Brussels, 09/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - Under the social affairs and employment policy heading, one of the most important dossiers for the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU will be the mid-term review of the strategy EUROPE 2020. Although this dossier is of high political value, it is probably the most predictable of all with the fewest potential surprises, compared to the legislative work pending.
It is the same ritual every six months: the new Presidency of the Council presents a guide to its priorities. And as regards the 'Social affairs and employment' plank, the priorities are always more or less the same. The number one watchword is “inclusive growth”, which must “allow everybody to take up employment, education or training, ensuring that everybody has an equal opportunity to benefit from efficient and effective social protection systems that provide both adequacy and sustainability”. This sentence alone encompasses all of the fields of action in which the EU hopes to work, such as the promotion of structural reforms impacting on the social protection systems, the transition of young people from the world of education to the employment market, to quality jobs and work for people living with a disability and the long-term unemployed.
Those are the broad outlines, the implementation of which will essentially be ensured in the framework of the 'European Semester' process, the aims of which will not be changed by the mid-term review of the EUROPE 2020 strategy , which is running its course (see EUROPE 11219). The European Commission will also present its vision of this revision at the meeting of the Council on 9 March. The Latvian Presidency plans to take action by laying emphasis on the reform of the European employment markets, preparing conclusions on this subject for the same Council of 9 March, which will be associated with revised employment guidelines (which may be adopted by mid-June). On the sidelines of all this, it will be Riga's honour to present the first results of the implementation of the youth guarantee and enhanced cooperation in public employment services (see EUROPE 11063), the governing board of which will meet in the Latvian capital in June.
At legislative level, the Latvian Presidency will start talks with the European Parliament on a number of fronts at the same time. However, its priority is to reach an agreement at first reading on the proposal to create a platform to improve cooperation at EU level, to prevent and discourage undeclared work (see EUROPE 11178). Negotiations will also be started with the MEPs on the reform of EURES (the European employment services network) and may also be launched on the modifying directive on seafarers (see EUROPE 11216). Although Riga has pledged to re-launch talks on the proposed directive on the equality of treatment, this dossier is not expected to be taken off the shelf (see EUROPE 11217), because it is only the latest in a long line of progress reports which is currently included on the agenda of the mid-June Council.
This legislative work will be accompanied by a series of conferences, particularly in the final three months of the Latvian Presidency. In April 2015, Riga will also hold a conference on health and safety in the workplace, whilst conclusions on this subject are also expected to be adopted. Another conference, to be held in May, will bring together the Senior Labour Inspectors Committee. Also in May, the Mutual Information System on Social Protection (MISSOC) will meet, and then a further conference will discuss children living with a disability. A high-level conference will follow in June, on social services, inclusion services and so-called “de-institutionalisation” practices. (JK)