  in  table  5  of  the 
appendix..  On  average  500  new  posts  are  input  into  the  database  each  month 
and  300  existing  ones  are  closed  so that  the  stock  is  growing  by  approximately 
200  per  month. 

The  use  of  the  network's  databases  and  electronic  mail  is  given  in  table  6  and 
7  of  the  appendix. 

6.3  Qualitative  Results 

With  respect  to  the  objectives  of  EURES  the  following  remarks  can  be  made: 

Cooperation: 

During  the  2  years  during  which  EURES  was  being  set  up  and  in  1995 
when  the  network  was  fully  operational  cooperation  between  the  members 
of  the  network  has  been  steadily  growing.  A  number  of  bilateral, 
multilateral  and 
the 
employment  services  of  the  Member  States  and  the  Commission  These 
seminars  have  intensified  cooperation  between  public  employment  services 
themselves  and  with  the  Commission  The  exchange  of  experience  and 
good  practice  has  also  been  initiated  and  is  beginning  to  extend  to  areas 
beyond  those  strictly  concerned  with  EURES 

seminars  have  been  organized  by 

transnational 

Exchange  of  information: 

The  network  of  Euroadvisers  has  been  established  A  computer  system 
enables  them  to  exchange  job  vacancies  and  electronic  mail  in  all  Member 
States  of  the  European  Economic  Area,  furthermore  they  have  access  to  a 
database  of  information  on  living  and  working  conditions  Altogether 

16 

EURES  is  a  European-wide  network  that  is  operational  and  can  be  used  to 
deliver  the  services  demanded  by  mobile  workers  and  employers  who  wish 
to  recruit  at  international  level. 

Projects  in  border  regions: 

in 

levels  of  success  have  been  achieved 

Eight  partnerships  of  "EURES  crossborder"  have  been  created  on  the  basis 
of  initiatives  from  frontier  regions  where  there  is  a  need  for  special 
information  as  a  large  number  of  workers  cross  the  border  daily.  Another 
four  partnerships  of  this  type  are  being  build  up  in  other  frontier  districts. 
The  previous  experiences  of the  eight  partnerships  show  different,  but  in  the 
long  run  considerable, 
the 
cooperation  between  the  partners  (usually  employment  services  and  social 
partners  from  both  sides  of the border).  Cooperation  has been  facilitated  and 
efficiently  organized  by  coordinators  who  were elected  to. these  partnerships. 
Responding  to the  main  tasks of EURES,  notably  to provide  information  and 
advice  for  workers,  EURES  crossborder  partnerships  have  developed  a 
considerable  number  of  special  products,  well  prepared  and  having 
particularly  in  mind  the  interests  of  the  respective  crossborder  workers  (e.g. 
in  the  form  of  special  brochures  and  seminars  for  crossborder  workers).  In 
addition,  there  has  been  some  initial  success  in  using  EURES  partnerships 
(and  their  different  working  groups)  as  part  of  a  concerted  action  against 
existing  legal  and  structural  obstacles  to  mobility  in  frontier  districts  (e.g. 
mutual  recognition  of  vocational  training).  In  the  future  some  of  these 
partnerships  are  expected  to  intensify  their  efforts  for  the  development  of 
interregional  social  dialogue  and  in  this  way  to  improve  the  conditions  of 
the  employment  market  and  for  vocational  training  within  their  frontier 
districts. 

Labour  market  information: 

The  Commission  has  launched  two  studies,  one  concerning  an  analysis  of 
the  crossborder  flows  of  workers  in  Europe,  the  other  to  set  up  a  framework 
for  regional  labour  market  description  (including  trends)  within  the  database 
on  living  and  working  conditions. 

