Commission staff working paper - Restructuring and employment the contribution of the European Union {COM(2008) 419 final}
Date: 2008-07-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Works Council, European undertaking, group of companies, labour law, worker consultation, worker information

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 2.7.2008 
SEC(2008) 2154 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING PAPER 

Restructuring and employment the contribution of the European Union 

{COM(2008) 419 final} 

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COMMISSION STAFF WORKING PAPER 

Restructuring and employment the contribution of the European Union 

INTRODUCTION 

This  paper  forms  part  of  the  package  presented  with  the  Commission  Communication  A 
renewed  social  agenda:  Opportunities,  access  and  solidarity  in  21st  century  Europe1.  The 
Communication  emphasises  the  need  to  prepare  the  European  Union  to  cope  with  the 
challenges  of  globalisation  better  and  to  promote  social  management  of  change  and 
restructuring. Such management must offer new opportunities to workers and regions affected 
by  restructuring,  must  allow  the  workers  access  to  training  or  re-training,  and  must 
demonstrate  real  solidarity  with  them.  The  European  Union’s  action  with  regard  to  the 
management of restructuring operations can only supplement that of the other actors, and in 
particular  the  Member  States,  the  regions  and,  naturally,  the  companies  and  employees 
themselves. 

The  term  ‘restructuring’  here  means  a  modification  of  a  company’s  workforce  that  affects 
both  the  latter’s  qualitative  (skills  and  qualifications  required)  and  its  quantitative  features 
(number  of  jobs)  following  adaptations  to  the  company’s  structure,  organisation  or 
production.  Such  adaptations,  which  are  the  result  of  many  factors,  such  as  changes  in 
demand, the introduction of new processes or the arrival of new competitors, are necessary for 
the company to remain competitive. They also bring new opportunities, as evidenced by the 
creation  of  over  12  million  new  jobs  across  the  EU  from  2000  to  2007.  The  social 
management of restructuring is designed to reduce the negative effects of such adaptations. 

In 1998 the Commission published a report by the High-Level Group on economic and social 
implications  of  industrial  change  chaired  by  Pehr  Gyllenhammar.  The  concerns  and 
suggestions  presented  in  the  report  have  subsequently  guided  the  Commission’s  action  to 
promote the social management of restructuring. 

This  paper  takes  stock  of  the  main  advances  in  this  area  in  the  wake  of  the  two 
Communications  on  the  management  of  restructuring  presented  by  the  Commission  in 
January 20022 and March 20053. 

Taking as a basis a review of the last ten years, and the lessons which can be drawn from it, 
the main players in the management of restructuring processes are invited to press ahead with 
and to step up cooperation. In particular, the contribution of the social partners following the 
adoption of the 2005 Communication is eagerly awaited. For its part, the Commission intends 
to continue its work and step up its efforts to encourage anticipation of coming changes and 
the development of partnerships between the players. 

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COM(2008) XXX final 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/social_dialogue/docs/changement_I_fr.pdf. 
COM(2005) 120 final. 

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I. 

REVIEW 

I.1.  The Gyllenhammar Group Report 

In 1997 the European Council4 invited a high-level expert group to analyse the implications 
and economic and social effects of industrial change, and to consider ways of anticipating and 
managing them. The Group’s report, Managing change (November 1998), presented a set of 
recommendations  addressed  to  political  decision-makers,  company  managers  and  social 
partners. 

EXTRACTS 
GYLLENHAMMAR GROUP 

FROM 

THE  MAIN 

RECOMMENDATIONS  OF 

THE 

•  Companies should be encouraged to take voluntary action to emulate the level of the best. 

Legislation should be used to prevent improper behaviour. 

•  A  motivated  workforce  is  the  key  to  success.  Companies  have  the  responsibility  to 
maintain  the  employability  of  their  workers,  whilst  workers  have  the  responsibility  to 
utilise all available training opportunities. 

•  Develop social dialogue to tap its full potential at all levels. 

•  Companies should shoulder the main responsibility for the anticipation of change. 

•  Commission should assist this process by creating an Observatory on industrial change. 

•  Larger companies are encouraged to prepare a ‘Managing change report’. 

•  In  the  event  of  a  crisis,  the  main  responsibility  for  action  lies  with  the  company;  the 
government should abstain from interfering in industrial change although local authorities 
may  intervene  in  a  coordinating  and  mediating  capacity  to  support  the  negotiation  of  a 
successful outcome. 

•  Any  company  proceeding  with  dismissals  without  having  taken  the  necessary  steps  to 
safeguard the employability of those dismissed should be barred from access to public aid. 

I.2.  The 2002 and 2005 Communications  

The 2002 Communication  

The  Commission  based  its  2002  Communication  Anticipating  and  managing  change:  A 
dynamic approach to the social aspects of corporate restructuring on points highlighted in the 
report  Managing  change  and  in  connection  with  the  Lisbon  Strategy.  The  Communication 
sought  to  stimulate  dialogue  between  the  social  partners  with  a  view  to  identifying  and 
developing best practice in anticipating and managing restructuring. It took as a starting point 
the observation that corporate restructuring operations are an important element of the process 
of  change.  Forward-thinking  human  resources  planning  and  better  qualifications  are 
fundamental in this context, while the introduction of mechanisms to support the latter calls 
for active partnership between the social partners.  

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Luxembourg Extraordinary European Council meeting on employment, 21 and 22 November 1997. 

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In  accordance  with  Article  138  of  the  EC  Treaty,  the  Communication  called  on  the  social 
partners  to  express  their  opinions  on  the  advisability  of  laying  down  certain  principles  at 
Community level for action to support good practice in companies undergoing restructuring, 
and  on  the  way  such  principles  should  be  developed  and  laid  down.  The  Communication 
asked  the  European  social  partners  to  say  whether  they  regarded  agreements  between  the 
social partners at inter-branch or sector level as the right way to proceed.  

The inter-branch social partners responded to this request by presenting a document entitled 
‘Orientations for reference in managing change and its social consequences’ in October 2003. 
Their contribution contained an in-depth analysis of the phenomenon and identified key factors 
in  the  sound  management  of  a  restructuring  operation.  The  social  partners  agreed  that  the 
existence of good social dialogue in a climate of trust and a positive attitude to change were 
important factors in preventing and limiting its negative consequences.  

The ‘orientations for reference’ developed by the European social partners underlined the need 
to: 

•  explain the reasons for the change to the employees or their representatives in good time;  

•  make  provision  for  effectively  informing  and  consulting  the  employees  throughout  the 

process of change;  

•  maintain  and  develop  the  skills  and  qualifications  of  the  employees  in  order  to  enhance 

their employability;  

•  take  into  account  the  regional  dimension  (economic  and  social  repercussions  of  the 

restructuring on the regions affected); 

•  consider the specific situation of subcontractor SMEs.  

The  social  partners  were  unable,  however,  to  agree  on  mechanisms  for  implementing  and 
following  up  these  guidelines,  and  this  consequently  limited  the  practical  impact  of  their 
work. 

The 2005 Communication  

The  Commission’s  Communication  of  31  March  2005  entitled  Restructuring  and 
employment:  Anticipating  and  accompanying  restructuring  in  order  to  develop  employment 
— The role of the European Union fitted in fully with the re-launch of the Lisbon Strategy. Its 
aim  was  to  identify  and  promote  the  mobilisation  of  resources  that  would  allow  both  the 
economic actors and the workers to adapt quickly to the changes under way. The Commission 
emphasised that a combination of different instruments and policies could allow opportunities 
offered by current processes of change to be exploited optimally and problematic aspects to 
be tackled, in particular by facilitating transitions on the employment market.  

Many  European  policies  contribute  to  the  objectives  of  adaptation  to  change,  and  of 
anticipation of and support for restructuring operations: one may cite policies on competition 
and  innovation,  those  aimed  at  improving  the  environment  in  which  European  companies 
operate and at  facilitating the reallocation  of resources, employment,  education and training 
policies,  directives  on  informing  and  consulting  workers,  the  European  social  dialogue, 
cohesion  policy,  financial  support  instruments,  rural  development  policy,  etc.  The  Union  is 

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also  developing  sectoral  policies  geared  to  anticipating  change  and  strengthening  the 
competitive position of Europe’s economy. 

At the same time, in accordance with Article 138 of the Treaty the Commission called upon 
the European social partners to continue with their work to identify good practice with regard 
to the anticipation of and support for restructuring operations and, above all, to find the means 
of  ensuring  their  application.  The  Commission  encouraged  the  social  partners  to  be  more 
proactive in the management of restructuring and to step up cooperation in order to: 

–  promote the application and follow-up of their guidelines on restructuring activities, and a 

discussion on the way forward;  

–  encourage the adoption of best practice set out in the existing guidelines on restructuring, 

where applicable;  

–  promote  best  practice  in  the  way  that  European  works  councils  operate,  with  a  view  to 
making  them  more  effective,  in  particular  as  regards  their  role  as  a  driving  force  for 
change;  

–  develop a common approach to the other points in the Communication of concern to them, 

and in particular training, mobility, the sectoral dimension and anticipation.  

The Commission had intended to go ahead with its analysis of the advances made at the 2006 
Tripartite Social Summit. However, as the social partners decided to continue their work on 
the  guidelines  by  holding  several  series  of  national  seminars,  the  Commission  has  opted  to 
wait until they have made sufficient progress before proceeding with this analysis. 

The  other  measures  proposed  in  the  Communication  have  actually  been  implemented. 
Attention is drawn in particular to those listed below.  

The European Employment Strategy 

The  guidelines  endorsed  the  importance  given  to  the  priorities  relating  to  anticipation  and 
management  of  change  and  the  contribution  of  active  employment  policies  under  the 
European  Employment  Strategy  (EES).  More  recently,  in  their  national  reform  programmes 
the  Member  States  were  asked  to  give  substance  to  the  principles  for  implementing  a 
flexicurity  strategy,  which  has  a  key  role  to  play  in  securing  career  paths  by  combining  a 
flexible workforce, capable of adapting to new markets and new technologies, with a suitable 
compensation system and active employment policies.  

The EES fits into the wider context of the Lisbon Strategy, which concentrates on stronger, 
sustainable growth and on more and better jobs. The Lisbon Strategy’s re-launch has led to a 
comprehensive review of the EES, aimed at fully exploiting the synergies between measures 
taken  at  national  level  and  Community  action  by  making  it  more  effective.  The  Lisbon 
Strategy constitutes a key element for the management of restructuring operations, as it aims 
to encourage the competitiveness of Europe’s economies and thus to strengthen their ability to 
respond to current and future adaptations. 

Cohesion policy 

Cohesion  policy  is  designed  to  reinforce  economic  and  social  cohesion  across  the  Union 
through  the  reduction  of  disparities.  To  achieve  this  objective,  the  European  Regional 

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Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) support proactive strategies, 
in particular to raise standards of training, diversify the industrial base and adapt to economic 
and structural change. In order both to anticipate and to respond to changes and restructuring, 
the  European  Union  has  noteworthy  instruments  in  the  form  of  medium-term  programmes 
funded  under  the  cohesion  policy.  These  integrated  programmes  have  increasingly  come  to 
replace previous initiatives of a sectoral nature, which have proved to have limited coverage 
and impact. An integrated approach under the cohesion policy provides the political decision-
makers with the chance to take account of the whole set of conditions required to respond to 
the effects of economic changes.  

The  Structural  Fund  programming  process  is  flexible,  so  although  the  programmes  are 
implemented for a seven-year period, they can be adjusted to fit in with new circumstances. 
This  flexibility  was  demonstrated  by  the  actions  undertaken  as  part  of  the  closure  of  the 
MG/Rover  car  plants  in  the  United  Kingdom  (ERDF  and  ESF  part-funding).  During  the 
previous programming period, the Equal Community Initiative and innovative actions under 
the  ESF5  and  the  ERDF6  also  contributed,  both  through  the  development  of  innovative 
solutions  and  discussions  and  the  exchange  of  good  practice,  to  greater  knowledge  of  the 
mechanisms permitting improved social handling of restructuring operations7.  

European rural development policy also makes a significant contribution to job creation and 
to  the  development  of  qualifications  among  the  population  in  rural  areas.  Thanks  to  the 
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the Member States and regions can part-
fund actions to achieve that objective. The Member States have made use of this option in the 
new programming period for 2007-13. 

European Globalisation adjustment Fund 

The  Commission  has set up  the European Globalisation  Adjustment Fund (EGF) to provide 
support for workers affected by restructuring processes linked to changes in the organisation 
of  world  trade.  The  EGF  has  been  in  operation  since  1  January  2007  and  its  first  annual 
implementation report is also presented in connection with the renewed Social Agenda. The 
EGF constitutes one of the Union’s most important and most visible initiatives in this field. 

The external dimension 

The Union has continued to promote basic social standards in its external policies, on the one 
hand through various free trade, partnership, association and cooperation agreements, and on 
the other, in its development aid programmes and projects. The EU has actively supported the 
inclusion  of  decent  work  as  a  global  objective  of  the  United  Nations.  In  a  Communication 
published  on  24 May  2006  the  Commission  developed  an  integrated  strategy  aimed  at 
mobilising  the  EU’s  internal  and  external  policies  for  the  promotion  of  decent  work.  It  has 

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Communication from the Commission on the Implementation of Innovative Measures under Article 6 
of  the  European  Social  Fund  Regulation  for  the  programming  period  2000-2006  (COM(2000)  894 
final). 
Communication from the Commission on guidelines for innovative actions under the European regional 
development Fund for the programming period 2000-2006 (COM(2001) 60-005). 
See the reports on the evaluation of ESF support for the anticipation and management of economic 
change (July 2007), innovative measures in accordance with Article 6 of the ESF and the 2000-06 
Equal Community Initiative at http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/evaluation/esf_fr.html, 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/esf/fields/2000_2006/article_6_2000_2006_programme_fr.htm 
and http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/equal/about/key-doc_fr.cfm  

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supported consideration of the issues connected with decent work by the G8, and the research 
work launched recently by the ILO and the secretariat of the WTO on the interaction between 
commerce, employment and social policy.  

Monitoring of activity sectors  

With  a  view  to  helping  workers  and  companies  to  anticipate  changes  more  effectively,  the 
Commission  has  launched  in-depth  research  and  analyses,  both  on  the  restructuring 
phenomenon  itself  and  on  the  monitoring  of  activity  sectors,  including  a  series  of  sectoral 
studies on the identification of emerging skills at sectoral level and on changes in employment 
between  now  and  2020.  This  prospective  analysis  is  being  carried  out  in  conjunction  with 
independent researchers, social partners and other European institutions, such as the European 
Parliament,  EUROFOUND’s  European  Monitoring  Centre  on  Change  (EMCC)8  and  the 
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop). It will comprise part 
of the response to the Council’s resolution of 15 November 2007 on the new skills for new 
jobs9, and to the request from the March 2008 European Council concerning employment and 
qualification forecasts for 2020.  

Owing to the scale of the changes they are undergoing, over the last two years certain sectors 
have been the subject of reinforced monitoring, closely linking the Commission, professional 
organisations, the social partners and the regions concerned. This is the case of the automobile 
sector  and,  more  recently,  defence.  Starting  from  a  shared  diagnosis,  these  monitoring 
programmes identify the roles and responsibilities at each level and of each group of actors. 
This  generates  a  programme  of  practical  measures  that  focus  on  strengthening  the 
competitiveness  of  these  sectors  and  regions,  identifying  future  requirements  in  terms  of 
innovation,  skills  and  qualifications  and  the  resources  to  meet  them,  and  putting  in  place 
systems for anticipating and managing the social impact of the changes anticipated. 

A  number  of  sectoral  social  dialogue  committees  have  taken  an  interest  in  this  issue. 
Noteworthy  examples  include  work  carried  out  in  the  civil  aviation,  hotels  and  catering, 
furniture, textiles, shipyards, electricity, sugar, chemicals and railway sectors or industries10. 

Restructuring Task Force 

Since  2005  the  Restructuring  Task  Force  has  carried  out  major  work  on  the  internal 
coordination of the various policies targeting restructuring operations or those of relevance to 
addressing their economic and social impact. This is shown by the increasing extent to which 
the  need  to  anticipate  restructuring  and  develop  partnerships  at  all  levels  has  been 
incorporated into different Community policies and actions (integrated guidelines, Structural 
Funds  frameworks, 
industrial  policy,  commercial  policy,  various  sectoral  policies, 
environment policy, etc.). 

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In 2001 one of the proposals of the Gyllenhammar Expert Group was implemented. This involved the 
establishment  of  a  European  Monitoring  Centre  on  Change  (EMCC)  within  EUROFOUND,  the 
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in Dublin. The EMCC 
manages  in  particular  the  European  Restructuring  Monitor  (ERM),  which  collects  information  on 
restructuring operations on a certain scale. 
OJ C 290, 4.12.2007, p. 1. 
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/social_dialogue/sectoral_en.htm.  

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Restructuring forums 

Since March 2005 the Commission has held six ‘restructuring forums’ on various important 
facets  of  restructuring.  These  were  the  inaugural  forum  on  anticipation  (June  2005)  and  the 
forums  on  the  sectoral  dimension  (July  2006),  the  regional  dimension  (December  2006), 
instruments for analysis and anticipation (June 2007), the automobile sector (October 2007) 
and  SMEs  (November  2007).  Attended  by  hundreds  of  participants  each  time,  the  forums 
have  permitted  a  wide  exchange  of  views  on  the  mutual  interdependence  of  the  different 
facets of dealing with corporate restructuring and the proactive and positive management of 
processes of change.  

