Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Communication from the Commission to the Council: New European Labour Markets, Open to All, with Access for All"
Date: 2001-09-12
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU employment policy, job access, labour market

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Official Journal of the European Communities

7.11.2001

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Communication from the Commission
to the Council: New European Labour Markets, Open to All, with Access for All’

(2001/C 311/13)

On 3 July 2001, the European Parliament decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under
Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned communication.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 5 September 2001. The rapporteur was
Mrs Carroll, Mrs Polverini, co-rapporteur and Mr Fuchs, co-rapporteur.

At its 384th plenary session of 12 and 13 September 2001 (meeting of 12 September 2001), the
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 98 votes to 0, with two abstentions.

1.

Introduction

1.1.
Opening the new European labour markets and making
them more accessible was identified as one of the ten key areas
for policy action in the European Commission’s contribution
to the Spring European Council (Stockholm 2001), entitled
‘Realising the European Union’s potential: consolidating and
extending the Lisbon strategy’. The Communication ‘New
European Labour Markets, Open to All, with Access for All’ is
the first step towards realising the potential of the European
Labour Market to work for the benefit of both workers and
employers.

1.1.1.
The Committee welcomes the request by the Euro-
pean Parliament to comment on this important European
policy field, and supports the generally positive views on the
Commission text expressed in the European Parliament’s draft
report.

1.1.2.

The Commission is addressing this issue because of:

— pressure from increasingly integrated European business-
es and from mobile workers for simpler solutions to their
mobility and recruitment needs across Europe’s labour
markets, in the context of the continuing integration of
many sectors and industries under the impact of the euro
and the Internal Market. The continued strengthening of
the European economy over recent years, although
suffering some setbacks in recent times, has also high-
lighted the need to deal with this issue;

— the impact of wide-ranging structural changes across
Europe, driven by globalisation, technology, demography
and social aspirations, which are revealing constantly
changing and commonly experienced skills needs and
raising skills gaps and mobility issues in more prosperous
regions;

— the challenge of ensuring greater convergence and oppor-
tunity across the regions of the EU, in the face of the
above changes and in relation to the EU’s relatively
slow pace in advancing cohesion in terms of levels of
employment and to the impact of further enlargement.

2. Comments on the proposals

The following represents the Committee’s views on the specific
proposals made by the Commission, which have also received
favourable comment in the Parliament’s draft.

2.1. The first set of policy actions

2.1.1.
The Committee welcomes the Commission’s inten-
tion to propose in 2002 a more uniform, transparent and
flexible regime of professional recognition, which will include
ways of promoting more widespread automatic recognition.
The Committee welcomes the actions which have already been
taken. These, however, largely represent action on professional
vocational qualifications, i.e. in the higher end of the labour
market. The failure of the Member States to agree over such a
long period of time on mutual recognition of non-professional
vocational skills generally (with the exception of the proposal
for a directive on the training of professional drivers (1) — a
highly regulated occupation), has been a major barrier to
mobility and the creation of a genuine European labour
market. If those with lower-level skills and not just those with
the highest, most desirable skills are to be integrated into a
true EU labour market, then action is urgent on this issue. The
Commission must develop further initiatives on this matter,
and a relevant and proactive contribution could be made by
the social partners where they so wish. However, where
sectoral directives have served the involved community well,
there is no need to change them.

(1) COM(2001) 56 final — 2001/0033 (COD) — Proposal for a
Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on the
training of professional drivers for the carriage of goods or
passengers by road.

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2.1.2.
In a labour market which is constantly evolving and
where much of the initial and continuous vocational training
carried out is done in-company, it is essential to identify ways
in which skills acquired at work can be recognised, while
maintaining standards. Accordingly, the Committee supports
this proposal and hopes it can be extended as widely as
possible, particularly within sectors such as tourism and other
industries with common standards and practices.

2.1.3.
The Committee considers that lifelong learning is the
key to familiarising people in Europe with the logic of the
information society, new technologies and the new econ-
omy (1). This is an urgent matter to be dealt with and it should
have a high priority in the Commission’s policy initiatives. The
Committee is concerned that, after several years of discussion,
the Lifelong Learning Action Plan to be put before the Spring
European Council
the stage of
identifying basic skills essential for mobility, facilitating the
recognition of skills acquired outside formal systems and an
increased investment
It should also
identify ways and means by which those who have been failed
by the education system in the past could benefit by a lifelong
learning strategy, so as to integrate them in the workforce.

in 2002 is still only at

in human resources.

If the EU is to develop its skills levels, however, more
2.1.4.
urgent action will be needed. It will also be necessary to draw
up a plan for the short-to-medium term (2-5 years). The
Commission must draw on its best practice (2.1.5 below) to
provide reliable, rapidly effective guidelines for the shortest
timescale (6 months-2 years) for universities and local auth-
orities , in order to raise the level of education and training for
highly-qualified professionals. The social partners could make
an effective contribution to this process where they so wish.