6.4  Assessment  of  the  Results 

As  EURES  has  been  operational  now  for  less  than  a  year  the  establishment  of 
evaluation  criteria  for  the  success  of  EURES  in  the  form  of  fixed  values  (e.g. 
for  costs  of  a  placement,  customer  contacts  with  a  euroadviser  per  day,  number 
of job  vacancies  offered)  makes  no  sense  in  this  initial  phase  of  the  operation 
of  the  network.  Although  survey  and  analysis  of  quantitative  facts  is  absolutely 
necessary  to judge  efficiency  and  use  of  the  services,  it  will  be  difficult  in  the 
future  to  base  the  evaluation  of  success  or  failure  on  such  figures  alone  While 
in  each  Member  State,  each  partner 
all  EURES  services  are  available 

17 

organisation  has  different  priorities  depending  on  the  structure  and  aims  of  the 
organisation  concerned.  In  addition,  as  in  many  areas  within  the  social  sector, 
since  EURES  services  are  offered  on  a  cost-free  basis  to  the  client  there  is  no 
basis  on  which  to  quantify  the  exact benefit  The  establishment  of  more  explicit 
critieria  will  be  considered  further  in the  light  of the  experience  of  the  first  year 
of  operation.Evaluation  of  EURES  must  take  into  account  the  labour  market 
situation  in  Europe  and  its  impact  on  public  employment  services  in  the 
Member  States.  For  example  many  public  employment  services  are  now  set 
targets  for  reducing  unemployment  (e.g.  number  of  placements,  number  of  job 
vacancies  collected). 

EURES  is  a  tool  designed  to  give  people  access  to  their  right  to  freedom  of 
movement  which  ultimately 
is  aimed  at  international  placement  but  also 
includes  information  and  counselling  of  jobseekers  in  order  to  assist  them  in 
arriving  at  sound  decisions.  If  therefore  EURES  services  go  beyond  what  is  the 
main  priority  for  public  employment  services  certain  implications  of  implanting 
the  network  in  these  countries  must  be  taken  into  consideration. 

An  initial  evaluation  can  be  summarized  by  listing  strengths  and  weaknesses: 

Strengths: 

the  key  strength  of  EURES  is the human  resource  network  which  in  many 
ways  is  operating  very  effectively.  Real  problems  are  being  solved  every 
day  and  a  large  number  of jobseekers  are  being  helped. 

the  legal  base  guarantees  that  all  partners  contribute  to  cooperation  and 
investment  within  the  network 

the partnership  has  drawn  together  the  public  employment  services  in  the 
EEA  and  established  a level  of  operational  contact  which  goes  far  beyond 
those  built  up  in  the  past 

the  network  provides  its  basic  functions  european-wide 

Weaknesses: 

the  number  of  posts  in  the job  vacancy  data  base  (see  chapter  6.2)  are  not 
enough  to  give  a  mobile  jobseeker  a  sufficient 
impression  about  his 
chances  on  the  international  labour  market 

the  technical 
interface,  access  and  performance  of  both  databases) 

infrastructure  must  continue  to  be  improved  (e g_  user-

the  main  aims  and  structures  of  EURES  are  laid  down  in  its  le^al  base,  the 

18 

development  of different  interpretations  of these  objectives  at  Community, 
national  or  local  level  must  be  prevented 

EURES  needs  more political  support  at  local,  national  and  European  lad 

7.  Objectives  for  the  development  of  the  EURES  network  in  the  future 

7.1. 

Improvement  of  the  two  databases 

7.1.1  The job  vacancies  and job  applications  database 

In  the  first  place,  the  information  and  procedures  relating  to  the 
treatment  of  job  vacancies  to  be  introduced  into  the  database  will 
continue  to  be  improved  technically  and  qualitatively  Secondly,  the 
integration  into  the  EURES  network  of  domestic  systems  of  more  of 
the  public  employment  services  will  allow  for  the  automatic  transfer 
of  job  vacancies.  The  criteria  for  possible  future  introduction  of  job 
applications  into  the  system  will  also  be  considered.  Finally,  efforts 
will  be  made  in  order  to  ensure  a  uniform  and  centralised  computer 
system  which  also  integrates  cross-border  regions. 

7.1.2  The  EURES  database  on  living  and  working  conditions 

The  Commission  will  take  all  necessary  steps  to  update  and  improve 
the  quality  of  the  information  disseminated  (modernisation  of  the 
base).  It  will  also  endeavour  to  supplement  the  information  contained 
in  the  EURES  database.  This  involves  contacts  with  and  the  periodic 
organisation  of  meetings  with  the  experts  of  the  public  employment 
services in  order to update information  and  to provide  new  information 
(e.g.  on 
tax  systems,  education,  comparability  of  qualifications, 
specific  information  for  cross-border  and  for  self-employed  workers). 
Another  main  priority  is  the  provision  of  information  on  regional 
labour  markets. 