The  2005  Communication  also  refers  to  the  revision  of  the  Directive  on  European  works 
councils. After the social partners were consulted, a draft recasting of the Directive is being 
presented  as  part  of  the  renewed  Social  Agenda.  In  conjunction  with  other,  non-regulatory 
measures,  this  new  proposal  seeks  to  ensure  that  workers’  rights  to  information  and 
transnational  consultation  are  properly  observed  in  practice,  to  increase  the  number  of 
European  works  councils  established,  to  strengthen  legal  security  and  to  ensure  that  the 
Directives on worker information and consultation work in with each other more effectively. 

Alongside  other  European  legislation,  such  as  that  concerning  worker  information  and 
consultation, mass redundancies and the transfer of companies, the Directive is a key tool for 
promoting  the  social  management  of  restructuring  operations.  Also  presented  with  the 
renewed  Social  Agenda,  the  Commission  Staff  Working  Paper  on  transnational  company 
agreements concluded by companies at European or international level is another example of 
work at European level aimed at encouraging such social management of restructuring.  

Other  European  institutions  have  also  made  a  contribution.  On  several  occasions,  the 
European  Parliament  has  underlined  the  need  to  support  the  social  management  of 
restructuring operations and has invited the Commission in particular to step up its work. The 
European Economic and Social Committee’s Consultative Commission on Industrial Change 
(CCMI)  has  produced  a  large  number  of  own-initiative  opinions  and  information  reports 
directly  connected  with  the  management  of  restructuring  operations.  In  October  2007,  the 
Committee  of  the  Regions  adopted  an  outlook  opinion  on  success  factors  to  anticipate  and 
accompany restructuring in cities and regions11, which stresses that it is at local and regional 
level that action is most effective when it comes to the implementation of policies designed to 
addressing restructuring operations. 

II. 

PRESSING ON WITH ACTIONS 

Over  the  last  decade,  the  number  of  factors  contributing  to  change  has  multiplied 
(e.g. acceleration of globalisation, climate change, changes in the way companies are run as a 
result of the financiarisation of the economy, technological development, changing tastes of 
consumers and demographic trends). The Commission, the European social partners and the 
other players, who have taken a large number of initiatives for optimising the management of 
change, should therefore press on with them and step up their efforts in the future.  

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CoR 340/2006. 

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II.1  The key role of social partners and companies 

The importance of a joint approach by the social partners with regard to the anticipation and 
management  of  change  should  be  underlined.  In  view  of  the  social  partners’  intention  to 
promote  and  evaluate  the  guidelines  for  reference  in  managing  change  and  its  social 
consequences in their 2006-08 working programme, the Tripartite Social Summit for Growth 
and  Employment  to  be  held  in  March  2009  could  be  the  right  time  to  present  a  first 
assessment  of  their  work  in  this  field.  On  the  basis  of  that  contribution,  thought  could  be 
given  to  the  advisability  of  presenting  new  initiatives  to  promote  principles  shared  at 
European level. 

Considering the key role played by business in the management of change, a possibility for 
the  future  is  to  encourage  companies  to  include  management  of  change  and  restructuring, 
including the relations they develop within their immediate environment (such as with regions 
or  subcontractors),  in  reports  many  companies  produce  on  a  voluntary  basis  in  connection 
with  corporate  social  responsibility.  Inclusion  of  restructuring  in  such  reports  would 
encourage  the  exchange  of  good  practice  and  could  allow  the  public  authorities  to  gain  a 
better grasp of the issues raised by industrial and technological change. 

II.2.  A wider partnership  

A  number  of  actions  already  under  way  that  demonstrate  the  benefit  of  a  wider  partnership 
will  be  continued  in  the  future  in  order  to  develop  this  approach  and  encourage  social 
management  of  restructuring  operations.  The  main  aim  of  these  actions  is  to  step  up  the 
exchange  of  good  practice  in  the  management  of  restructuring  by  emphasising  in  particular 
the major role of anticipation, which is complementary to that of partnership: 

–  Continuation  of  ‘restructuring  forums’:  topics  to  be  addressed  include  climate  change, 
the  contribution  of  the  European  Social  Fund,  transnational  company  agreements,  the 
financiarisation of the economy, the results of sectoral studies as a tool for anticipation, the 
defence industry and the link between health and restructuring. 

–  Continuation  and  widening  the  scope  of  the  monitoring  of  certain  sectors  and  certain 
regions  which  are  likely  to  experience  significant  changes  in  economic  and  employment 
terms.  Such  monitoring  will  take  the  form  of  partnerships  like  those  developed  in  the 
automobile  sector.  These  partnerships  are  necessary  owing  to  the  complexity  of 
restructuring  processes.  Cooperation  between  all  players,  particularly  upstream  of  a 
restructuring  project,  is  an  essential  condition  for  sound  management  of  change. 
Authorities  at  all  levels  (European,  national  and  regional)  and  all  economic  and  social 
actors need to play their part in line with their own roles and responsibilities. All players, 
and  in  particular  the  social  partners,  should  develop  long-term  views  and  education  and 
training systems and practice should be adapted to those perspectives. 

–  Launch during the next few months of an interactive site called ‘ANTICIPEDIA’, which 
will be a collection, exchange, dissemination and networking tool for the actors involved in 
change. 

–  Dissemination  of  results  of  prospective  sectoral  analyses,  in  particular  through  the 
organisation  of  national  seminars  and  support  for  sectoral  social  dialogue  committees 
wishing to contribute to such forward planning work.  

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–  Publication of a guide collating good practice on training and the adaptation of skills in 

SMEs before the end of 2008.  

–  Possible  establishment  of  sectoral  employment  and  qualifications  councils.  In  the 
economic  sectors  facing  profound  changes  in  the  structure  of  employment,  consideration 
will be given to setting up such councils as a practical tool for following  up the  sectoral 
analyses.  Canada’s  experience  with  sectoral  employment  and  qualifications  councils, 
involving  public,  economic,  social  and  training  actors  with  the  aim  of  analysing  and 
exchanging  information  on  the  long-term  trends  in  jobs  and  skills  in  a  given  sector, 
including  the  impact  of  IT,  could  provide  a  worthwhile  area  for  action  for  the  Union’s 
sectoral social dialogue and provide a measure of response to concerns about identifying 
job  shortages.  A  communication  addressing  the  possibility  of  setting  up  such  councils  is 
planned for 2009. 

II.3 Cooperation with national and regional authorities 

Cooperation with national authorities is another key area for the management of restructuring 
operations.  Clearly,  it  is  the  job  of  national  governments  to  simplify  the  regulatory 
framework,  take  action  to  promote  and  support  investments  in  production  and  research  and 
innovation activities, ensure the development of a qualified workforce and use the Structural 
Funds to anticipate and manage restructuring. In the context of efforts to press ahead with the 
cohesion policy and create new, sustainable jobs, the importance of paying special attention to 
issues  relating  to  the  anticipation,  preparation  and  management  of  restructuring  through  the 
ESF’s  Adaptability  priority  and  the  Regions  for  Economic  Change  initiative  has  been 
underlined on numerous occasions. 

Further,  stronger  coherent  action  in  the  fields  of  continuous  training  and  employability  to 
facilitate  professional  transitions  is  another  key  area  for  action  by  the  public  authorities,  in 
which the application of the principles of flexibility constitutes a major strand. 

The  EMCC  recently  launched  an  appeal  for  voluntary  cooperation  between  the  Member 
States for the improved collection of data on restructuring operations, based on notifications 
of  mass  redundancies.  Given  the  importance  of  having  available  the  most  complete  and 
reliable data possible, this appeal should be passed on by the Commission.  

Good  practice  has  demonstrated  that  it  is  for  the  regional  and  local  authorities  to  carry  out 
permanent  monitoring  of  changes  in  economic  activities  of  significance  to  their  region,  in 
close cooperation with the economic players involved. Their participation in putting in place 
and strengthening mechanisms for the adaptation of companies and staff and in boosting the 
competitiveness of the region’s economic and social fabric is a major challenge. 

II.4 Greater visibility for Community action 

In addition to the role of the Restructuring Task Force within the Commission, which is to 
improve coordination of the various Community policies with an impact on the processes of 
change  and  restructuring,  better  evaluation  of  the  social  impact  of  Community  policies  in 
accordance with the new ‘horizontal’ clause in the Lisbon Treaty could be an additional factor 
in anticipating the effects of Community interventions. In addition, the visibility of action at 
European  level  also  needs  to  be  increased.  To  achieve  this,  the  services  of  the  Commission 
will be publishing regular reports on restructuring operations in Europe. The first of these, 
to be adopted before the end of 2008, will outline the main Community policies incorporating 
a specific dimension on adaptation to change.  

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