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UNION
EXPLAINED
Promoting
jobs, inclusion
and social
policy as an
investment
Employment
and social
affairs
O v er 2 6 m i l li o n p eo p l e a r e u n em p loy e d
i n E u r o p e, i n c lu d i n g ov er 5 . 5 m i lli o n
y o u n g p eo p le. If w e d o n o t m a n a g e t o
c r ea t e m o r e j o bs , w e c a n n o t a s p i r e t o
en s u r e a s u s t a i n a ble r ec ov er y. E u r o p e is
n o t p a r t o f t h e p r o bl em . It i s p a r t o f th e
solution.
L s zl An d o r, E u r o p ea n Co m m i s s i o n er
r es p o n s i ble fo r E m p loy m en t , So c i a l
Affa i r s a n d In c lu s i o n .
CONTENTS
Why is the European Union (EU)
involved? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
http://europa.eu/pol/index_en.htm
Agriculture
Borders and security
Budget
Climate action
Competition
Consumers
Culture and audiovisual
Customs
Development and cooperation
Digital agenda
Economic and monetary union and the euro
Education, training, youth and sport
Employment and social affairs
Energy
Enlargement
Enterprise
Environment
Fight against fraud
Maritime affairs and fisheries
Food safety
Foreign affairs and security policy
Humanitarian aid
Internal market
Justice, citizenship, fundamental rights
Migration and asylum
Public health
Regional policy
Research and innovation
Taxation
Trade
Transport
E M P L O Y M E N T
A N D
S O C I A L
A F F A I R S
Employment
With over 26.5million EU residents unemployed in
November 2013, it is clearly of huge importance that
efforts to reduce this number be stepped up. One of the
key targets contained in the Europe 2020 strategy is to
have 75% of the active population (2064 yearolds) in work by the end of the decade.
Population in millions
500
400
300
200
100
2000
2005
019
2010
2015
2064
2020
2025
2030
6579
2035
80+
T H E
E U R O P E A N
U N I O N
E X P L A I N E D
European Union
A N D
S O C I A L
A F F A I R S
Monty Rakusen/cultura/Corbis
E M P L O Y M E N T
Harmonised working
practices have led to better
working conditions across
the EU.
Social inclusion
Social protection
T H E
E U R O P E A N
U N I O N
E X P L A I N E D
Legal instruments
E M P L O Y M E N T
A N D
S O C I A L
A F F A I R S
Financial instruments
The European Social Fund (ESF) one of the EUs
Structural Funds was set up in 1957 to reduce
differences in prosperity and living standards across EU
Member States and regions. Accounting for around 10
% of the total EU budget, the ESF finances tens of
thousands of projects across the Union. Funding is
spread across the Member States and regions, in
particular those where economic development is less
advanced. From 2007 to 2013, close to 10million
people have benefited each year from measures funded
by the ESF and some 76billion has been paid out by
the Fund to EU Member States and regions,
supplementing approximately 36billion of national
public funding.
Stockphoto.com/Mark Ballantyne
iStockphoto.com/Chris Schmidt
T H E
E U R O P E A N
U N I O N
E X P L A I N E D
E M P L O Y M E N T
A N D
S O C I A L
A F F A I R S
Youth employment
In December 2012, the European Commission put
forward a package of measures for moving youth into
employment, in particular a Youth Guarantee ensuring
that at least within four months of leaving formal
education or becoming unemployed, young people up to
the age of 25 receive a quality job offer, continued
education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship.
Heide Benser/Corbis
10
T H E
E U R O P E A N
U N I O N
E X P L A I N E D
E M P L O Y M E N T
A N D
S O C I A L
11
A F F A I R S
EURES
EURES is a European job mobility network involving all
EU countries, plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and
Switzerland. It provides information, guidance and
recruitment/placement services to employers,
jobseekers and any citizen wishing to take advantage of
freedom of movement for workers. Nine hundred EURES
advisers deliver services on the ground and in
November 2013, the EURES online portal hosted around
1900000 job vacancies, over 1200000 CVs and
around 32000 registered employers. Around 150000
jobseekers per year get a job or job offer via EURES.
In the 201420 period, targeted schemes (such as Your
First EURES Job to help young people aged between 18
and 30 looking for a job in another EU country and the
small and medium-size enterprises which want to
recruit them) will be further developed. The EURES
portal and its self-service tools are being modernised,
including online European Job Days taking place all over
the EU.
At the beginning of 2014, the European Commission
proposed new reforms of EURES, aimed at further
improving its efficiency. It will provide more job offers,
increase the likelihood of job matches and help
employers, in particular small and medium businesses
fill job vacancies faster and better. The Commission
proposal would help citizens to make the most informed
choice possible when it comes to moving abroad for
work.
Anticipating restructuring
Between 2002 and 2013, the European Monitoring
Centre on Change registered more than 16000
restructuring operations, with a net job loss of over
2million. During the third quarter of 2013, the
European Restructuring Monitor recorded 250 cases of
restructuring operations, involving 57081 job losses
against 27792 job gains. This contrasts with the
situation in the same quarter of 2007, where there was
an overall result of 23537 new jobs, and reflects a
trend in recent years. Restructuring affects every
country in Europe and is a major source of concern in
the context of the recession, making human capital
investment and adequate management of restructuring
activities all the more necessary.
At the end of 2013, the European Commission therefore
put forward a Quality Framework for restructuring
which offers guidance to companies, workers, trade
unions, employers organisations and public
administrations in order to facilitate the process of
restructuring for businesses and workers via better
anticipation and investment in human capital, while
minimising the social impact. The Commission urges
Member States to support and promote the
implementation of the Quality Framework, and to
consider applying it to public sector employees. It also
calls on all stakeholders to cooperate on the basis of
these guidelines.
Stockphoto.com/Jacob Wackerhausen
12
Social investment
In 2013, the European Commission delivered a Social
investment Package for Growth and Cohesion which
should help the EU achieve inclusive growth by 2020. It
sets out a policy framework and proposes concrete
actions to be taken at EU level and by EU countries, as
well as guidance for the use of EU funds to support
reforms. It tackles challenges such as breaking the cycle
of disadvantage for children, demographic ageing, the
active inclusion of people excluded from the labour
market, homelessness, social services of general
interest, long-term care and health. Social investment is
one of the functions of social policies, alongside social
protection and stabilisation of the economy.
T H E
E U R O P E A N
U N I O N
E X P L A I N E D
E M P L O Y M E N T
A N D
S O C I A L
A F F A I R S
Funding
From 2014 to 2020, under the European Social Fund
(ESF), more than 80million (to be completed by
national funding) is being invested in upgrading the
skills of Europes population and increasing
employment.
The ESF co-finances the Youth Employment Initiative
a dedicated EU funding source to support specific
measures to place young people who are neither in
employment, education or training into, as close as
possible to, the labour market in the regions worst
affected by unemployment. It also has a crucial role to
play in implementing the EU Youth Guarantee, which
seeks to ensure that all young people up to 25 years
old receive a good quality offer of employment,
continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship,
within 4months of becoming unemployed or leaving
formal education. For example, EU countries can use
ESF funding to deploy or enhance the coverage of their
strategies to reach out to young people and create focal
points for them. ESF co-funding can also be used to
offer early school leavers and low-skilled young people
different ways of re-entering education and training,
address skills mismatches and improve their digital
skills.
Image Source/Corbis
13
14
T H E
E U R O P E A N
U N I O N
E X P L A I N E D
carlos
E M P L O Y M E N T
A N D
S O C I A L
A F F A I R S
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What next?
The EU will continue to take steps to address the
unemployment problem currently being faced by
millions of Europeans, paying specific attention to the
plight of young people, who are particularly affected by
this situation. The EU Youth Guarantee provides extra
focus, purpose and thrust to the fight against
unemployment. Indeed, unemployment in general will
not go down significantly unless youth unemployment,
which is twice as high as general unemployment at EU
level, is properly addressed.
It will take into account the long-term challenge of an
ageing society and the need to equip Europeans with
the global skills that will be critical for the development
of businesses, and hence for job creation and the future
prosperity of the EU (for example in sectors such as the
green economy, information and communication
technologies and health care). Gearing up the European
labour market to boost employability will be vital to
relaunching growth, taking the appropriate action to
address disadvantaged people and taking advantage of
stronger innovation in education, training systems and
employment services.
The Social Investment Package provides a framework
for policy reforms to render social protection more
adequate and sustainable, invest in peoples skills and
T H E
E U R O P E A N
U N I O N
E X P L A I N E D
Further reading
XX Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion: http://ec.europa.eu/social/home.
jsp?langId=en
XX Lszl Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion: [link]
XX Europe 2020 strategy: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm
XX Social Europe guide 1 Employment policy:
http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/social-europe-guide-pbKEBC11001/
XX Social Europe guide 2 Social dialogue: http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/social-europe-guide-pbKEBC11002/
XX Social Europe guide 3 Demography, active ageing and pensions:
http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/social-europe-guide-pbKEBC12001/
XX Social Europe Guide 4 Social economy and social entrepreneurship: http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/
social-economy-and-social-entrepreneurship-pbKEBC12002/
XX Social Europe Guide 5 Social policies: http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/social-policies-pbKEBC13001/
XX EaSI: New EU umbrella programme for employment and social policy:
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=7682
ISBN 978-92-79-37684-9
Doi:10.2775/52992
NA-04-14-405-EN-C
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