7.2.  Animating 

the  EURES  network 

The  Commission  will  continue  to  provide  for  the  vocational  training 
of  Euroadvisers,  both  basic  and  continuing.  Essential 
in  order  to 
improve  the  professional 
transnational  skills  of  the  Euroadvisers, 
vocational 
is  also  an  important  element  for  developing 
cooperation  within  the  network  at  the  European  level  and  with  the 
European  Economic  Agreement  (EEA)  area.  As  for  the  promotion  of 
the  cohesion  of 
its  role  as 
coordinator,  intends  to organise  once a year  a seminar  addressed  to  the 

the  Commission, 

the  network, 

training 

in 

19 

persons  nationally  responsible  for  EURES  and  to  Euroadvisers  Other 
meetings  will  be  animated  by  the  Commission  so  as  to  facilitate  the 
exchange  of  ideas  among  the  public  employment  services  concerning 
the  development  of  the  network  and  in  order  to  find  solutions  to  the 
operational  problems  with  which  the  network  is  daily  confronted 
Other  seminars  can  be  organised  on  the  initiative  of  the  public 
employment  services. 

7.3.  Promotion  of  the  EURES  network 

Since  a  substantial  increase  of job  vacancies  in  the  computer  system 
is  one  of  the  main  objectives  of  the  EURES  network,  a  considerable 
effort  must  be  made  both  by  the  public  employment  services  and  the 
Commission  in  order  to  make  EURES  known  to  employers  and  to 
guarantee 
that  each  citizen  can  obtain  EURES  services  without 
difficulty.  Public employment  services  should  step up their efforts  with 
a  view  to  promoting  their  contacts  with  companies,  as  well  as  to 
promote  media  actions  on  EURES.  The  Commission  will  coordinate 
these  promotion  efforts  and  will  endeavour  to  formulate,  with  the 
partners,  a  promotion  policy  towards  employers. 

7.4.  Development  of  the  EURES  Cross-border 

structures 

in 

regions 
The  creation  of  new  EURES  Cross-border  structures 
representing  genuine  employment  areas  with  a  considerable  flow  of 
cross-border  workers,  represents  one  of  the  main  objectives  for  the 
future.  In  this  context,  the  Commission  will  provide  practical  assistance 
and  financial  support  within  the  limits  of  the  budget  available.  A  study 
has  been  launched  which  will  describe  cross-border  employment  areas 
in  Europe  and  in  particular  will  indicate  where  the  needs  for  information 
and  orientation  of  cross-border  workers  are.  The  Commission's  efforts 
will  also  focus  on  the  improvement  of cooperation  between  Cross-border 
EURES  partners  and  with  other  institutions  on  all  levels  (local,  regional, 
national  and  community)and  also  on  ensuring  that  they  develop  as  an 
integral  part  of  the  total  EURES  network 

Since  one  of  the  distinctive  elements  of  EURES  Cross-border  structures 
is  the  participation  of  the  social  partners  into  the  EURES  network,  this 
participation  will  be  developed  and  supported  bearing  in  mind  their 
in 
capacity 
to 
cross-border 
this 
role  and 
involves 
participation  in  cross-border  structures  and  thus  balancing  their  action  in 
relation  to  the  other  partners  The Commission  supports  the  development 
of  this  social  dialogue  at  regional  level  Three  cross-border  structures 

reduce  practical  and 
regions.  Regarding 

their  commitment,  stimulating 

the  employers'  organisations, 

legal  obstacles 

to  mobility 

improving 

their 

have  been  nominated  as  pilot  projects  so  as  to  test  new  hypotheses  of 
collaboration  between  the  social  partners,  thanks  to additional  financial 
resources  made  available  in  1995.  This  social  dialogue,  which  will  be 
conceived  and  developed  according  to  the  missions  of  EURES  Cross-
border  structures,  could  then  spill-over  to  a wider  co-operation  between 
regional  social  partners which  will  tackle problems  of the labour  market 
in  cross-border  regions. 