The Committee notes that there may be problems
2.1.5.
of subsidiarity in developing an open method of coordination
on Best Practice in Education and Training Systems. It also
notes, however , that the use of this method in these fields
was left open by the Stockholm European Council. The
Commission should , as a priority, deal with educational
initiatives which have proved to be effective in dealing with
disadvantaged groups within the primary and second-level
school populations and preventing early drop out of the
system. Another urgent priority is an increase in the numbers
of second and third level students taking technical and
scientific subjects, as high technical skills cannot be achieved
overnight without a solid educational
foundation in the
appropriate subjects.

2.2. Removing barriers to mobility

The Committee agrees that implementation of the
2.2.1.
Commission’s comprehensive strategy to remove barriers to
services should have a direct impact on the mobility of service
providers. The Committee has already approved the proposals
in previous opinions.

2.2.2.
Various aspects of supplementary pension schemes
have presented barriers to mobility or difficulties for workers
for many years and discussions have been ongoing from time
to time since the late 1970s on this issue. The Committee
hopes that the Commission’s proposed Communication on
the Elimination of Obstacles to the Cross-border Provision of
Supplementary Pensions will speed up the removal of such
barriers to mobility.

2.2.3.
The Committee is also pleased to note that the
Commission will present a proposal on Portability of Sup-
plementary Pensions by the end of 2001 and hopes that its
proposal on the harmonisation of the rules applicable to
funded pension schemes will be adopted shortly.

2.2.4.
The Mobility of Researchers, Students, Trainers and
Teachers is an essential component of integrated European
Labour Markets and, as such, the Committee welcomes the
proposals made by the Commission in this respect.

2.2.5.
The Committee supports the Commission in urging
the Council and the European Parliament to adopt the pending
proposals in the area of Modernising Social Security for
Migrant Workers, whilst recognizing the subsidiarity issues
concerned.

2.2.6.
The Committee agrees with the Commission that,
account having been taken of the consequences for social
equilibrium and the labour market, the Council, on the basis
of proposals by the Commission should set out the criteria
and conditions under which there should be Mobility of third
country nationals within the EU. The Committee urges the
early adoption by the Council of proposed Directives in this
area. The Committee is currently finalising its Opinions on the
‘Proposal for a Council Directive concerning the status of
third-country nationals who are long-term residents’ (2) and
‘Proposal for a Council Directive on the conditions of entry
and residence of third-country nationals for the purpose of
paid employment and self-employed economic activities’ (3).

2.2.7.
If there is to be a genuine European labour market, it
must be characterised by equality of treatment for migrants
with local workers and should have as its goal socially
sustainable and progressive mobility. This is essential for social
cohesion to the European social model.

(1) OJ C 139, 11.5.2001. See also Opinion on the ‘Memorandum of

Lifelong Learning’ (SEC(2000) 1832).

(2) COM(2001) 127 final — 2001/0074 (CNS).
(3) COM(2001) 386 final — 2001/0154 (CNS).

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2.2.8.
Fear of unemployment in host countries tends to
provoke protectionist attitudes which can act as a barrier to
mobility. Economic and social development of regions that
attract a high number of migrant workers is essential to
counteract this tendency.

2.3.

Improving information and transparency

The Committee welcomes the Commission’s pro-
2.3.1.
posal for a One-stop European Mobility Information Site
which would help citizens to network and develop information
from community and national sources to provide comprehen-
sive and easily accessible information to citizens on key aspects
of jobs, mobility and learning opportunities in Europe.

The Commission should ensure that this is available
2.3.2.
directly to citizens on the Internet and not just through
national employment agencies. The EURES network, which is
primarily a network for national employment agencies, should
be integrated into the One-stop Shop and made more easily
information on
accessible to ordinary citizens. Generally,
EURES should include, as well as information on employment
conditions, information on social conditions, such as housing,
education, available training through lifelong learning pro-
grammes and health services, as well as on the tax and social
security situation. The information should be clear, available
in all EU working languages and in the major languages of
migrants to the EU.

2.3.3.
Campaigns on various subjects have been run before,
with limited success. While the Committee agrees that the
proposed Mobility Information Campaign should make use of
existing and familiar instruments, where these have been
shown to be effective in reaching the citizen directly, it should
also make increasing use of the social partners and relevant
NGOs at national and regional levels in a much more integrated
way, so as to reach those most directly concerned by mobility
issues: employers, workers, their respective organisations and
NGOs representing disadvantaged groups.

2.3.3.1.
Not all potential migrants nor those already resi-
dent in the EU have access to the Internet, nor are they
connected to formal organisations, e.g. NGOs. Therefore, the
campaign should also be carried on through other channels,
e.g. through radio, TV advertisements, via post offices and
other public offices which migrant workers may visit from
time to time and at points of departure and arrival into and
within the EU — airports, railway stations, ports, motorways,
etc.

2.3.3.2.
The social partners and NGOs dealing with migrant
workers should be actively involved in the campaign also.
Trade unions could set up information points and ensure,
through international contacts, that trade unions in countries
of origin had accurate information to give their members.
Employers should use a standardised information package on
employment rights, tax and social security arrangements, when
recruiting workers abroad. Information and funding, where
appropriate, should be given the social partners and NGOs as
part of the campaign.

