Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on: the Review of the European Employment Strategy and the Employment Guidelines for 2003 based on the Communication on Taking stock of five years of the European Employment Strategy
Date: 2003-04-10
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU employment policy, European Employment Strategy, full employment

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Recommendation 4

Article 10

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

Budgetary distribution between the actions shall

1.
be as follows:

Budgetary distribution between the actions shall

1.
be as follows:

(a)

(b)

e-learning for fighting the digital divide: around
25 % of total budget;

European virtual campuses: around 30 % of total
budget.

(a)

(b)

e-learning for fighting the digital divide: around
2530 % of total budget;

European virtual campuses: around 3025 % of
total budget.

Reasons

Fighting the digital divide is a particularly important objective given Europe’s changing age structure, the
challenges of lifelong learning and changes in the workplace and economic activity.

Brussels, 10 April 2003.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:

— the ‘Review of the European Employment Strategy and the Employment Guidelines for
2003 based on the Communication on Taking stock of five years of the European
Employment Strategy’, and

— the ‘Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on “The future of the
European Employment Strategy (EES): A strategy for full employment and better jobs for
all”’

(2003/C 244/10)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Taking stock of five years of the
European Employment strategy (COM(2002) 416 final) and the Communication from the Commission
to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the
Regions on The future of the European Employment Strategy (EES): A strategy for full employment and
better jobs for all (COM(2003) 6 final);

having regard to the Decisions of the European Commission of 18 July 2002 and 14 January 2003 to
consult it, under the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

having regard to the Decision of its President of 23 September 2002 to instruct the Commission for
Economic and Social Policy to draw up an opinion on this subject;

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having regard to its Draft Opinion (CdR 15/2003 rev.) adopted on 24 February 2003 by the Commission
for Economic and Social Policy (rapporteur: Pauliina Haijanen, Member of the Board, Regional Council of
Southwest Finland, (FIN-EPP)),

adopted the following opinion unanimously at its 49th plenary session of 9 and 10 April 2003 (meeting
of 10 April).

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS’ RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Overall objectives of the reform of the Employment

Strategy

The Committee of the Regions feels that the Com-
1.1.
mission Communication reflects in a clear and consistent way
the goals for the reform of the Employment Strategy set by
the Barcelona European Council. The main thrust of the
Communication is in line with the views expressed earlier by
the CoR on enhancing the effectiveness of the Employment
Strategy and strengthening the local and regional dimension.
Abandoning the pillar approach will clarify the structure of
the Employment Strategy and make it easier to interpret.

1.2.
The Committee of the Regions considers it important
that the overall goals proposed by the Commission for the
reform of the Strategy are based on the Lisbon objectives. The
priorities identified as the basis for future guidelines reflect the
problems in European labour markets and future challenges
and provide a good basis for the development of increasingly
result-oriented guidelines.

1.3.
The Committee of the Regions welcomes the fact that
the stability of the Employment Guidelines is to be reinforced.
The Employment Strategy must focus on the medium-term
objectives and the emphasis of the process must shift from
setting goals to improving implementation and evaluation of
results. The CoR would stress that greater stability will also
enable a widening and deepening of the consultation process
in connection with the drawing up of National Action Plans
(NAPs) and the closer involvement of
local and regional
authorities in the preparation of NAPs.

The Committee of the Regions supports the Com-
1.4.
mission’s aim to streamline the Employment Strategy and
specify the division of labour between the European Union
and Member States. Country-specific recommendations and
NAPs will be given a stronger role in the implementation of
the Employment Strategy. The new time frame for the process
will enable NAPs to be better integrated than at present into
the preparation of national budgets. These changes will boost
the importance of the European Employment Strategy at
national level.

1.5.
The Committee of the Regions considers it important
that labour market reform support the EU’s longer-term
growth, employment and competitiveness strategy and ensure
that labour market constraints do not hamper economic
growth. The development of employment must be approached

from a wide perspective by coordinating measures in different
policy areas. Raising the labour force participation rate requires
structural reforms in the area of employment and social policy,
measures to prevent long-term unemployment and a reduction
in structural employment.

1.6.
The Committee of the Regions stresses that raising the
labour force participation rate calls for a strong commitment
to job creation and entrepreneurship. Companies’ competi-
tiveness must be enhanced by improving the skills of busi-
nesses and the workforce, work organisation, quality at work
and productivity. The operating environment for companies
must be improved. A determined effort must be made to
reduce administrative barriers to the setting up and operation
of businesses and the hiring of new staff.

The Committee of

the Regions concurs with the
1.7.
Commission’s view that raising quality and productivity at
work requires a shift towards a more knowledge-based econ-
omy. The Committee would, however, stress that, in some
sectors, unemployment is due to the fact that the skill levels of
the workforce do not match labour-market demands. There is
a pool of untapped labour potential outside the labour market
that cannot be readily equipped with the skills to meet such
demands. Action is therefore needed to harness that potential
for the labour market, thereby also permitting, among other
things, the existence of a low-wage sector.

1.8.
The Committee of the Regions considers it important
that enlargement be taken into account in the reform of the
Strategy and that the future Member States be consulted
in subsequent stages of the preparatory work. Raising the
employment rate, upgrading skills and restructuring the pro-
ductive base are among the major problems facing new
Member States. Structural change is amplifying regional
employment disparities. Administrative structures in the candi-
date countries, and in particular local and regional authorities’
capacity to act, must be strengthened so that they can adapt to
labour market challenges in Europe and exploit the resources
earmarked for development purposes in the most effective
way possible.

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2. Governance of the Employment Strategy and rein-

forcing the local and regional dimension

2.1.
The Committee of the Regions stresses that the achieve-
ment of full employment and the other employment objectives
set in Lisbon is a challenging task. Success will, more than
ever, depend on many policies geared to the same ends and on
effective cooperation and coordination of resources between
actors at different levels.

2.2.
The Committee of the Regions agrees with the Com-
mission that the political commitment of Member States to
the Employment Strategy must be reinforced. NAPs for
employment are generally regarded as being government
documents where the link to other national policies is unclear.
Local and regional actors, the media and the general public
have little awareness of the Employment Strategy. As a result
problems arise in applying the Strategy at the levels where
decisions on employment are ultimately taken.

2.3.
The CoR feels that national parliaments should com-
ment on the National Action Plans for Employment. This
would provide a better grasp of the rationale behind the
European Employment Strategy, and also open it up to a wide-
ranging debate. As national action plans, NAPs would thus
carry more weight, and it would provide national MPs with a
‘natural’ channel for working towards a much needed common
central/regional and local approach to employment policy.

The Committee of the Regions takes the view that the
2.4.
content of the Employment Strategy and the terminology it
uses should be recast to make them easier to understand and
relevant to local and regional circumstances. Public opinion
surveys show that citizens in Europe find EU activities alien
and remote. Experience gained from efforts to promote local
employment indicate that considerable problems still exist in
terms of interpretation between the various levels engaged in
implementing the European Employment Strategy.

2.6.
The Committee takes the view that a wide-ranging
approach should be adopted to reinforcing the local and
regional dimension of the European Employment Strategy.
The Commission’s Communication examines the local and
regional role primarily from the viewpoint of the governance
of the Employment Strategy, i.e. in terms of its operation and
legitimacy. This approach does not, however, pay adequate
attention to the direct role played by local and regional actors
in implementing the objectives of the Employment Strategy.
All jobs are created and lost at local level. Local and regional
actors play an important role as providers of welfare, training
and education services that support employment, developing
local labour markets and new job opportunities, as well as
being employers themselves. They have an extensive influence
on the conditions of access to the labour market for young
people, women, immigrants and an ageing population and on
the promotion of labour market equality. The role they play in
integrating groups outside the labour market is often crucial.
High employment is also a key objective of local development
policy and a prerequisite for maintaining the level of services.

2.7.
The Commission Communication identifies addressing
regional employment disparities as one of the priorities of
future Employment Strategy. Regional differences in employ-
ment are large and will grow further in connection with
enlargement. The Committee of the Regions points out that at
the same time there is a growing diversity of problems within
regions. The ability of policies determined at macro level to
respond to local and regional problems is diminishing. The
Committee stresses that labour market problems highlight
the need for an approach where the policy pursued also
incorporates the changes needed to address regional disparities.
The Employment Strategy should support a shift towards a
decentralisation of employment policy, in line with general
developments in OECD countries. Member States should also
promote the devolution of decision-making powers in the
implementation of employment policy to the local and
regional level.

2.5.
The Committee of the Regions emphasises that local
and regional authorities must have a central role and responsi-
bility in developing and implementing the Employment Strat-
egy. The European Employment Strategy must become a
multi-level process where there is ongoing interaction between
actors at local, regional, national and EU level. It is crucial for
the good governance of the strategy to assess how cooperation
between different actors and levels of administration functions
in the preparation and implementation of the Strategy. For the
customer, however, administration is a single whole and
therefore it is also important to determine how businesses and
citizens can be actively involved at grass roots level
in
developing services supporting employment.

The Committee of

2.8.
the Regions shares the Com-
mission’s view that the European Employment Strategy should
encourage and support the design and implementation of
partnership-based regional employment strategies. The Com-
mittee feels that partnerships between the public sector,
companies, actors in the social economy and NGOs are of
particular importance for strengthening social cohesion and
creating new social capital, companies and jobs. Partnerships
should be broad-based, bringing together different actors at
different levels. The planning of regional employment strat-
egies should be effectively integrated into the preparation of
NAPs. Adequate resources for their design and implementation
should be set aside in national budgets and ESF programmes.

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2.9.
The Committee of the Regions considers that the
promotion of local and regional employment has relied too
heavily on traditional active labour market policy approaches
and methods. Traditional measures at the individual
level
should to an increasing extent be accompanied by the
promotion of preventive employment measures and the
development of a favourable environment for employment
(infrastructure, education and training, services, entrepreneur-
ship). Players at local and regional level should be encouraged
to exploit new innovative approaches and methods.

The Committee of the Regions believes that there is a
2.10.
need for better coordination of employment measures (Euro-
pean Employment Strategy) and the related funding (European
Social Fund and innovative actions) in planning the implemen-
tation of the Employment Strategy so as to improve the
effectiveness of programmes. The European Social Fund should
support the incorporation of the regional dimension into the
European Employment Strategy.

2.11.
The Committee of the Regions emphasises that the
interaction between experiments supporting the local and
regional dimension of the European Employment Strategy
(Territorial Employment Pacts, innovative actions, partnership
programmes, etc.) and national policies must be strengthened.
The experiments have brought added value to the promotion
of employment. The problem is that often it has not been
possible to transfer the good practices that have evolved from
these experiments into national programmes.

2.12.
The Committee of the Regions considers it important
in developing the European Employment Strategy to strength-
en the knowledge base and methods for assessing activity at
local and regional level and to develop procedures whereby
Member States report on the role of the local and regional
level in implementing national employment programmes.

Brussels, 10 April 2003.

2.13.
The Committee of the Regions endorses the Com-
mission’s goal of strengthening the role of the social partners
in employment matters. The Committee thinks it important
that local and regional authorities, as major employers, be
treated as fully fledged partners in the social dialogue.

2.14.
The Committee of the Regions shares the Com-
mission’s view about the usefulness of the open method of
coordination in the implementation of
the Employment
Strategy. The Committee stresses, however, that the more
widespread use of this method must not undermine the
decision-making powers of either the Member States or the
local and regional level in organising the provision of welfare
services.

2.15.
The Committee of the Regions welcomes the fact
that, following the call made at the Barcelona Spring Summit,
the Commission has presented a proposal for closer coordi-
nation between the Employment Guidelines and the Broad
Economic Policy Guidelines and for streamlining the process.
The Committee stresses that this coordination must be conduc-
ted in such a way as to allow the appropriate involvement by
all
the social partners and other parties
participating in the implementation of the Employment Strat-
egy as well as a high-quality debate between them. The
Committee also considers it important that its views are taken
into consideration in subsequent stages of the preparation of
the Employment Strategy.

the institutions,

The Committee of the Regions stresses that the
2.16.
dialogue between the Commission and the Committee con-
cerning the development of the European Employment Strat-
egy has been open and constructive. The CoR would also
like to express its wish to actively contribute to the Local
Development Forum to be held in Greece in May and the
dissemination of experiences gained at local and regional level
in Member States.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE