Tunis, 19/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Employment, held under the aegis of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), ended on Wednesday by registering a long series of recommendations. It sought to trigger an adequate response to the demands made by the populations of the Mediterranean southern rim, in particular the young unemployed. The UfM secretary general, Fathallah Sijilmassi, said the task ahead was considerable, adding: “It is obvious that the challenges are sizeable as we face transition of an unprecedented magnitude at a time when, unfortunately, the effects of the economic crisis are serious in Europe which is our main partner”. Moreover, he added: “the pressure on growth and competitiveness, especially from other emerging blocs, is growing” (our translation).
The recommendations adopted had more to do with a negative diagnosis of the situation than the outline of an action plan, due to the fact that the problems to be resolved seem huge. Some notable speakers, such as Professor Jean-Louis Reiffers, Director of FEMISE (the Euro-Mediterranean Forum of Economic Institutes), said the remedy applied so far has mainly had disabling side effects. Aid has supported imports rather than exports, thus creating more of an imbalance in the already unsure economies. According to some speakers, it has also given more nurture to networks than to business and, as others say, this has opened up fewer employment opportunities for qualified or trained job seekers than for unqualified job seekers. Several of those taking the floor, from varying sectors, pointed a finger of blame at the frequent shortfalls in employment promotion policies and at the frequently ill-adapted training, meeting more the constraints of the instructors than those of companies or job seekers.
Speaking on behalf of the FEMIP (Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership), Flavia Palanza presented the way her organisation works, which is to support youth employment through SMEs. She did announce, however, a change of direction with less intervention through consultancy and more direct relations with economic operators on the ground.
Nearly all speakers underlined the many obstacles confronting companies, running counter to their will to be more actively involved in the race for job creation without putting a brake on their own expansion.
The conference highlighted that there were general failings but that there was a resolve to act - albeit accompanied by sceptical coffee break comments as the magnitude of the problems appears considerable. This scepticism not only springs from the general political slump in the region and the security dangers but also the plunge into institutional uncertainty in Tunisia and also in Egypt, not to mention Syria and the neighbourhood around it. This has worsened the economic and financial imbalance of those countries, despite the aid pledged not only by the EU but also within the framework of the Deauville Partnership. Figures are rarely given, not wishing to place too much emphasis on the feeling that financial support and politico-economic programmes have broken down. Tunisia, for example, has decided to launch a campaign aimed at its key partners, especially the EU, in order to make a leap forward in budgetary support. The Tunis conference comes just at the right moment to support a government that is in difficulty and on the point of giving way to a non-partisan “national salvation” team.
Note was made of the absence, curiously enough, of the Commission and the EBRD at a conference that was to be one of the main events for employment in the region, a region that is politically, economically and financially unsound. The EU was represented by the external service only when the theme was essentially economic or financial. These absences seem to prove the difficulty currently experienced by the institutions that provide funding - including the IMF - to meet countries' pressing needs, taking Tunisia as an example. These countries do not manage to meet the minimum security, political stability requirements or begin reforms that would alleviate the pressure on already greatly imbalanced budgets. According to various sources solicited for comments further to the debates within the conference, it is difficult to find a response to the current challenges and participants are more likely to lift their arms up to the sky than try to give even a barely optimistic prognosis. Nonetheless, on the outside, things are looking optimistic and there is a great deal of resolve, such as the heralded announcement of a plan, MED4JOBS, presented as the key to a future that is still not certain, in order to address the unemployment situation.
Initially developed by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the plan bears the UfM label but no details are yet available regarding the cost of the project, its duration, the stages of application and on whether its implementation is possible in the current troubled times, except perhaps in Morocco and to a lesser extent in Jordan and Tunisia. A memorandum of understanding was to be signed at the end of the conference with BusinessMed (network of business heads linked to BusinessEurope). This was postponed, according to the UfM spokesman, who did not give more details. (FB/transl.jl)