Brussels, 15/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - During the lunch-debate organised on Thursday 11 January in Brussels by the CEPS (Centre for European Policy Studies) Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou felt that the European labour market and fortiori the European social model must be modernised. To achieve this, she favours a better information of workers on the potentialities of the labour market, by ensuring for them the possibility of training and learning throughout their professional life to adapt to the challenges of the new society, to be mobile and flexible to better participate in this change of society and to allow everyone to benefit from a good balance between the professional life and the family life.
Competence, mobility, information and fight against undeclared work are the four answers given by Mrs Diamantopoulou to facilitate the development of a European labour market and guarantee its access to all and not only to an elite of "the mobility". She continues: "This means that both EU citizens and businessmen must have an access to precise information on the possibilities offered by the labour market, notably through the EURES programme" (European Employment Services). Mrs Diamantopoulou also said that (1) the social partners must be encouraged to progress in the life-long training dossier, (2) that it is necessary to find a solution to the difficulty of workers on finding a job in another Member State due to languages, culture and mutual recognition of qualifications and the problem of private pensions, to prepare them for the changes in society. As for the fight against undeclared work, the Commission notably insisted in the need to have precise information on the cases of peoples that attempt to work in an illegal manner and to analyse in-depth the causes of this "black economy" (such as, for example, the incentives that exist or not in accepting a less qualified job). Recalling that "until now, we do not talk of European labour market, but we are examining the situation in each Member State", said Anna Diamantopoulou while concluding: Creating a new more dynamic, modern and open labour market in Europe can only be profitable for our economy and currency".