Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the "Communication from the Commission on the Action Plan for skills and mobility"
Date: 2002-11-20
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU employment policy, Internet site, action programme, geographical mobility, job mobility, professional qualifications

C 73/30

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Official Journal of the European Union

26.3.2003

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Communication from the Commission on the
Action Plan for skills and mobility’

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

(2003/C 73/08)

having regard to the Communication from the Commission on the Action Plan for skills and mobility
(COM(2002) 72 final);

having regard to the European Commission decision of 20 February 2002 to consult it under the first
paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

having regard to the decision of its Bureau on 12 March 2002 to instruct Commission for Culture and
Education to draw up an Opinion on this subject;

having regard to its Opinion on the Proposal for a Council Directive concerning the Status of Third-
Country nationals who are long-term residents (CdR 213/2001) (1);

having regard to its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission — Making a European area
of lifelong learning a reality (CdR 49/2002 fin);

having regard to the European Parliament Draft Report of the Committee on Employment and Social
Affairs on the Commission’s Action Plan for skills and Mobility, PE 316-348 (rapporteur: Mrs Regina
Bastos);

having regard to its Draft Opinion (CdR 138/2002 rev. 2) adopted on 30 September 2002 by its
Commission for Culture and Education (rapporteur: Mrs Jennette Arnold, Member of the Greater London
Authority (UK-PES));

whereas:

1)

2)

3)

4)

the European Union calls for the commitment of all actors, including local and regional authorities,
to achieve the goal for Europe to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based
economy in the world capable of sustaining growth with more and better jobs and greater social
cohesion as laid down in the Lisbon European Council;

the development of the skills of EU citizens contributes to the goal of creating a competitive
economy;

local and regional authorities are driving forces behind regional economies and play a key role in
bringing together the partnerships needed to create a more responsive learning and training
environment in order to increase occupational mobility;

increasing skills and geographic mobility should be seen in the context of sustainable development
and of the general cohesion of the Union,

adopted the following opinion at its 47th plenary session on 20 and 21 November 2002 (meeting of
20 November).

1. The Committee of the Regions’ views and recommen-

dations

most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in
the world;

The Committee of the Regions

welcomes the Commission Action Plan on Skills and
1.1.
Mobility which promotes human-resource development,
in
the context of achieving the Lisbon goal of creating the

( 1) OJ C 19, 22.1.2002, p. 18.

agrees with the Commission’s view that a skilled and
1.2.
adaptable labour force, which is able to access employment
across the EU, is essential to ensure greater competitiveness,
employability and the development of social cohesion. The
Committee of the Regions emphasises the strategic role local
and regional authorities play in developing human-resource
policies which are responsive to the needs of the individual
and the labour market;

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1.3.
is concerned that issues of inclusion and equal oppor-
tunities are not adequately addressed in the Action Plan.
Tackling barriers to lifelong learning because of discrimination
and lack of basic skills is key to creating a competitive
economy particularly in the context of an ageing population;

1.4.
sees EU programmes as playing a crucial role in
developing skills and geographic mobility in the Union.
Programmes should continue to access all groups facing
barriers to employment or labour-market progression and
greater effort should be made to improve the links between
human-resource measures and other aspects of Structural
Funds such as ERDF and Community initiatives;

1.5.
stresses that local and regional authorities often seek
to implement sound measures, such as training courses,
designed to improve skills and mobility, but sometimes are
obliged to give up for want of funds. Greater financial support
from the EU would enable local and regional authorities to put
more of their proposals into practice;

1.6.
believes that occupational mobility and geographic
mobility empower individuals and provide them with the
opportunity to take free and responsible decisions for their
own lives. However, increased geographical mobility should
not be at the expense of the sustainable development and
cohesion of the EU. Geographic mobility can produce econ-
omic imbalances, particularly in rural areas, where increased
mobility of the young results in an ageing population. In order
to ensure that geographic mobility does not take on a negative
connotation, specific economic support should be provided
for rural areas and other areas at risk of depopulation, and
training schemes should be devised to give young people the
opportunity to undertake more highly skilled employment in
these areas. If appropriate measures are not taken to counter
this phenomenon, as recommended by the Committee, the
accession of the candidate countries could lead to an exacer-
bation of this problem;

1.7.
urges the Commission to undertake an assessment of
migration on departure regions as well as destination regions
particularly in terms of local services such as housing, edu-
cation, health and social services.

2.2.
wishes to stress that job mobility cannot be encouraged
unless individuals have good basic skills such as literacy,
numeracy and IT and basic employability skills. In particular,
it is essential that young people receive a high standard of
basic skills, including social skills before leaving the educational
system. Language learning from the earliest age is also
essential. Moreover, as outlined in the CoR Opinion on the
lifelong
Communication on Making a European area of
learning a reality, CdR 49/2002 fin (rapporteur Mrs Christina
Tallberg), the CoR sees understanding and respect of fellow
citizens as part of the key skills individuals need in a more
integrated European economy;

2.3.
is concerned that the Action Plan does not adequately
address the issue of access to learning for all. The CoR believes
that increasing access to learning for all the citizens of Europe
is of fundamental importance and the key to ensuring that the
Lisbon goals are achieved. Increased demand for higher skills
and particularly developments in ICT tend to marginalise those
with low skills. The CoR emphasises equal opportunities for
all regardless of race, ethnic origin, gender, disability, sexual
orientation, age, or religion, and stresses the importance of
creating a social infrastructure to support those facing barriers
to learning, in particular through the provision of childcare
and elderly care to enable women to learn;

agrees with the European Commission that educational
2.4.
establishments and learning providers need to become more
responsive to the needs of learners and the labour market. The
CoR believes that competitiveness of business is dependent on
its ability to adapt to continually developing technology and
on the ability of the workforce to adapt to these changes. The
Committee urges the Commission to assess how increased
labour mobility will affect the need for education and labour
demand at regional and national level;

