Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-03-10-Speech-2-540"
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"en.20090310.38.2-540"2
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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, companies and workers are both beginning to feel the effects of the financial and economic crisis. Although circumstances vary between individual Member States, the employment situation in Europe is generally deteriorating. In 2009, overall employment may go down by 1.6%, which represents the loss of 3.5 million jobs. The level of unemployment in the EU could be around 10% in 2010. Day after day, companies are announcing restructuring measures or are relocating, often with the loss of many jobs. The situation in the company Qimonda, which has announced the closure of plants in Germany and Portugal, is, unfortunately, not unique.
The Commission is aware of the negative effects which restructuring can have on workers, their families and the economic and social structure of a given region. However, I would like to emphasise that the Commission does not have the power to overturn or postpone the decisions of individual companies and that companies are not obliged to inform the Commission of their decisions. I have to say that neither Qimonda management nor employee representatives have approached the Commission.
The Commission would like to raise several points in connection with this situation. It is essential, above all, to anticipate and manage restructuring better through intensive dialogue with representatives of employees and the other parties involved. I think that the recently passed directive or amended directive on company councils constitutes one of the EU’s major contributions in this matter. It is all the more important in this context that the companies affected are careful to abide by their obligations arising from EU directives relating to informing employees and consulting with them. The Commission also invites companies to introduce measures aimed at maintaining maximum levels of workers in employment through flexible work arrangements and the use of temporary layoffs for economic reasons.
Most Member States have introduced targeted measures in an effort to support employment and limit the effects of the crisis on ordinary citizens. These measures apply to four major areas: maintaining workers in employment, rapidly integrating workers back into employment, assisting the most vulnerable groups through income support, extending the period for paying unemployment benefits or increasing the family contributions and strengthening social protection and investments in social and health infrastructure.
The Commission has strengthened financial instruments at a European level with the aim of helping the Member States to overcome the crisis and its social consequences. The European Social Fund, which provides assistance to 9 million workers every year, has been simplified so that advance payments can be released for projects amounting to EUR 1.8 billion. I hope that the European Parliament and the Council will come to a rapid agreement over this matter. The Commission also supports those Member States which would like to reprogram the European Social Fund. Member States can also request intervention from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to assist workers who have been laid off. In the European Economic Recovery Plan, the Commission has proposed extending the eligibility criteria in order to respond better to the current economic crisis. I hope that here, too, Parliament will reach an early compromise with the Council. The Commission is prepared to work together with the German or Portuguese authorities to assess all requests for support from European funds. The Commission also supports social dialogue at a European level, as the social partners have a decisive role to play in managing the crisis. The European social partners are also due to submit a joint contribution on how to overcome the crisis at the tripartite meeting on 19 March.
It is important for the Commission that action is taken on a unified basis, because in that way it will be possible to combat the short-term effects of the crisis and to work towards future economic renewal. The Commission had this aim in mind when it introduced the European initiative to support employment within the framework of the European Economic Recovery Plan. On 4 March, the Commission also received a contribution designated for the meeting of the European Council on 19 and 20 March, which concentrates, among other things, on the requirement and the methods for supporting workers affected by the crisis and vulnerable persons on the labour market.
The Commission also welcomes the initiative of the Czech Presidency to organise a summit devoted to employment and social affairs in May 2009. The aim of this meeting will be to assess the situation and set out concrete measures. It should lead to the adoption of a common approach for reducing the social impact of the crisis, reaching a new consensus with the social partners and other participants over the question of modernising social policies and setting out concrete measures for speeding up economic recovery and overcoming the crisis through resolving structural shortcomings on the labour market."@en1
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