Brussels, 04/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - “Improving policies, improving results. A new impulse for employment and social policies coordination” is the subject of the informal debate on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 July at Guimarães (Portugal). This will take place under the chairmanship of the Portuguese minister for work and social solidarity José Antonio Vieira da Silva and EU employment and social affairs ministers, based on a presidency document. Ministers will examine the European employment strategy and the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) over its ten year existence, and how to use them for meeting future challenges. They will also discuss long term strategic priorities in social and employment policies and attempt to find a way of rationalising and coordinating them. It should be pointed out that in order to attain the Lisbon objectives, better and more efficient coordination is imperative. Commissioner Vladimir Spidla will be presenting the new communication on flexicurity (EUROPE 9455/9459). This presentation will contribute to the ongoing debate and the objective of the European Council adopting a series of common principles on flexicurity in December.
On Thursday 5 July, the Social Troika (consisting of social affairs and employment minsters from Portugal, Slovenia and France) will meet the secretary generals of the European social partners: Philippe de Buck (BusinessEurope), Rainer Plassmann (CEEP), Hans-Werner Müller (UEAPME), John Monks (ETUC/unions) and the director of the EAPN network, Fintan Farrell, as well as EP representative Jan Andersson. On Friday 6 July, they will also put over their viewpoints to ministers and Commissioner Spidla about issues such as active ageing, flexicurity and active integration.
In its document, the Portuguese presidency will provide data as part of launching the debate:
Active ageing: in terms of European social policy coordination, encouraging older workers to stay in the labour market is essential. The employment rate for people over 50 appears to have grown by 7 points over the last ten years, but it is still 17 points lower than the figure in the US. The variation between different member states of the EU stands at more than 40%. The unique character of active ageing policies comes from a policy mix for employment, labour market dynamics, lifelong training and sustainable social protection.
Flexicurity: Setting up a European agenda for increasing flexibility and security in the labour market is a complex task. It is vital to find a balance between the different lynchpins of flexicurity and to guarantee adequacy to different labour markets and the various groups within them. Social partners have an essential role to play in this context. The aim is to foster the adaptability of companies in the context of competitive markets, while enhancing security and the objectives of “good work” recently taken up by the European Council. European resources such as the Employment Committee and the Social Protection Committee, and the ambitious and effective use of National Action Plans, could prove very useful in the future development of these objectives.
Active integration. The design of effective national frameworks for promoting social inclusion of the most disadvantaged groups will certainly benefit from an articulated European approach. Such strategies benefit everyone and enhance both people's opportunities and economic and social performance. By the same token, a balanced and articulated perspective on accessible quality social services of general interest in the context of modern family policies can have positive effects on the promotion of life quality and meeting demographic challenges (for example, relating to initiatives such as the Alliance for Families).
European instruments which are already available, and above all, the open method of coordination (OMC) can give a new and decisive impulse towards a more effective coordination of policies between member states, notes the presidency, which is calling on participants to reply to the following questions: 1) In your view, which areas and dimensions of social and employment policies should be strategic long-term priorities for Europe and member states, and which ones could help improve coordination efforts in Europe? 2) What specific measures would be useful for further improving the European employment strategy and open method of coordination and turn them into more effective instruments, both in terms of procedures and results? 3) How can the coherence and articulation of the open method of coordination be enhanced, both internally (role of employment and social protection committees etc) and externally (political and public visibility, interconnections with other policy areas?). (gb)