7.5  Interregional Cooperation 

As  there  are  a  number  of  important  flows  of  workers  between  different 
regions  (e.g.  Ireland/London,  Greece/Southern-Italy,  Greece/Southern 
Germany)  the  Commission  has  begun  to  discuss  with  the  partner 
organisations  whether  special  measures  need  to  be  developed  in  order  to 
ensure  that  EURES  services  respond  to  the  needs  of  these  flows 

7.6. Synergies  with  other  Community programmes 

The  development  of  synergies  with  other  Community  programmes  is 
another  objective  of  the  EURES  network.  Handynet  which  provides 
information  on technical  aids  for  handicapped  people  within  the  HELIOS 
programme  is  using  the  E-mail  of  the  EURES  technical  network. 
Cooperation  between  EURES  and  the  Community  initiative  INTERREG 
has  already  been  started  on  Community  level  and  within  EURES 
Cross-border  structures. 

Other synergies are being developed with the Community  initiatives within 
the  ESF,  notably  ADAPT  and  EMPLOYMENT.  Contacts  have  also  been 
established  with  the  Euroqualification  project  under  the  European  Social 
Fund  with  a  view  to  generate  other  forms  of  cooperation  with  national 
employment  and  training  agencies. 

With  respect  to  the  LEONARDO  programme  closer  cooperation  is  being 
developed.  At  the  European  level  by  an  exchange  of  information,  in 
addition  EURES  partners  are  beginning  to  make  joint  applications  for 
transnational  projects.  The  European  handbook  for  guidance  counsellors 
was  distributed  to  all  Euroadvisers.  In  addition  Euroadvisers  have  access 
to a wide  range of information  on Community  programmes  via the general 
information  database  (see  chapter  2 4) 

Information  meetings  will  also  be  organised  by  the  Commission  and  the 
persons  responsible  at national  level  for  the projects,  so as to contribute  to 
the  reinforcement  of  links  between  training  and  employment  at  the 
European  level. 

21 

\ 7.  National Activity  Plans 

Through  the  financing  of  National  Activity  Plans,  the  Commission  will 
continue to support  the activities undertaken,  at the national  level, by  national 
employment  services.  The  Activity  Plans  which  benefit  from  Commission 
support,  present  actions consolidating  and  developing the  EURES  network  at 
the  national  level  and  also  taking  into  account  the  legal  and  political 
framework  and  the  medium  term  aims  of  the  network. 

7.8. Pilot  projects 

New cooperation  between  partners  can be tested  within  the  framework  of  the 
expansion  and  development  of  the  EURES  network  in  agreement  with  the 
public  employment  services.  This  involves  in  particular  the  extension  of  the 
EURES  network  to  universities  and to other partners who can  bring a certain 
added-value  to  the  network.  This  also  involves  pilot  projects  which  will  test 
cooperation  with  other  Community  programmes  and  also  new  regional 
cooperation  which  is based  on  real  flows  of  mobility. 

8.  Conclusion 

The setting up and official  launching of the network  represents a considerable 
human  and  technical  achievement  EURES  has  drawn  together  the  public 
employment  services of Europe both at the operational,  in that  all  the services 
are now in direct  contact  with  each other for  the exchange of information  and 
job  vacancies.  There  is  considerable  potential  for  improving  and  developing 
the  technical  aspects  of  the  system  to enhance  the  flow  of  data  At  the  same 
time  experience  to  date  has  shown  that  the  development  of  cooperation 
between  the  public  employment  services  and  the Commission  with  respect  to 
EURES  has  also  led  to  growing  collaboration  between  the  partners  in  other 
areas,  eg  measures  to  combat  unemployment,  and  EURES  is  contributing 
actively  to  the  creation  of  a  European  labour  market 

