Brussels, 09/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - EU employment ministers will convene in Brussels on Thursday 11 December intent on reaching agreement on a number of legislative matters. Agreement is very close on the reform of the EURES (the European employment services network), the organisation of working time in the inland waterway sector and the amending directive on seafarers.
The ministers will begin their day by trying to come to political agreement on a directive on implementation of the European agreement concluded by the European Barge Union (EBU), the European Skippers Organisation (ESO) and the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) on certain aspects of the organisation of working time in the inland waterway sector. Its main point is the 48-hour working week which will be the norm for barge crews and those working on board barges (see EUROPE 11116).
Ministers will then seek a general approach on the amending directive on seafarers which seeks to grant the same rights as those enjoyed by land-based workers, while providing the flexibility to meet the specific needs of the sector (see EUROPE 11169).
Agreement (a general approach) is expected without great difficulty on the reform of the EURES network, even though this issue may have had some problems in the past (see EUROPE 11104). The text to be presented at the Council differs from the European Commission proposal, notably: the admission procedure will be able to be tailored to fit the member states' systems and one year's derogation will be granted to existing network partners; private employment services will be accepted but those that are profit-making will have to provide all essential services; apprenticeships and training will be included but will be restricted to those who have left education; the Council has taken for itself the right to amend the list of skills and professions produced by the Commission and used by EURES.
Investing in youth: the youth guarantee, education and skills is the title of the debate proposed by the Italian Presidency which will be held just before lunch. Over lunch, discussion will turn to the challenge posed by the ageing of the working population. After lunch, ministers will give their attention to the annual assessment of EU growth, before moving on to a presentation of the Latvian Presidency's work programme. They will continue on to quotas for women on company boards and the maternity leave directive (see other article). The day will come to a close with a policy debate on the equal opportunities directive in an attempt to determine the points that have prevented a consensual agreement since 2008. (JK)