Sopot, 05/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - On 7 and 8 July, an informal meeting of European employment and social policy ministers will be held in Sopot, Poland. Items on the agenda will include the effectiveness of pro-active employment policies, the promotion of flexicurity, inter-generational solidarity and the demographic challenge. The Polish presidency expects, moreover, that a number of delegations will discuss two matters that are not officially on the agenda - namely, the controversial proposals of the working time directive and maternity leave.
The meeting will allow experience to be exchanged and mutual learning on the themes covered in the programme, with a view to the formal EPSCO Council scheduled for 2 December, in Brussels. Ministers will thus discuss the need to step up the performance of job-seeker agencies, through the development of assessment criteria for the effectiveness of those organisations. According to the Polish Presidency, competition between public and private job-seeker agencies is necessary. In the same way, public-private partnerships in this field are seen in a positive light.
The Polish Presidency has described the rise in retirement age as necessary for member states, and a workshop on this theme is scheduled for Friday 8 July.
The Polish Presidency hopes to present two European draft conclusions to its European partners on employment and social policy, during the EPSCO Council on 2 December: (1) the management of demographic change: institutional cooperation between member states on the subject of demography and the promotion of a model for reconciling family and professional life; and (2) the ageing population as an opportunity for the labour market and the development of social contributions. (Cor./transl.jl)