APPENDIX 

23 

Table  1 

Distribution  of  Euroadviser  by  Organisation 

Country 

Organisation 

Euro 
adviser 

Country 

Organisation 

Euro 
adviser 

Austria 

Arbeitsmarktservice 

Belgium 

FOREM 

Belgium 

VDAB 

Belgium 

ORBEM 

Germany 

Bundesanstalt  fur  Arbeit 

Germany 

Bundesverwaltungsamt 

Denmark 

Arbejdsmarkedsstyrelsen 

Spain 

INEM 

Finland 

Arbedsministeriet 

France 

ANPE 

France 

APEC 

France 

OM1 

Greece 

OAED 

4 

16 

8 

2 

34 

15 

20 

33 

6 

23 

5 

5 

16 

Ireland 

Iceland 

Italy 

FAS 

Ministry  of  Social  Affairs 

Ministerio  del  Lavoro 

Luxembourg 

ADEM 

Netherlands 

Arbeidsvoorziening 

Norway 

Portugal 

Sweden 

Arbeidsdirektoratet 

IEFP 

Arbetsmarknadssty relsen 

United Kingdom 

Employment  Services 

Trade  Unions 

Employer  Organisations 

Universities 

others 

TOTAL 

24 

-

31 

6 

19 

2 

17 

6 

15 

43 

5 

17 

3 

375 

FOREM:  Office  Communautaire  et  Régional  de  la  Fomiation  Professionelle  et  de  l'Emploi 

VDAB:  Vlaamse  Dienst  voor  Arbeidsbemiddeling  en  Beroepsopiciding 

ORBEM:  Office  Regional  Bruxellois  de  l'Emploi 

INEM:  Instituto  Nacional  de  Empleo 

ANPE:  Agence  National  Pour  l'Emploi 

APEC:  Agence  Pour  l'Emploi  des  Cadres 

OMI:  Office  des  Migrations  Internationales 

OAED:  Office  de  l'Emploi  de  la  Main  d'Oeuvre  Administration 

FAS:  Training  and  Employment  Authority 

ADEM  Administration  de  l'Emploi 

IEFP:  Instituto  do  Emprego e  Formaçào  Profissional 

24 

Database  "living  and working conditions" 

Table  2 

Thematic  fields 

1.1 

1.1.1 

1.1.2 
1.1.3 

1.1.4 

1.1.5 

1.1.6 

1.1.7 

1.1.8 

1.1.9 

Salaried  Workers 

General  Remark 

1.1.11.7 

Particular  Categories  of  Workers 

1.1.11.8 

Professional  Training 

Definition  of the  worker  and  his  family 

1.1.11.9 

Rises  of  Working 

Formalities  for  Emigration 

Formalities  for  Immigration 

Residence  Permit 

Driving  Licence 

Removal  of  Goods 

1.1.11.10 

Protection  against  Sexual  Harassment 

1.1.11.11 

Representation  of  Workers 

1.1.11.12 

Working  Agreements  and  Conventions 

1.1.11.13 

Working  Conflicts 

1.1.11.14 

Transfer  of  Social  Rights  of  Workers 

Border  Crossing  with Plants  and  Animals 

1.1.12 

Professional  Qualifications 

Border  Crossing  with  Vehicles 

1.1.10 

Living  Condtions 

1.1.11 

Working  Conditions 

1.1.11.1 

Recruitment 

1.1.11.2 

Payment 

1.1.11.3 

Working  Hours 

1.1.11.4 
1.1.11.5 

Holidays 

Working  Contracts 

1.1.11.6 

Particular  Forns  of  Work 

1.1.13 

1.1.14 

Labour  Market 

Social  Security 

1.1.14.1 

Protection  of  people  moving  within  the  EU 

1.1.14.2 

National  Regulations 

1.1.15 

1.1.16 

1.2 

1.3 

Respection  of  Rights 

Useful  Addresses 

Crossborder  Workers 

Indépendant  Workers 

Texts  available  in  the  database  at  27.10.95 
(absolute  numbers  and  percentage  of the  programme  initially  fixed) 

Texts  per  country 
languages) 
(all 
Number 

Country 
Austria 
Belgium 
Germany 
Denmark 
Greece 
Spain 
France 
Ireland 
Italy 
Luxembourg 
Netherlands 
Portugal 
Finland 
Sweden 
United  Kingdom 
Norway 
Total 

1587 
2175 
2162 
2115 
1848 
2126 
2117 
2111 
2063 
2085 
2099 
1955 
280 
1028 
2120 
1003 
28874 

% 

80 
61 
83 
83 
81 
71 
81 
81 
81 
79 
80 
75 
11 
39 
81 
38 
69 

Texts  per  language 
(all  countries) 
Number 

Language 

danish 
german 
greek 
english 
Spanish 
french 
italian 
dutch 
Portuguese 

3229 
3206 
3182 
3258 
3243 
3244 
3177 
3186 
3149 

% 

70 
69 
69 
70 
70 
70 
68 
69 
68 

Total 

28874 

69 

25 

Euroadviser  Activities  1995 

Table 3 

B y 3 0 - 9 - 1 9 95 

C o n t a c ts  w i th 

A p p l i c a t i o ns 

P l a c e m e n ts  *) 

O r g a n i s a t i on 

j o b s e e k e rs 

e m p l o y e rs 

o t h e rs 

AT-AMS 
BE-FOREM 
BE-VDAB 
BE-ORBEM 
DE-BA 
DE-BVA 
DK-AMS 
ES-INEM 
FI-ML 
FR-ANPE 
FR-APEC 
FR-OMI 
GR-OAED 
IR-FAS 
IT-ML 
LU-ADEM 
NL-AV 
NO-ADIR 
PT-IEFP 

SW-AMS 
UK-ES 

TRADE  UNIONS 

8162 
1811 
10045 
9457 
26689 
3790 
3427 
16352 
16850 
5234 
620 
1283 
905 
10337 
17686 
180 
15379 
5915 
760 
7704 
11890 

5235 

816 
62 
448 
547 
3084 
66 
109 
185 
590 
963 
39 
208 
324 
717 
1061 
12 
1733 
842 
190 
872 
1830 

41 

1569 
95 
1297 
1015 
2140 
1574 
329 
1058 
1040 
484 
78 
195 
392 
1964 
4234 
25 
2296 
858 
411 
1152 
4775 
650 

1010 
1364 
4841 
1110 
4522 
122 
224 
2736 
1795 
2108 
36 
219 
432 
1380 
3057 
45 
4388 
907 
173 
784 
2237 
***\ 

1140**) 
0 
153 
0 
1389 
0 
117 
181 
354 
452 
4 
1 
3 
359 
674 
5 
522 
42 
42 
131 
195 
***\ 

Total 

179711 

14739 

27631 

33490 

I 

5764 

*) Some organisations  have difficulties  in reporting these figures since the  EURES 
computer  system cannot yet provide an automatic follow-up of placement  activities. 

**) Austrian  Euroadvisers  only count written applications  There are more  placements 

since the Austrian  Hotel and Tourism  Industry  recruits  very often  only  by an oral procedure. 

'*) Trade  Union  Euroadvisers  are not involved in application  and placement  activities 

26 

Cpen Job Vacancies/Posts  by End of Month 

Table  4 

SO 

A single Job Vacancy  can actually  be advertising  a number of posts. 
There  is more than one job  of the same type  on offer. 

Posts 

Job  Vacancies 

EURES Job  Vacancies  Database 

Table 5 

30/09/95 

Open  Posts  by  level  of  education*) 

1 

2 

3 

5 06 

4 74 

2 29 

Country 

Austria 

Belgium 

Germany 

Denmark 

Spain 

Finland 

France 

Greece 

Irland 

Iceland 

Italy 

Luxembourg 

Netherlands 

Norway 

Portugal 

Sweden 

UK 

EU 

outside  EU 

0 

3 

38 

2 89 

7 

0 

11 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

4 

4 

0 

10 

11 

0 

0 

65 

53 

2 

0 

1 

1 

3 

15 

0 

0 

0 

2 

1 

0 

0 

6 

0 

0 

6 

9 41 

5 

1 

2 

39 

3 

0 

0 

11 

7 

91 

12 

0 

10 

134 

0 

8 

4 

27 

37 

2 58 

7 

0 

0 

2 

118 

0 

0 

0 

0 

64 

15 

2 

9 

33 

31 

4 

0 

0 

0 

0 

17 

50 

6 

0 

6 

15 

0 

4 

4 

0 

3 

12 

0 

4 

5 

16 

54 

70 

10 

8 

21 

64 

9 

4 

0 

4 

1 

47 

0 

2 

45 

82 

2 13 

2 11 

8 61 

n.a. 