Priority action on Professional recognition of qualifi-
2.3.4.
cations is an essential part of work on the integration of
European Labour Markets and the Committee welcomes the
proposal. Priority should, however, be given to the work on
actual recognition of qualifications rather than to information
on an incomplete system, although this will also be important
in the future. (See also paragraphs 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 above, in
this connection.)

2.4.

Stage Two: High-level Skills and Mobility Taskforce and
2002 Action Plan

2.4.1.
The Committee welcomes the setting up of the High-
level Skills and Mobility Taskforce and the mandate given to
it. The Committee would wish to be kept informed of the
work of the Taskforce and to give its opinion on its ongoing
work and on the 2002 Action Plan to be put forward by the
Commission on the basis of the Taskforce’s Report in Decemb-
er 2001.

2.4.2.
This is a positive measure, but mainly for workers
who already benefit from a high level of education and access
to information. Quality must also apply to those workers who
are less qualified and who, according to the statistics provided
in the Communication, are less mobile.

3. Additional Conclusions for consideration by the

European Parliament

3.1. While the Committee generally approves the direction
of the Commission’s Communication, it has other comments
to make on aspects of a European Labour Market which were
not adequately dealt with in the Communication and which
might be considered by the European Parliament.

3.2.
The Committee welcomes the recognition by the
Commission of the fact that there is, at present, no one
integrated European Labour Market but rather a series of
(mostly) geographic, regional and sectoral markets, the latter
two, to some extent, crossing borders. It is vitally important
that, hand in hand with the development of an integrated
European Labour Market, work continues to improve econ-
omic and social life in underdeveloped regions of the EU.
Unless all regions have the opportunity to develop and to
attract appropriate high technology industries and services,

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there will continue to be one-way mobility, with a centre-
periphery divide. This is not a healthy situation, whether
socially or economically. All policies and actions envisaged
under the Action Plan should be aimed at ensuring an even
spread of development of labour markets within the EU and
the candidate countries.

Prosperous national and regional labour markets are
3.2.1.
an important element of a European Labour Market. Indeed,
given the level of mobility among EU citizens, it could be
considered that this is a higher priority of citizens. It must be
recalled that a labour market consists of people as well as
organisations; people, the vast majority of whom have, up to
now, preferred to stay in their home town, region or country.
Even with a successful implementation of the 2002 Action
Plan, the figures seem to indicate that most Europeans will
prefer to work near their homes and they should not be forced
by economic or social conditions to do otherwise, where at all
possible. On the other hand, the Committee agrees that where
they wish to move within the Union, they should be facilitated
in doing so.

However,

3.2.2.
in an imperfect world, many European
citizens are forced to move to seek work in the most
prosperous regions of the Union. Others do so voluntarily.
Whether the choice is forced or voluntary, the Committee
welcomes this initiative as improving their chances of finding
suitable employment, accommodation and of settling into
their new lives with a minimum of difficulty.

Apart

from general comments on European inte-
3.3.
gration, the Communication makes little specific provision for
the very particular problems of
integrating the relatively
undeveloped labour markets of the Candidate Countries into
the more sophisticated EU labour markets. Given that the
target date for the full implementation of the 2002 Action
Plan is 2005, this is a serious omission.

3.3.1.
Although free movement of workers from the candi-
date countries may be a qualified right for a period from the

date of accession, the reality is that individual migrants from
the candidate countries are seeking and will continue to seek
access to the EU labour market. This is understandable, given
the differences in the labour markets and standards of living
of the candidate countries and of the current EU members.

3.3.2.
For the overall economic and social health of the
enlarged EU, development of the candidate countries is a
necessity, with a view to bringing those countries nearer to
and eventually up to the European average in terms of a labour
market. The time between now and the achievement of
free movement should be used for targetted action for the
development of the candidate countries’ own labour markets.
These countries cannot be regarded only as a source of labour,
but as labour markets in their own right. To wait until the
actual accession date before making appropriate plans and
taking remedial action would be too late.

3.4.
The Communication fails to deal specifically with
many deficiencies in the current labour markets in the EU.
Mobility is more evident among these with higher skills and
social and cultural (e.g. linguistic) advantages, The Committee
notes, however, that mobility is low within groups with low
skills. It is particularly concerned with the situation of under-
privileged groups within society — women, the disabled,
migrants and second-generation migrants and others — many
of whom have either low-level or no skills. Many of these,
given an adequate opportunity, could make a valuable contri-
bution to European Labour Markets. Indeed, social cohesion
demands that special efforts are made in this direction.

3.5.
In order to have the maximum impact on the European
economy, this initiative must be closely integrated into all
Action Plans and programmes aimed at improving Europe’s
position in information and communications technology. The
Committee has already given its Opinion on the E-Europe
2002 initiative and an Opinion on the E-learning Action Plan
is being adopted concurrently with this Opinion.

Brussels, 12 September 2001.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS