Commission staff working document - Overview of main activities undertaken under Employment Incentive Measures (EIM) - Programme accompanying the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the Final Report on Community incentive measures in the field of employment (EIM Programme 2002-2006) {COM(2008) 328 final}
Date: 2008-05-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU employment policy, EU financing, EU programme, European Employment Strategy, cooperation policy, free movement of workers, local employment initiative, report

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 30.5.2008 
SEC(2008) 1939 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Overview of main activities undertaken under Employment Incentive Measures (EIM) 
Programme 

accompanying the 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

on the Final Report on Community incentive measures in the field of employment (EIM 
Programme 2002-2006) 

{COM(2008) 328 final} 

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INTRODUCTION 

The activities, as stipulated by Article 2 of the EIM Decision1, were launched with the aim of 
contributing  to  the  achievement  of  the  goal  of  the  Lisbon  Strategy  to  re-establish  the 
conditions for full employment, or more precisely, in accordance with Article 3, to: 

-  underpin  a  coordinated  approach  to  the  employment  policy  in  the  Community  within  the 
overall aim of raising the employment rate set out by the European Council at Lisbon; 

-  contribute  to  the  development  of  a  coordinated  strategy  for  employment  through  analysis, 
monitoring and support of actions carried out in the Member States (MS), with due regard for 
the latter's responsibilities in this field; 

-  develop,  follow  up  and  evaluate  the  European  Employment  Strategy  (EES)  with  a  strong 
forward-looking emphasis; 

-  foster  cooperation  between  MS  in  analysis,  research  and  monitoring  of  labour  market 
policies; 

- identify best practices and promote exchanges and transfers of information and experience; 

- develop the approach and contents of the EES, including ways of cooperating with the social 
partners and relevant local and regional authorities; and 

- implement an active information policy responding to the public's need for transparency and 
recognising  the  importance  of  ensuring  that  European  citizens  can  be  fully  informed  on  all 
aspects of the EES; 

The analysis in the context of these activities shall to the maximum possible extent be gender 
specific. 

The report COM(2008) … reviews the overall implementation of the activities2 foreseen by 
the  EIM  Decision.  This  overview  gives  detailed  information  on  the  following  EIM  project 
categories: 

Part A: Statistical work and development of indicators; 

Part B: Analyses, studies and surveys (includes conferences to present study results) 

Part C: Activities launched in the framework of European Year of Workers' Mobility 
(EYWM)3 

Part D: Local Employment Development (LED)4 projects 

Part E: Networking 

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1145/2002/EC of 10 June 2002 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/workersmobility_2006/index.cfm?language=EN  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/local_employment/index_en.htm  

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A. STATISTICAL WORK AND DEVELOPMENT OF INDICATORS 

In the context of statistical work and the development of indicators, important projects to be 
mentioned are among others the ones sub-delegated to Eurostat5. 

(1) 

Labour Force Survey (LFS) ad hoc modules: 

- Lifelong learning, completed in 2003 
- Work organisation and working time arrangements, completed in 2004 
- Reconciliation of work and family life, completed in 2005 
- Transition from work into retirement, completed in 2006 

The ad hoc LFS modules from 2003 to 2006 were all financed by the EIM, which has not only 
made  information  available  on  the  above-mentioned  specific  issues,  but  has  also  linked  this 
information with the core data in the LFS.  

Pilot studies to prepare for the 2008 LFS ad hoc module on the labour market (LM) situation 
of  migrants  and  their  immediate  descendants were  subject to a Call  for  Proposals  under  the 
EIM  in  2006.  Grants  were  awarded  for  a)  the  improvement  of  the  response  rate  of  non-
nationals/migrants  in  the  LFS,  the  coverage  of  newly  arrived  migrants,  and  the  coherence 
between  LFS  data  on  migrants  and  register  or  census  data;  b)  the  identification  of  seasonal 
patterns on the number of specific sub-groups of migrants; and c) quality issues, such as study 
if  nationality  at  birth  is  used  as  a  proxy  of  country  of  birth.  The  actual  survey  is  being 
financed under PROGRESS. 

(2) 

Labour Market Policy (LMP) Database: 

Actions launched under EIM in 2002 aiming at harmonising the methodology and improving 
the data submitted to the LMP database on public expenditure and participants in active and 
passive  LMP  measures,  as  well  as  qualitative  information  for  the  description  of  policy 
measures  and  metadata.  The  LMP  database  is  useful  for  the  monitoring  of  employment 
policies in the EES. The project continues under the framework of PROGRESS, with a view 
to including all the MS.  

(3) 

Job Vacancy Statistics: 

Project  launched  under  EIM  in  2003  and  aiming  at  collecting  and  developing  annual  and 
quarterly data on job vacancies. Since 2005, Eurostat has also worked on the legal basis for 
the  implementation  of  quarterly  statistics  on  job  vacancies.  The  framework  Regulation  was 
adopted  by  the  Council  in  February  2008  and  will  soon  enter  into  force.  23  countries  now 
provide  quarterly  statistics  and  more  than  half  of  the  MS  provide  annual  statistics.  This 
project will also continue under the PROGRESS programme6. 

(4) 

Integrated system of earnings and labour cost statistics: 

Based on the work already ongoing under the Regulation (EC) 530/1999 concerning structural 
statistics  on  earnings  and  on  labour  costs,  this  project  was  introduced  in  2003  and  aims  at 
producing  a  coherent  set  of  earnings  and  labour  cost  statistics  in  terms  of  concepts  and 
definitions in the data collected on a short-term, annual and a four-year basis. An important 

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http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1090,30070682,1090_33076576&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/progress/index_en.html 

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element  of  the  integrated  system  has  been  the  improvement  of  the  overall  coverage  of 
economic activities and the coherence with the other business statistics and national accounts. 

(5) 

Ad-hoc business and consumer survey on the performance of the EU LM7: 

Project  held  in  the  framework  of  the  Joint  Harmonised  EU  Programme  of  Business  and 
Consumer  Surveys  managed  by  the  Economic  and  Financial  Affairs  DG  (ECFIN)8.  Results 
provide  e.g.  details  on  employers'  and  employees'  opinions  on  forms  of  working 
arrangements. They furthermore give an additional basis for the formulation of employment 
policy objectives.  

For some larger Eurostat projects, the data were not yet available for all countries at the time 
this  Communication  was  written.  Such  a  project  is  for  example  the  Continuous  Vocational 
Training  Survey  (CVTS),  which  is  the  only  source  that  provides  internationally  comparable 
statistical  data  and  indicators  on  continuing  vocational  training  in  enterprises  and  related 
aspects  of  lifelong  learning  (LLL)  to  the  MS,  the  Candidate  Countries  (CC)  and  the 
EFTA/EEA countries.  

Still in progress is also the Adult Education Survey (AES), which was launched in 2005 with 
a  view  to  helping  the  MS  to  cover  their  costs  incurred  in  connection  with  the  collection, 
processing  and  transmission  of  data  on  adult  learning.  AES  is  a  3-year  project  to  be 
implemented by the MS between 2005 and 2007. The data will be published in two parts as 
they are arriving gradually. The first data set should be published in 2008 and the final and 
complete publication is foreseen by 2009. 

The EIM support to the statistical work carried out by Eurostat benefited to the work of the 
Employment  Committee  (EMCO)  working  group  on  indicators  in  the  following  areas9: 
prevention and activation, vacancies, childcare, unemployment and poverty (low wage) traps, 
gender  pay  gap  and  regional  disparities.  Work  was  also  initiated  on  care  for  the  elderly, 
inactivity traps, undeclared work, efficiency of employment services and governance. These 
indicators are most relevant to policy developments in the context of the EES.  

Among  projects  under  the  management  of  the  Employment,  Social  Affairs  and  Equal 
Opportunities  DG  (DG  EMPL),  an  important  project  is  the  Public  Employment  Services 
(PES)10 Expert Group on Vacancies, which was created in 2001 in the context of the activities 
developed within the European PES Network. Since then, experts from 15 PES in the EU and 
EFTA/EEA  have  contributed  to  the  establishment  of  the  European  PES  Vacancy  Monitor 
(EPVM)  by  submitting  their  data  on  vacancy  stocks  and  notifications  on  a  regular  basis. 
While the process of collecting time series from each PES is not yet complete, there is now 
sufficient data available in the EPVM to demonstrate the potential of the monitor for deriving 
comparative information on the LM activities of the European PES. Consequently, the Expert 
Group has taken the decision to issue a limited number of short bulletins on developments in 
the vacancy business of European PES, based on an analysis of the EPVM data.  

There is a wide recognition of the key role PES played in the implementation of the EES, in 
particular  when  it  comes  to  their  preventative  actions  to  reduce  the  inflows  into  long-term 

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http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm#2006 (May 2006) 
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/index_en.htm 
For  some  indicators,  cooperation  was  established  with  other  Community  programmes  (e.g.  gender 
equality) 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_strategy/pub_empl_services_en.htm 

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employment and to improve access to jobs and relevant skills for disadvantaged groups. The 
role of PES in processing job vacancies11 was addressed in a study, which brought together 
information required for an appropriate comparative interpretation of the quarterly statistical 
data  the  national  PES  produce  for  the  EPVM.  The  study  collected  wider  comparative 
information  on  the  working  methods  that  national  PES  use  in  processing  vacancies.  Three 
relating seminars on profiling instruments and PES approaches to the unemployed and long-
term unemployment were organised in 2004, 2005 and 2006. 

The annual publication "Employment in Europe" report12, which is mainly based on statistics 
from Eurostat's data sources, was funded by EIM throughout the whole programme period is 
further dealt with below in Part B "Analyses, studies and surveys".  

B. ANALYSES, STUDIES AND SURVEYS 

In  the  area  of  analysis  and  research,  the  "Employment  in  Europe"  report  presented,  on  a 
yearly  basis,  a  quantitative  analysis  of  employment  trends  and  policies  in  the  Union,  which 
was informed by EIM LM studies and statistical projects. The themes and topics covered by 
these  studies  included  Active  Labour  Market  Policies  (ALMP)  and  "making  work  pay"; 
health  and  quality  in  work;  skills  and  human  capital;  disadvantaged  groups;  enlargement; 
restructuring;  migration;  business  dynamics  and  employment  performance;  the  role  of  PES; 
and surveys.  

B.1 ALMP and "making work pay" 

A study was launched on the "Effectiveness and impact of ALMPs"13 and attention was given 
to the synergy between employment policy and other community policies. This study draws 
systematic conclusions and derives policy recommendations from the available cross-country 
evidence  on  ALMP  effectiveness.  Among  different  analyses,  this  study  draws  systematic 
lessons from more than 100 evaluations that have been conducted on ALMPs in Europe. The 
picture that emerges from the quantitative analysis is surprisingly clear-cut. Once the type of 
programme is taken into account, the analysis shows that there is little systematic relationship 
between  programme  effectiveness  and  a  host  of  contextual factors, including  the  country  or 
time  period  when  it  was  implemented,  the  macroeconomic  environment,  and  a  variety  of 
indicators for institutional features of the labour market.  

A  study  on  "Benefit  systems  and  their  interaction  with  ALMPs"14  was  concluded  in  2004, 
which focused on the way in which benefit schemes interact with ALMP. It demonstrated the 
interest and scope for improving  the  effectiveness of activation policies.  A second study  on 
the same theme but which addressed the new MS only was launched in 2006. The final results 
of this study are expected to be available in 2008. 

The joint EC-OECD survey on "Monitoring workers’ coverage and benefits from mandatory 
funded schemes, employer provided occupational schemes and personal schemes in selected 
OECD  and  EU  MS"  was  launched  in  2006  as  a  follow-up  of  the  2005  survey  on  workers’ 
coverage  and  benefits  from  employer  provided/occupation  plans  in  the  EU  MS.  The  OECD 

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14 

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm#2003 (November 2003) 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/employ_en.htm 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm#2005 (December 2005) 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm#2004 (February 2004) 

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will  enlarge  the  sample  size  and  extend  the  scope  of  the  survey  in  order  to  develop  a 
monitoring tool enabling the systematic collection of comparable historical data/information 
related  to  both  funded  statutory  schemes,  occupational  and  personal  pension  plans.  The 
project  will  furthermore  examine  workers’  pension  coverage  and  plan  rules  (benefits, 
retirement  ages,  contributions,  etc.)  in  selected  OECD  and  all  EU27  MS,  focusing  on  new 
entrants and active/deferred members of pension schemes. The survey is still in progress. 

B.2 Health and quality in work (incl. undeclared work) 

The  promotion  of  high  quality  in  work  is  a  central  element  of  Europe's  transition  to  a 
knowledge-based  economy.  It  calls  for  improvements  in  several  dimensions  of  quality  in 
work:  a  good  working  environment  for  all;  employee  involvement  and  diversity  at  work; 
flexible work arrangements which promote better balance between working life and personal 
life; and health and safety at work. Most of these issues were dealt with by initiatives of the 
EIM.  Based  on  analysis  in  the  2001  "Employment  in  Europe"  report  and  the  indicators 
adopted  by  EMCO,  quality  in  work  was  well  monitored  both  through  the  "Employment  in 
Europe" and a Commission progress report15. The scope for a further harmonised indicator on 
the  coverage  of  social  security  in  atypical  contracts16  was  investigated.  A  major  study  on 
"Health  and  Quality  in  Work"17  analysed  the  relationship  between  different  employment 
patterns and health outcomes including work on indicators in the EU, Japan and the US.  

Working time flexibility is an important element of adaptability. During the impact evaluation 
of  the  EES  carried  out  in  2002,  no  clear-cut  empirical  data  could  be  found  on  the  effect  of 
working time on productivity and job creation. The study "Impact of working time"18 assessed 
this relationship, reviewed macro-economic theory and the theory of the firm in this respect, 
and  documented  a  sufficiently  large  number  of  case  studies  in  different  EU  countries  and 
sectors. The aspects of integration in the LM under atypical contracts, gender effects and job 
quality  were  also  taken  into  account.  The  study  was  conducted  through  a  comparative 
literature  review,  which  explored  social  scientific  theory  relating  to  working  time, 
employment,  productivity  and  job  quality.  This  also  included  an  overview  of  national 
legislative  reforms  on  working  time  with  25  representative  case  studies  on  working  time 
regulation and agreements covering the national and sector level, and company level.  

The study on "Undeclared work in an enlarged Union"19 provided for the first time estimates 
on  the  extent  of  undeclared  work  in  the  MS  of  the  EU-25,  Bulgaria  and  Romania  and 
presented examples of good practice to transform undeclared work into regular employment. 
Following  the  interest  expressed  by  the  EP,  the  gender  dimension  was  taken  into  full 
consideration.  The  study  was  followed  in  2005  by  a  feasibility  study  on  the  possibility  and 
characteristics of a direct survey on undeclared work. The feasibility study was completed in 
2007  and  was  followed  up  by  a  Eurobarometer  survey  financed  PROGRESS,  and  the 
Communication COM(2007)628 "Stepping up the fight against undeclared work"20.  

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COM(2003)728 of 12.11.2003, at the request of the 2003 Spring European Council 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm (April 2005) 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/quality_sem05_en.htm 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm#2006 (November 2006) 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/work_enlarg_en.htm 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/work_en.htm 

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B.3 Skills and human capital 

The EES and the report from the Employment Taskforce in particular, have placed a renewed 
emphasis  on  the  need  to  invest  more  and  more  effectively  in  human  capital.  The  key  to 
increasing  such  investment  would  be  a  more  transparent  and  effective  sharing  of  costs  and 
responsibilities  between  public  authorities, companies  and  individuals21.  The  two  studies  on 
"Human capital in a global and knowledge-based economy" assessed the link between human 
capital and growth at European (Part I), national (Part II) and regional level22. In September 
2003,  a  joint  EC-OECD  Ministerial  conference  on  "Human  Capital,  Employment, 
Productivity  and  Growth"23  was  held  in  Brussels  to  allow  a  better  understanding  of  the 
usefulness for firms and individuals of human capital expenditures and of the obstacles to be 
overcome. It was followed up in December 2004 by another joint EC-OECD event "Human 
capital  and  LM  performance:  evidence  and  policy  challenges"24.  The  subject  has  also  been 
discussed  at  the  Presidential  conference  organised  on  28  October  2003  (Milan)  during  the 
Italian  Presidency  of  Council.  The  June  2004  Irish  Presidency  conference  on  investment  in 
human  capital  furthermore  focused  on  the  promotion  of  enterprise  training  and  brought 
together examples of good practice and experiences, particularly of employers, in the area of 
LLL and training. The conference addressed three themes: national experiences of enterprise 
training, company experience of enterprise training, and the role of innovation in training and 
policy.  

A review of the range of instruments for the provision of incentives for work-based training 
was  undertaken  in  the  study  "Instruments  and  incentives  for  promoting  LLL"25.  The  study 
assessed  the  efficiency  and  effectiveness  of  these  policies  in  the  MS  and  drew  up  policy 
recommendations  in  the  area.  It  furthermore  contributed  to  a  better  understanding  of  what 
works in practice and under which conditions these incentives are successful. The outcome of 
the  study  was  presented  in  a  Compendium  of  Good  Practice  and  a  main  report,  "Policy 
instruments  to  foster  training  of  the  employed".  A  second  volume  contains  a  summary  and 
conclusions.  

Finally, a qualitative survey study on "Human capital as a factor for growth and employment 
at regional level in conjunction with industrial restructuring" was launched in 2006 with the 
aim to provide policymakers with basic information required for the design of more effective 
strategies  for  a  particular  region,  given  its  endogenous  assets.  It  estimated  to  what  extent 
human capital could contribute to economic growth to MS regions and in particular to those 
negatively  affected  by  recent  restructuring  and  outsourcing  activities  in  the  economy.  This 
included  examining  the  problem  of  return  to  employment  of  workers  hit  by  industrial 
restructuring.  The  survey  was  conducted  in  16  MS  and  aimed  at  identifying  and  evaluating 
competencies that help workers to find a new job and assessing the importance of non-sector 
specific  skills.  Some  of  the  conclusions  showed  that  qualities  like  doing  one’s  work  well, 
basic communication skills, flexibility and adaptation capacity were - predictably - recognised 
as  key  ingredients  in  today's  labour  markets.  In  their  self-evaluation  most  interviewed 

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see also "Investing efficiently in education and training : an imperative for Europe", COM(2002) 779 
final  of  10.01.2003;  "Education  and  Training  2010 –  The success of  the Lisbon  strategy  hinges  upon 
urgent reforms", 2004 Joint Interim Report of the Council and the Commission 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/human_en.htm  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/news/2003/sep/human_capital_conference_en.html  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/human_sem_2004_en.htm  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/studies/lll_comp_en.pdf; 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/studies/lll_main_rep_vol1_en.pdf; 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/studies/lll_summary_vol2_en.pdf  

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workers,  whether  self-employed,  unemployed  or  successfully  reintegrated  into  a  new  job, 
reported all this as important.  

The final report is expected to be published before Summer 2008. 

B.4 Disadvantaged groups 

As  the  new  EES  aims  at  strengthening  the  cohesion  and  inclusion  dimension,  the  issue  of 
promoting social inclusion was taken on board. The study on "Policies for involving the social 
partners in the integration of people at a disadvantage in the LM"26 developed an appropriate 
conceptual framework of classification for policies and measures to increase the involvement 
of social partners with a view to integrating disadvantaged groups into the LM. It contained 
case  studies  from  several  MS  (EU-25)  and  other  non-EU  countries,  including  existing 
evaluation  material  and  illustrations  of  “what  works  in  practice?”,  and  identified  the  main 
strengths and weaknesses of current instruments and the main challenges to future policies. It 
concluded  by  highlighting  the  principal  lessons  emerging  from  the  selected  policies  and 
pinpointed  the  implications  for  policy  development  in  relation  to  the  integration  of 
disadvantaged people into the LM. 

A critical part of the EES is the integration of a gender perspective into the EU’s policies and 
programmes with specific actions in favour of women. The gender perspective was also taken 
into  account  in  several  of  the  EIM  actions,  such  as  work  on  indicators  and  statistics,  the 
below-mentioned  analysis  of  the  gender  gaps,  the  studies  on  undeclared  work,  the 
effectiveness  of  ALMP,  the  migration  of  women,  just  to  mention  a  few.  Gender 
mainstreaming  was  also  subject  to  exchanges  of  good  practice  (peer  reviews)  and  seminars 
and workshops. Analysis and research was carried out on the "Methodological issues related 
to  the  analysis  of  gender  gaps  in  employment,  earnings  and  career  progression"27,  a  project 
which included a workshop attended by experts on the issue in Brussels in September 2003.28 
The study served as a background for the Commission Services Working Paper, "Gender pay 
gaps in European LMs - Measurement, analysis and policy implications"29.  

Unemployment is no doubt the most serious LM problem for young people, but in order to get 
a  full  picture  of  the  youth  employment  situation,  the  functioning  of  the  LM  has  to  be 
examined in a broad perspective. There are trends in quality and productivity at work which 
contribute to a growing LM segmentation where the young are often the outsiders or on the 
margins of the LM. The study "Pathway to work – current practices and future needs for the 
LM  integration  of  young  people"  the  results  of  which  is  foreseen  to  be  published  in  Spring 
2008,  should  provide  a  comprehensive  and  concise  analysis  of  the  main  quantitative  and 
qualitative trends in the employment situation of young people between 15-30 years old in the 
MS. It will also provide an analysis of MS policies addressing youth employment problems, 
identify successful policies in individual MS and formulate recommendations for improving 
young  people's  pathways  to  work  in  the  future  and  to  increase  quality  and  productivity  at 
work in a balanced flexicurity approach for the young.  

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http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/studies/lm_integr_disadv_people_en.pdf  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/gender_index_en.htm  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/workshop_en.htm  
SEC(2003) 937, 04/09/2003  

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In the same context, the  study "Ageing  and employment: identification of good practices to 
increase  job  opportunities  and  maintain  older  workers  in  employment"30  offered  some 
reflections on the notion of good practice in the light of the research conducted, identified the 
factors that seem to contribute the most to the successful introduction and development of age 
management and the factors that seem to act as a barrier. It made some recommendations for 
action at European, national, company and individual level and informed the EES where the 
objective of active ageing is prominent.  

B.5 Enlargement (incl. mobility) 

The  Enlargement  was  an  issue  of  major  interest  for  the  EIM.  Several  studies  analysed  the 
impact  of  enlargement  on  employment  and  the  LM.  The  study  on  the  "Impact  of  economic 
and social integration on employment in the context of enlargement"31, addressed some of the 
challenges policy makers are faced with at regional, national and EU level. It contributed to 
the assessment of the employment impact of integration.  

The  countries  of  the  EU,  along  with  other  economies  in  the  world,  are  facing  mounting 
pressure to respond to the challenges of globalisation and increased competition from newly 
industrialised  markets.  Worker  mobility,  through  its  two  components,  i.e.  geographical  and 
job  mobility,  should  play  an  important  role  in  meeting  people's  desire  for  better  living  and 
working  conditions,  and  businesses'  demands  for  rapid  labour  force  adjustment  to  new  and 
changing skills requirements. In its work programme for 2005, the EIM highlights the need to 
underpin the Commission's efforts to support mobility of workers, the objective of which is to 
strengthen the bases of the single European LM. The study "Empirical evidence  on job  and 
geographical mobility in the EU (migration flows)"32, which was finalised in 2006, highlights 
major aspects of geographical and job mobility in the EU from the mid–1980s up to the mid–
2000s. Given data availability, a special focus was placed on the last decade. It furthermore 
constituted a background and an input for the "Employment in Europe" Report in 2006 and 
also  an  empirical  basis  for  two  larger  follow-up  studies  on  optimising  geographic  and  job 
mobility in the EU, which were launched in the framework of the European Year of Workers 
Mobility (see Part C). The results of the last-mentioned studies will be available in 2008. 

The  study  on  "Industrial  Restructuring  in  the  Accession  Countries  (AC)"  carried  out  an 
investigation  of  the  industries  and  the  skills  requirements  likely  to  be  affected  by 
restructuring.  It  also  identified  and  analysed  good  practice  and  addressed  the  employment 
effects of foreign direct investment in the region. The main conclusion is that policies should 
facilitate and support structural change to alleviate its adverse effects on individuals who lose 
their  jobs.  They  should  also  focus  on  those  regions  hit  the  hardest  by  declining  activities, 
notably  by  supporting  the  creation  of  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  (SME), 
encouraging foreign direct investment through marketing of locations and information about 
the  regions,  and  developing  infrastructure  and  human  resources  in  remote  regions.  A  well-
attended  seminar  to  discuss  the  findings  in  the  draft  report  was  organised  in  Brussels  in 
September 2004 and the final report was made available in December the same year.33 

30 
31 
32 
33 

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm#2006 (March 2006) 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/impact_en.htm  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm#2006 (June 2006) 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/restruct_sem_en.htm  

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B.6 Restructuring 

In  order  to  enhance  the  knowledge  of  the  drivers  behind  large-scale  restructuring  and  to 
collect  examples  of  how  to  manage  and  possibly  anticipate  restructuring  with  the  aim  of 
preventing  or  reducing  the  negative  employment  effects  thereof,  the  European  Commission 
launched a project consisting of two major studies, "Restructuring in Europe: the anticipation 
of  negative  LM  effects"  and  the  "Case  studies  on  the  LM  impact  of  large-scale  economic 
restructuring",  which  were  presented  at  the  seminar  "The  role  of  public  authorities  in 
anticipating and managing LM effects of economic change and restructuring" in Brussels on 
23  June  200634.  The  case  studies  assessed  the  situation  in  four  countries,  Finland,  Poland, 
Portugal and Turkey. 

The opening  of  the  EU energy market has been phased in since the mid-1990s. The Lisbon 
European Council in March 2000 called for liberalisation to be speeded up to create a single 
market for electricity and gas. In 2003, two Directives were adopted setting deadlines for the 
full opening of the EU energy market (1 July 2004 for business customers and 1 July 2007 for 
households).  

Beside the impetus for creating in the EU the largest integrated energy market in the world, 
several further EU legislative acts have been adopted in recent years that can be expected to 
affect the framework conditions of the energy market. 

Further  to  a  Commission  study  on  the  effects  of  the  liberalisation  of  the  electricity  and  gas 
sectors  on  employment  in  EU-15,  published  in  October  200135,  a  more  in-depth  study  was 
undertaken  for  the  enlarged  EU-27  and  Turkey  ("The  impact  on  employment  of  the 
liberalisation  of  the  EU  electricity  and  gas  sectors  and  any  other  Directives  in  the  field  of 
energy  policy"36).  It  was  followed  by  a  seminar  and  finalised  in  2007.  The  study  took  into 
account the impact of all the key legislative acts related to the energy sector and resulted in 
comprehensive material about the employment changes in the electricity and gas sector both 
in respect to quantitative but also qualitative factors. It further showed that liberalisation has 
been accompanied by significant job cuts, but not all parts of the sector were affected in the 
same way. The study confirms also in this sector the general tendency towards more qualified 
employment, while there is no clear evidence for a link between training provision or working 
conditions on the one side and liberalisation on the other. 

B.7 Migration 

In  2003,  a  basic  analysis  of  immigration  and  employment  in  the  EU  was  published  in  the 
"Employment in Europe" report37. It was updated in 2004, based on new Eurostat data, which 
allowed  distinguishing  'foreign-born'  from  'foreign  nationals'.  Further  aspects  of  this  issue 
were  examined  in  studies  financed  under  the  EIM.  The  study  on  "Potential  Migration  from 
Central  and  Eastern  Europe  into  the  EU-15-An  Update"38  confirmed  the  results  of  the 
previous analysis on the subject and provided very useful insights on the current dynamics of 
immigration.  It  concludes  that  migration  from  the  CEEC-12  to  the  EU  might  be  lower  than 

34 
35 
36 
37 

38 

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/restruct_sem06_en.htm  
http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/electricity/publications/index_en.htm  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/restruct_lib_gas_el07_en.htm  
In  accordance  with  the  conclusions  of  the  Thessaloniki  Council  calling  for  an  accurate  and  objective 
analysis of migration and integration in Europe (§33 of Presidency Conclusions) 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm#2003 (October 2003) 

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generally expected, both in the short and long run. In addition, five papers were prepared on 
"The contribution of immigration to labour supply and on the integration of immigrants into 
the LM and into society"39, dealing with the efficient practices in the recruitment of migrants 
for economic activities; practices to promote the integration of migrants into the LM; ways to 
identify labour and skill shortages; the economic performance of the foreign-born and the LM 
performance of irregular and regularised workers.  

In 2005, the study project "Gaining from migration"40 was launched in cooperation with the 
OECD  Development  Centre.  The  objective  was  to  join  forces  with  OECD  to  deepen  our 
understanding of the economic and social implications of migration while promoting a high-
level  dialogue  among  international  migration  experts,  leading  economists  and  senior 
policymakers  on  the  guiding  principles  towards  a  more  effective  integration  of  immigrants 
into  host-country  LMs  and  societies,  while  ensuring  the  successful  economic  and  social 
development  and  transition  of  sending  countries.  In  this  context,  a  series  of  evaluative 
studies/working papers leading to four main policy briefs was produced as well as a draft final 
report,  which  was  discussed  in  Brussels  during  an  expert  seminar  organised  by  the 
Commission  in  March  2007.  The  report,  which  includes  several  key  policy  messages,  was 
finalised in July the same year. 

A  better  understanding  is  needed  on  the  economic  impact  of  migration  including  the  role 
migration can play in alleviating labour shortages. The study "The role of migrant women in 
the LM; current situation and future prospects", which gives special attention to the situation 
of  female  migrant  workers  in  particular,  was  launched  in  2006. The  project  has  three 
objectives: to draw a picture of the migrant women's representation in the LM in EU, how to 
improve LM participation of migrant women in the EU, and how to better integrate the gender 
dimension in integration and immigration policies. A seminar to discuss the draft final report 
was organised at the beginning of 2008 and the final report will become available in Spring 
2008. A joint EC/OECD conference on "Migrant women" which produced a series of expert 
papers and interesting conclusions was organised in 200541. 

B.8 Business dynamics and employment 

The  study  "Business  demography  and  employment"42  provides  a  set  of  equations  and 
indicators,  which  can  be  used  to  analyse  and  monitor  the  progress  towards  the  objective  of 
business creation and growth-driven employment and recommendations regarding indicators 
for  monitoring.  The  monitoring  system  consists  of  two  parts,  the  first  being  related  to  the 
monitoring  of  business  and  labour  dynamics.  The  second  part  relates  to  the  underlying 
environmental factors which determine business creation and employment growth. 

A  major  project  including  a  study  and  network  of  "European  LM  analysts  using  firm-level 
panel  data  and  linked  employer-employee  data"43,  launched  in  2006,  built  on  a  preparatory 
study from 2005 with a view to exploiting all potential sources of such data at European and 
international level for the purpose of comparative analysis of LM issues. The network will be 
launched at a later stage as it depends on the result and findings of the study, which will be 
finalised at the beginning of 2008 when a conference to present its final report is also planned. 

39 
40 
41 
42 
43 

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm#2004 (July 2004) 
http://www.oecd.org/document/39/0,3343,en_2649_33731_36427431_1_1_1_1,00.html#Gaining 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/imm_migr_wom05_en.htm  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm 

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A workshop linked on the issue, "Employment, productivity and wage structures in Europe", 
was organised in April 2005. 

B.9 PES studies 

Guidance  is  a  discipline  that  is  part  of  any  individual  action  plan  and  one  that  contains  the 
various PES  functions  into an effective whole. A survey on vocational guidance services in 
the  national  PES  of  the  enlarged  EU,  "Career  Guidance  in  Europe's  Public  Employment 
Services: trends and challenges"44, will contribute to the elaboration of a PES service model, 
which  is  developed  in  connection  with  the  specific  EG  on  prevention  and  activation.  The 
survey,  allowed  a  collection  of  data  on  national  PES  practices  and  became  an  important 
source  for  the  national  PES  in  the  development  of  their  new  service  models.  A  follow-up 
seminar on "The role of vocational guidance in the PES service model for job-seeker action 
planning" was organised in 2006 to explore the appropriateness/modalities of implementation 
of the recommendations made in the report of 2005. The seminar outcomes included mutually 
agreed  proposals  for  practical  actions  geared  towards  enhancing  the  role  of  vocational 
guidance  in  the  PES  with  particular  reference  to  more  effective  action  planning  and 
prevention of long-term unemployment (LTU). 

B.10 Surveys 

In the context of the evaluation of the EES, a preparatory action for a conference organised by 
the Portuguese Presidency in 2007, the qualitative study on ten years of EES: "Analysis of the 
attitudes of the main actors in employment policy in 28 European countries"45, was launched 
in  2006.  The  study  confirmed,  on  the  basis  of  interviews  of  stakeholders,  the  impact  of  the 
EES  on  national  reform  agendas,  notably  in  the  new  MS,  and  the  improved  convergence 
around EES challenges and policies. At the same time, the study identified the need for the 
EES  to  focus  more  on  new  challenges  such  as  the  development  of  human  capital,  worker's 
mobility and immigration.  

In the context of evaluation, it is also appropriate to mention two projects launched in 2006:  

The  first  was  using  the  Eurobarometer  to  assess  the  level  of  awareness  of  the  EES  and  its 
supporting financial instrument, the European Social Fund (ESF). This analysis was combined 
with  a  broader  Eurobarometer  survey,  "European  employment  and  social  policy"46,  on  the 
public perception of social policy challenges and reform across Europe. In the light of earlier 
results, the aim of the project was to further explore the level of knowledge of the EES – its 
existence, effectiveness and transparency – as well as of the financial instrument to support it: 
it  also  addressed 
the  ESF.  To  put 
differences/commonalities  in  the  perception  of  fundamental  social  values,  social  policy 
challenges and reform across the EU as well as of the communication and perception of the 
EU's  contribution  in  this  context.  The  survey  was  carried  out  in  the  25  MS,  Bulgaria, 
Romania, Croatia and Turkey.  

into  a  wider  perspective, 

survey 

this 

The second project was a study which also related to the ESF, which in 2007 celebrated its 50 
years of existence supporting employment initiatives in Europe. 2007 also coincided with the 
start  of  the  next  programming  period  of  the  Cohesion  Policy  (2007-13),  which  was  an 

44 
45 
46 

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm#2005 (October 2005) 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/studies/ebs261_esf_en.pdf  

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opportune moment to consider and communicate the role that the ESF has played, evolving 
from being a tool principally supporting training and workers' mobility into a key instrument 
supporting employment policy across the board, and more recently the EES. 

This  study,  "ESF  –  50  years  investing  in  people"47,  traced  the  history  and  evolution  of  the 
ESF  from  1957  up  to  the  present  day,  making  links  with  the  key  developments  in  EU 
employment and social policy. A hardcopy version of the report is also available in English, 
French and German.  

In the context of ESF, the EIM also supported a Finnish Presidency conference on EES and 
ESF in 2006. 

C. 2006 EUROPEAN YEAR OF WORKERS MOBILITY (EYWM) 

In the context of the 2006 EYWM, several projects, which included two Calls for Proposals, 
were financed by the EIM Programme. 

It may be interesting to note that at present only 2% of the EU citizens are living and working 
in another MS. Although the unemployment rate in the EU is high, an estimated number of 3 
M  posts  remain  unfilled,  due  largely  to  the  lack  of  a  mobility  culture  within  the  European 
work  force.  A  further  lack  of  work  force  in  Europe  is  also  foreseen  in  the  future,  due  to 
negative demographic trends. 

Lessons were learnt from the Year. Whereas mobility in the past mostly concerned the long 
term mobility of workers from the southern regions of Europe moving to the north, today all 
categories  of  workers  are  included  and  among  those  many  young  workers,  some  with  a 
multiple mobility experience, which is often of a shorter duration.  

The psychological and practical obstacles that make people hesitate before moving to another 
country  were  also  brought  forward  and  analysed  through  studies  and  exchange  of  best 
practice.  Among  the  practical  obstacles  should  be  mentioned  family,  spouses  with  own 
careers in country of origin, language, non-recognition of qualification and diplomas, taxation 
and  social  security.  The  psychological  obstacles  are  sometimes  more  difficult  to  define; 
hesitation  combined  with  fear  for  the  unknown,  but  also  returning  workers  may  face  a  LM 
that has changed during their absence and the mobility experience is not always recognised as 
something positive by employers.  

Solutions  about  how  to  deal  with  these  obstacles  were  sought  through  discussions  and 
exchange of good practice between the MS. The importance of giving assistance in order to 
reintegrate returning workers was equally acknowledged. 

In  promoting  the  Year,  the  positive  aspects  of  mobility  were  further  stressed.  The  cultural 
element,  the  opportunities  offered  to  discover  another  country,  its  environment  and  to  learn 
another language, etc., should give encouragement to the EU citizens to discover themselves 
what the European experience is all about. 

47 

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/esf/docs/50th_anniversary_book_en.pdf  

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Further information on the projects which the EIM supported can be found at 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/workersmobility_2006/index.cfm?language=EN and 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm#2006. 

In the context of the EYWM, EIM funded the following activities: 

-  Logo,  promotional  and  awareness-raising  material,  including  the  European  Workers' 
Mobility poster and leaflet48 

- Support for the EU-level social partners to develop mobility related initiatives49: the overall 
aim of this restricted Call for Proposals was to provide support to EU-level social partners to 
develop  new  activities  or  to  provide  for  follow-up  of  successfully  implemented  activities  to 
promote Europe-wide geographical and occupational mobility of workers. The activities were 
to be conducted under the label of the EYWM 2006 (i.e. figure in the Year's programme of 
activities, carry the official logo, etc.) and were to be conceived as launch events during the 
Year; 

- Launch conference (Brussels, February 2006)50  

-  Joint  EU-US  seminar  "Labour  mobility  in  the  EU  and  the  US:  Trends  and  Challenges 
ahead"51 

-  Towards  a  European  LM;  pilot  projects52:  a  Call  for  Proposals  with  a  view  to  launching 
innovative actions in order to enhance the exchange of best practice on workers mobility in 
the EU)53 

-  The  study  on  "Geographical  mobility  in  the  EU:  optimising  its  social  and  economic 
benefits" aims at assessing geographical mobility in the EU both at regional and national level 
and with the objective to build on existing empirical evidence, collect additional and updated 
evidence and evaluate current policies and design new ones in order to support geographical 
mobility and the creation of a European LM, final report available by spring 2008;54 

- The study on "Job mobility in the EU: optimising its social and economic benefits" focuses 
on  job  mobility  in  the  EU  in  relation  to  mobility  with  the  same  employer  (e.g.  career 
advancement), occupational  mobility,  and  job  mobility  proper  (change  of  employer,  final 
report available by spring 2008);55 

- The study on "Employment of spouses and partners as an obstacle to mobility"56 shows that 
unawareness of assistance available for spouses might be a major obstacle to (international) 
mobility  and  that  a  large  part  of  companies  are  not  fully  aware  of  the  regulations  in  force. 
However,  a  great  number  of  couples  and  companies  are  capable  of  handling  international 

48 
49 

50 

51 
52 
53 
54 
55 
56 

Logo and promotional material 
Restricted Call for Proposals VP/2005/018: 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/calls/2005/vp_2005_018/index_en.html  
Launch conference: 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/workersmobility_2006/index.cfm?id_page=45  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_analysis/imm_mobility06_en.htm  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/workersmobility_2006/index.cfm?id_page=504  
Call for Proposals VP/2006/014 
Call for Tender VT/2006/042 
Call for Tender VT/2006/043 
file:///V:/employment_social/incentive_measures/activities_en.htm#2006 (EYWM) 

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migration  without  assistance.  In  these  cases  proper  information  concerning  living  and 
working  conditions  and  LM  opportunities  might  be  sufficient.  Therefore,  information  is  a 
prerequisite  for  international  mobility,  but  also  good  practice  and  awareness-raising.  The 
study  also  pointed  out  possible  side  effects,  such  as  biased  public  opinion,  social  tensions, 
etc.,  and  cutbacks  of  international  mobility  and  the  situation  in  the  UK  were  brought  up  as 
examples in this respect; 

-  The  study  "Innovative  actions  to  provide  good  company  practice  on  worker  mobility  for 
SME and PES"57, whose results are expected to be available in early spring 2008, will identify 
possible ways to overcome existing barriers to mobility and to capitalise on business practice 
related  to  workers'  mobility. The  main  focus  will  be  on  best  practice  by  medium-sized  and 
large  enterprises  allowing  and  encouraging  the  geographic  mobility  of  their  workers. This 
good practice can be of great use for other SME and for the PES as providers of services to 
both workers and enterprises. The aim is to investigate into the reality of (larger) enterprises 
rather  than  developing  theoretic  models. SME  can  learn  from  good  practices  of  large 
enterprises, while focusing on effective policies, in terms of mobility of staff and looking into 
good examples with the largest impact on workers' mobility;  

- "Europeans on the move - Portraits of 31 mobile workers"58 (publication) 

- Publication of a 'Flash' Eurobarometer on the perception of  rights and instruments in the 
area of workers' mobility: this survey assessed changes in individual perceptions and attitudes 
towards  mobility  at  end  of  the  Year.  It  also  assessed  changes  in  relation  to  a  broader 
Eurobarometer  inquiry  that  was  conducted  at  the  end  of  2005.  The  changes  in  perception 
made  it  possible  to  draw  preliminary  conclusions  about  changes  in  perception  on  the 
usefulness  of  mobility  experiences  as  a  means  to  increase  employment  in  Europe  and  in 
particular a better matching between offer and demand at European level. The results of the 
Flash were presented at the closing conference of the Year in Helsinki, in December 2006; 

- Conference on "Workers' Mobility – What role for the social partners?" organised to 
promote exchange of good practice; 

- European Job Fairs organised simultaneously in 230 cities on 29 and 30 September 200659; 

- The "European Workers' Mobility Award"60  

- Seminar for Law Professionals on the free movement of workers in an enlarged Europe61 

- Series of initiatives of information and awareness-raising to emphasise mobility's 
contribution to more and better jobs 

- Closing conference 

- Evaluation of the Year (still in progress) 

57 
58 
59 
60 
61 

Call for Tender VT/2006/046 
Europeans on the move - Portraits of 31 mobile workers 
European Job Fairs 
European Workers' Mobility Award 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/workersmobility_2006/index.cfm?id_page=20  

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D. LOCAL EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT (LED) 

In the area of local development, several projects were initiated and launched during the EIM 
Programme period. 

Among  the  LED  key  activities  belongs  the  IDELE  programme62,  a  3-year  programme 
launched  by  the  Commission  in  November  2003  in  order  to  identify,  disseminate  and 
exchange good practices among MS in LED. IDELE set up a similar methodology as that of 
the  Mutual  Learning  Programme  (MLP)63  with  local  actors  being  encouraged  to  develop 
effective  local  development  strategies  by  facilitating  co-operation  with  their  counterparts  in 
other MS.  

Each  year  4  themes  were  agreed  with  DG  EMPL  which  formed  the  basis  of  four  seminars 
during  each  year.  Prior  to  each  seminar  there  was  an  intensive  process  of  identifying  good 
practice case studies relating to each theme. At each seminar, 6-8 case studies were presented 
and discussed in detail, with the aim of extracting key success factors and transferable good 
practice. The number of participants at each seminar was kept to about 30-35 people to ensure 
that there would be real discussion. Generally participants were invited by ECOTEC or DG 
EMPL on the basis of who could best contribute. Following each seminar a thematic report 
was  produced,  incorporating  the  background  research  and  the  findings  from  the  seminar. 
Dissemination of the findings and the reports was a key part of the process. For each year, the 
IDELE programme also produced an overall report. 

With regard to information and communication activities, the Linking Local Actors network64 
set up a website and now provides means for networking and close cooperation between the 
Commission  and  local  economic  and  employment  development  actors.  It  furthermore 
organises periodic peer reviews and events at Community, national, regional and local levels.  

The evaluation of the preparatory measures projects evaluated the series of 19 projects under 
the  Call  for  Proposals  "Preparatory  measures  for  a  local  commitment  for  employment" 
launched  in  2001.  The  19  projects  aimed  to  highlight  innovative  aspects  of  LED,  to  put 
forward  proposals  for  the  transfer  of  good  practice,  to  draw  lessons  for  the  design  of 
mainstream  employment  policies,  and  to  provide  advice  as  regards  future  activity.  The 
evaluation  highlighted  positive  results  and 
limitations,  and  put  forward  a  set  of 
recommendations in order to increase the impact of this type of initiative in the future. 

In  line  with  the  provisions  of  Article  4(3)  of  the  Decision,  EIM  contributed  throughout  the 
whole programme period to OECD in the framework of its Local Economic and Employment 
Development  programme  (LEED)65,  focusing  on  the  local  integration  of  immigrants,  skill 
upgrading for the low-skilled, and dissemination activities.  

The  project  "Promotion  of  Benchmarking  within  LED"66,  launched  in  2004,  aimed  at 
developing  effective  local  employment  strategies  by  learning  from  the  experience  of  others 
who have faced, or are facing, similar issues in other localities. By the setting of standards and 
identification  of  synergies,  benchmarking  can  constitute  a  "learning  system",  helping  to 

62 
63 
64 
65 
66 

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/local_employment/project_idele_en.htm  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_strategy/peer_en.htm  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/local_employment/lla/fo/index.do  
http://www.oecd.org/department/0,3355,en_2649_34417_1_1_1_1_1,00.html  
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/local_employment/publi_en.htm  

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transform  local  approaches  into  better  governance.  So  benchmarking  can  be  regarded  as  an 
important contribution to the implementation of the EES at local level. 

The project entailed a literature review, identification of case studies, fact-finding visits, and a 
conference. As well as a final report in English and in French, there is a summary brochure, 
accessible to non-experts, available in 20 EU official languages.67  

The  study  "New  MS  and  LED:  taking  stock  and  planning  for  the  future",  also  known  as 
FALDE: Fresh approaches to local development of employment in the new MS68, identifies 
future priorities with respect to LED in the 12 new MS, in keeping with the goals of the EES 
and  wider  EU  objectives,  and  thereby  develop  future  strategy  with  respect  to  LED  in  these 
countries and in the EU as a whole. 

In  November  2001  the  Commission  adopted  a  Communication  [COM  (2001)  629]  on  the 
local  dimension  of  the  EES,  suggesting  ways  to  help  local  actors  play  their  full  part  in  the 
EES, in cooperation with national authorities and Community institutions. A particular focus 
for the Commission has been to play a supportive role, and in line with that strategy a series 
of practical handbooks for developing local employment strategies for local actors was funded 
by  the  EIM.  These  handbooks  provide  a  practical  tool  indicating  the  best  approaches  for 
designing,  developing,  implementing,  monitoring  and  evaluating  successful  LED  strategies 
and  activities.  The  key  principles  are  presented,  documented  with  examples  and  a  list  of 
useful contacts.  

There are today 16 handbooks available69 - one for each of the 15 MS that were EU members 
prior to May 2004, and a general one for the new MS and CC. Each handbook has a common 
first part, followed by country-specific chapters. 

In  2006,  the  same  handbook  project  was  launched  for  each  of  the  10  new  MS  as  well  as  a 
general one for Bulgaria and Romania that were still AC at that time. The handbook will be 
available before the summer of 2008. 

A  key  event  was  the  European  Forum  on  local  development70,  held  during  the  Greek 
Presidency  in  Rhodes  in  2003.  This  provided  the  opportunity  for  key  actors  at  all  levels 
(Community,  national,  regional  and  local)  to  discuss  ways  of  promoting  LED  and  the  EES 
and  to  exchange  best  practice.  This  high-profile  event  enhanced  visibility  of  the  EES 
including the contribution of local and regional level approaches for the general public.  

The  joint  conference  on  "LED  in  the  EU  and  the  US:  promoting  successful  policies  and 
practices" offered an opportunity for participants from across the EU and the US to engage in 
a dialogue on their respective approaches to and experiences with LED. 

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http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/local_employment/publi_en.htm  
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http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/local_employment/events_en.htm  

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E. NETWORKING 

E.1 European Employment Observatory (EEO)71 

The  EEO  contributes  to  the  development  of  the  EES  through  the  provision  of  information, 
comparative research and evaluation on employment policies and labour market trends in the 
countries covered by the EEO (EU MS, CC and EFTA/EEA). 

On the EEO web site the latest news from the EEO, information on the EES, electronic copies 
of  the  EEO  Reviews  and  other  EEO  publications,  as  well  as  links  to  other  relevant 
international, European and country websites can be found 

E.2 Mutual Learning Programme (MLP) 

The  MLP  aims  at  facilitating  the  identification  of  good  employment  policies  and  their  transfer, 
creating  the  opportunity  for  stakeholders  in  the  MS  to  present  their  national  examples  of  good 
practice at the EU level. This is being realised through 3 types of activities: 1) Thematic Review 
seminars, which are attended by policy-makers and stakeholders from across Europe as well as 
key experts, who come together to debate on a priority theme; 2) Peer Review meetings, which 
present a selected policy or measure to a group of peer countries which have expressed specific 
interest  in  the  potential  transfer  of  the  policy  to  their  own  countries;  and  3)  national  and  joint 
follow-up activities, which are launched to achieve the objectives of the MLP. 

E.3 Public Employment Services (PES) 

A  number  of  high  quality  collaborative  PES  projects  were  co-financed,  such  as  the 
development  of  benchmarking  indicators  of  PES  performance,  which  included  the  related 
seminar on "Common performance indicators and benchmarking procedures". 

Other  PES  seminars  included  subjects  such  as  governance  and  structural  change  in  PES 
related  to  ICT  developments  and  on  the  promotion  of  mutual  understanding  of  public  and 
private employment services. 

Series of training seminar was organised in 2002, 2003 and 2006 for the PES management in 
those CC, which were to become the new MS in 2004, and in Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and 
Turkey  in  2006.  The  seminars,  which  were  organised  by  the  Commission  in  collaboration 
with the EU PES in order to ensure a coherent transfer of practical knowledge and experience, 
focused  on  PES  as  a  factor  in  the  implementation  of  the  EG  and  general  policy/strategic 
management  issues  related  to  the  implementation  of  the  EES  and  ESF,  PES  modernisation 
issues,  participation  in  the  EURES  network,  services  to  jobseekers/LTU  and  services  to 
employers.  

E.4 LED Programmes and Network 

Both the IDELE Programme and the Linking Local Actors Network were dealt with more in 
detail under Part D of this document. 

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GLOSSARY 

ALMP 

Active Labour Market Policies 

AC 

CC 

Accession Countries  

Candidate Countries 

CEEC-12 

12 Central and Eastern European Countries 

EEA 

EEO 

EES 

EIM 

EMCO 

ESF 

EYWM 

IDELE 

LED 

LEED 

LFS 

LLL 

LM 

LMP 

LTU 

MLP 

MS 

PES 

SME 

European Economic Area 

European Employment Observatory 

European Employment Strategy 

Programme  for  Community  incentive  measures  in  the  field  of 
employment 

Employment Committee 

European Social Fund 

European Year of Workers' Mobility 2006 

Identification, Dissemination and Exchange of good practice in the 
field of LED and promoting better governance 

Local Employment Development 

The  OECD  programme:  Local  Employment  and  Economic 
Development programme 

Labour Force Survey 

Lifelong Learning 

Labour market 

Labour Market Policy 

Long-term unemployment 

Mutual Learning Programme 

Member States 

Public Employment Services 

Small and medium-sized enterprises 

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