Luxembourg, 19/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - EU Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor is concerned at developments in the talks on the European employment service, EURES, and he urged EU28 employment ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday 19 June not to lose sight of the main objectives of the reform of the service, particularly in the current social and economic context.
At the meeting, only the commissioner spoke about EURES, which only appeared on the agenda as an item for a progress report. Andor explained that progress has been made on new rules in the draft regulation to improve the way EURES operates and adjust it to meet the market's current needs in order to boost mobility within the EU.
Andor is concerned about a number of recent amendments to reduce EURES' action by keeping it separate from member states' employment services and job centres, requiring an employer's approval before job vacancies are advertised on EURES and keeping different formats for job offers and applications (which would hinder interoperability). (JK)