Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-03-Speech-1-128"
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"en.20070903.18.1-128"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, before answering each of the questions you have asked, I would like to remind you what the EURES system is.
However, following the recommendation of the European Parliament on the increase of the EURES budget for 2007, research was carried out within the system to determine the need for, and feasibility of, introducing such a service. The reaction of a number of countries was very positive. Some partners had already experienced this type of service in the areas of tourism, building and agriculture. In future, when plans for further development of the EURES system are being developed, the possibility of extending this service will be automatically considered.
As far as your third question is concerned, the Commission also believes that both professional and geographical mobility can play a positive role in improving how the European labour market works, and therefore it is important to support and enhance that mobility.
To that end, the Commission is developing an action plan based on the results of the European Year of Workers’ Mobility 2006, which aims to increase mobility within the European labour market and do away with the main obstacles to its further development.
This action plan will recommend reinforcing the role of EURES, making it the main instrument for supporting worker mobility throughout the European Union and increasing awareness of it. It will have three main objectives:
1. enhancing the strategic dimension of EURES by reinforcing its analytical potential as regards mobility flows and changes in the European labour market;
2. enhancing the quality of its services by offering mobile workers and their families a more comprehensive service;
3. increasing its operational coverage by reinforcing its relations with other providers of similar services – or with the private sector – and gradually opening up its activities to workers from other parts of the world, as I already explained in my answer to your first question.
Your fourth and final question concerns the EURES cross-border projects and their role in helping the Member States to do away with temporary measures.
Dealing with the specific problems that arise in cross-border relations has always been an important priority for EURES. We now have as many as 20 cross-border cooperation projects, the latest being the projects between the Czech Republic and Germany and between Slovakia and Hungary. Apart from that, 14 feasibility studies are being conducted at the moment with a view to identifying new projects and services, be they between the ‘new’ Member States or between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ Member States.
However, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that the time has come to abandon the idea of ‘old’ and ‘new’ states: in a certain sense Spain is undoubtedly a new state, and so is Greece, and I could go on. I wonder how much longer we are going to use this kind of classification for equal Member States of the European Union.
It is a system, a unique system, whose great advantage lies in combining a network comprising over 800 qualified advisers with an efficient portal, facilitating easy data access and interactive data exchange.
In any case, 14 feasibility studies are being carried out with a view to identifying new projects. These are all practical projects designed to facilitate citizens – employers and cross-border workers – in their everyday lives. The partners could consist of trade unions, employers organisations, public employment services or any other participants working at a local or regional level. Through these projects we hope to facilitate the exchange of workers between the partner states and encourage them to take the necessary steps concerning temporary measures.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to conclude by pointing out another important aspect of the EURES work, and that is limiting the possibility of social dumping. It is obvious that people who are well informed when they arrive in another country are in a much stronger position than those who lack that information. In this regard, too, EURES is a unique and very efficient tool.
Since 2006 the EURES portal has offered easy access to all of the job offers in the European Union as well as to the national public employment services in the countries belonging to the European Economic Area in 25 European languages. On average the portal offers access to more than 1 200 000 offers. At the same time the EURES advisers are on hand to help workers and their families who are planning to make use of the opportunities that mobility offers.
I would now like to answer your questions one by one.
I will start with your first question concerning the possible expansion of EURES to third-country nationals.
As you know, EURES was originally introduced to benefit the citizens of the European Economic Area by helping them to find work outside their own countries and thus increase mobility. At present the Commission is planning to make the EURES system accessible to workers from other countries as well: this will not only meet their expectations but also benefit the Union. In view of the ageing population and demographic decrease in Europe we must be ready for shortages in the European workforce in the near future, which will affect key sectors of our economy and our lifestyle. Apart from that, the EURES system could also contribute to a more global solution to the problem of migration from third countries.
As a result, a new direction was added to the general EURES principles for the period 2007-2010, which provide for the possibility of widening the scope of information offered through the EURES network to cater for the needs of workers from third countries.
Following the Commission’s action plan on legal migration we now want to analyse in detail the possibilities of expanding the EURES system in that direction. In the initial phase we could consider supplementing the existing sections providing information on ‘Living and working conditions’ with information tailored to the needs of citizens from third countries who want to enter the European market, and provide that information in the languages of those countries as well.
Your second question concerns the inclusion of seasonal and short-term temporary job offers in the EURES system. It is true that the initial analyses that were carried out for the EURES system did not indicate the need and level of demand for short-term work abroad. The statistics at our disposal covered only the minimum span of one year and the demand for seasonal work or work experience and study placements was not taken into account."@en1
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