On Thursday 4 March, in the wake of the action plan on the European pillar of social rights (see other news), the European Commission presented a series of recommendations, under the acronym EASE (for ‘Effective active support to Employment following the Covid-19 crisis’) to support employment in the wake of the crisis linked to the pandemic.
The Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, explained during a press briefing that this is related to the implementation of principle 4 dedicated to active support for use of the European pillar of social rights, for which he presented an action plan the same day (see other news).
The Commissioner made three main recommendations to Member States: - introduce time-limited incentives for hiring and support for entrepreneurship and apprenticeship; - introduce retraining and capacity building measures; - support and strengthen national employment services.
These measures must be complemented by the effective implementation of the country-by-country recommendations made in the framework of the ‘European Semester’ budget process. The Commission recommends that Member States map skills needs and shortages at the sectoral and regional level, taking into account industrial ecosystems (see EUROPE 12443/7) in connection with the new industrial strategy, without forgetting the dual green and digital transition.
In addition, the Commission insists that Member States rely on social partners in the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies to respond to the impact of the virus on the labour market.
The recommendations recall the full range of European funding instruments at their disposal to carry out these policies: the European Social Fund plus, the European Regional Development Fund, the Just Transition Fund, the Globalisation Adjustment Fund, without forgetting the REACT-EU initiative and, of course, the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The development of the recommendations began last November. The Action Plan does mention this initiative, but recommendations from the Commission seemed more appropriate internally to attract the attention of Member States.
To consult the recommendations: https://bit.ly/3kHens4 (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)