0 

32 

7 

1 

1 

3 

95 

29 

10 

2 

3 

1 

2 

0 

0 

2 

12 

0 

1 

Total 

1255 

2 96 

1633 

34 

19 

71 

2 32 

166 

29 

2 

20 

9 

2 13 

27 

2 

76 

2 72 

2 13 

2 28 

2 01 

4 7 97 

Total 

3 79 

6 55 

1 7 44 

4 35 

5 22 

*)  Level of Education: 

0 
1 
2 
3 

4 
5 

None  Required 
Compulsory  Education and Professional  Initiation 
Compulsory  Education  and Vocational Training  (incl.  Apprenticeship) 
Compulsory  Education and/or Vocational Training  and Additional  Technical 
Training  or Technical  Educational Training  or other Secondary-Level  Training 
Secondary  Training  (General or Vovational)  and Post-Secondary  Technical  Training 
Secondary  Training  (General or Vocational)  and Complete  Higher  Training 

28 

Actions on BEC Computer 

Table 6 

S login 

Job Vacancies 

•  E-Mail 

Notifications 

other 

35000 

30000 

ri 

Use of General Information Database 

Table 7 

1994 
Nov | Dec 

1995 
Jan | Feb | Mar  Apr | May|Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep 

82 

86 

76 

62 

53 

2 

in minutes 
155 
0 

128 

132 

296 

67 

404 

724 

360 

350 

445 

122 

69 

176 

30 

60 

304 

307 

558 

505 

716 

559 

446 

696 

639 

301 

495 

50 

235 

48 

172 

439 

56 

96 

108 

539 

29 

316 

Total 
,  h 
17,0 

4 7 ,6 

92,1 

34,8 

855 

2272 

1079 

2081 

2219 

1115 

1046 

1154 

1685 

1856 

1515 

281,3 

619 

704 

941 

722 

1070 

809 

579 

577 

566 

993 

668 

137,5 

1649 

1317 

949 

933 

980 

500 

597 

737 

877 

567 

577 

161,4 

864 

181 

74 

66 

40 

183 

273 

488 

912 

294 

372 

323 

478 

138 

391 

78,6 

572 

515 

678 

450 

390 

796 

2288 

735 

871 

823 

138,3 

706 

1110 

752 

720 

751 

198 

220 

302 

896 

681 

106,8 

40 

106 

9 

2 

36 

218 

18 

16 

255 

210 

272 

55 

72 

113 

535 

535 

681 

328 

276 

118 

882 

286 

537 

165 

204 

748 

119 

128 

193 

142 

46 

0 

53 

31 

0 

15 

51 

0 

16 

14 

0 

62 

0 

0 

0 

123 

53 

247 

277 

375 

420 

6 

0 

0 

6 

95 

89 

0 

95 

129 

8,3 

159 

226 

32,3 

16 

0 

2,1 

366 

484 

1033 

671 

763 

604 

905 

693 

402 

747 

266 

115,6 

28 

0 

59 

11 

78 

11 

26 

28 

18 

564 

139 

190 

102 

185 

111 

189 

192 

273 

22 

45 

855 

911 

772 

1070 

668 

516 

933 

404 

360 

552 

349 

511 

520 

10,5 

41,7 

126,0 

713 

392 

1150 

596 

556 

283 

586 

496 

551 

773 

433 

108,8 

4 

0 

179 

236 

515 

87 

618 

338 

29 

359 

130 

154 

271 

367 

404 

302 

205 

67 

250 

105 

264 

207 

41,6 

43,3 

16,3 

50,4 

0,0 

57,5 

Organisation 
AT-AMS 
BE-FOREM 
BE-VDAB 
BE-ORBEM 
DE-BA 
DE-BVA 
DK-AMS 
ES-INEM 
FI-ML 
FR-ANPE 
FR-APEC 
FR-OMI 
GR-OAED 
IR-FAS 
IS-MSA 
IT-ML 
LU-ADEM 
NL-AV 
NO-ADIR 
PT-IEFP 
SW-AMS 
UK-ES 
UNIVERSITIES 
TRADE UNION 
Total  hours 

Users 
6 

14 

9 

3 

38 

18 

23 

28 

15 

16 

5 

7 

0 

24 

1 

20 

2 

17 

;4 

12 

8 

13 

15 

28 

3 26 

142,0 

154,9 

173,5 

174,3 

193,9 

137,3 

157,1 

167,7 

144,1 

160,0 

145,0 

1749,7 

30 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(96) 3  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

05  04 

Catalogue number  :  CB-CO-96-006-EN-C 

ISBN 92-77-99455-X 

Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 

l>-2985 Luxembourg