2. Occupational mobility

The Committee of the Regions

agrees with the Commission that fundamental

to
2.1.
creating a dynamic competitive European economy is the
encouragement of job mobility;

2.5.
would strongly emphasise the leading role of local and
regional authorities in mobilising partnerships between all the
actors at local level and between geographical areas within EU
Member States that share common characteristics in terms of
sectors of economic development, and therefore common
training and labour-force needs. The CoR also stresses the
importance of promoting specific programmes to support
occupational mobility by means of partnerships involving
businesses and public authorities;

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advisory bodies

welcomes the establishment of a network of industry/
2.6.
educational
to strengthen cooperation
between the world of work and the educational systems.
Given the strategic role local and regional authorities play in
developing these partnerships, the CoR calls for the inclusion
of local and regional authorities in such networks;

2.7.
believes that occupational mobility cannot be achieved
without joint recognition of qualifications. The CoR supports
Commission action to develop instruments supporting the
transparency and transferability of qualifications and in par-
ticular the recognition of non-formal learning;

supports the development of a ‘modular’ system for
2.8.
the accumulation of qualifications. The CoR feels that there is
scope to link such a system to Community training and
exchange programmes so as to increase the transparency and
openness of European qualifications systems

2.9.
agrees with the Commission that resources should be
made available for investment in human resources, especially
in lagging regions. However the CoR points out that barriers
to learning are an issue for socially excluded groups across the
whole Union. The CoR stresses the important role that the
European Social Fund plays within the framework of the
European Employment Strategy in developing human capital
of disadvantaged groups, wherever they reside within the
Union.

3. Geographic mobility

The Committee of the Regions

strongly agrees with the Commission that geographic
3.1.
mobility should not be considered as an end in itself but
should be considered as a real choice for individuals;

3.4.
stresses that local and regional authorities, as the level
of government closest to the people, play a key role in
supporting the integration of migrant communities. It con-
siders that the impact of migration on local services such as
housing, education, health and social services should be
examined. It therefore calls on the Commission to conduct a
survey with a view to disseminating good practice in schemes
run by local bodies to facilitate and support mobility by
providing special services for members of migrant communi-
ties;

3.5.
notes that geographic mobility between Member States
but also within Member States is low in the EU. The CoR
would stress that barriers to geographic mobility within
Member States remain important and the elimination of these
barriers should be given equal priority to the removal of
barriers between Member States;

3.6.
welcomes the emphasis placed on removing remaining
administrative and legal barriers in the Action Plan. Discrimi-
nation in access to employment, incompatibilities between tax,
social security and public health systems and pensions of
Member States all create barriers to mobility and the CoR
welcomes moves to overcome them. To this end the Com-
mittee of the Regions reiterates the points made in the opinion
on the Proposal for a European Parliament and Council
Directive on the right of citizens of the Union and their family
members to move and reside freely within the territory of the
Member States. Eliminating these barriers to mobility does not,
however, mean harmonisation of Members States’ tax, social
security, public health and pension systems;

3.7.
strongly welcomes the proposal to undertake studies
looking at the obstacles to mobility in the EU. Given the
strategic role of local and regional authorities in economic
development, the CoR calls for their involvement in framing
these studies;

3.2.
believes that an increase in geographic mobility should
not be at the expense of the cohesion of the Union as a whole.
The CoR believes that the European Commission should
place greater emphasis on linking skills’ development to
the promotion of balanced regional development. Human-
resource policies should be developed within the wider context
of the Structural Funds and Community Initiatives;

3.8.
acknowledges that language and cultural barriers are
significant in the EU compared with other similar economies
and is of the view that the acquisition of language skills should
begin early so that people grow up within the framework of a
multilingual society;

3.3.
is of the view that individuals often become geographi-
cally mobile through lack of real choice, which is often
characterised by migration of unskilled workers from poorer
to richer regions. It believes that whilst unskilled migrant
workers can obtain entry-level employment,
issues remain
about their occupational mobility;

3.9.
highlights the importance of Community programmes
such as Leonardo, Socrates and Youth in developing language
and cross-cultural skills; and calls on the Commission to set
up Community programmes for older people too, be they in
employment or unemployed, or at risk of exclusion from the
labour market, to help them retrain or find a new job;

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3.10.
stresses the important role that local and regional
authorities play in encouraging cross-cultural exchange within
the Union. The CoR welcomes the proposal for increased
opportunities for exchanges for students and trainees. The
CoR stresses that people from disadvantaged backgrounds
face greater barriers to mobility and recommends that EU
programmes facilitate their involvement. Given the proposals
for increased mobility exchanges, the CoR urges a review of
the budgetary resources available;

3.11.
notes the call for a common immigration policy for
third-country nationals and ‘agrees that there is an undoubted
need today, and particularly in the future, for skilled and
unskilled labour in the European Union’ [Opinion of the CoR
for a Council Directive concerning the
on the Proposal

Brussels, 20 November 2002.

status of Third-Country nationals who are long-term residents
(CdR 213/2001 fin)].

4.

Improving information and transparency of
opportunities

job

The Committee of the Regions

4.1.
welcomes the setting-up of a one-stop European
Mobility Information Site. The CoR would draw attention to
the role of local and regional authorities in disseminating
information directly to the citizen and is therefore of the view
that local and regional authorities should be involved in any
information activities and information campaigns. Local and
regional authorities are often the first point of contact for
information and it is vital that the potential to serve as a
conduit for information is not disregarded. In particular local
authorities are closest to the people and are therefore best able
to access the socially excluded.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE