Member states under attack over job targets

Date: 09/10/1997

By Simon Coss

NATIONAL governments have come under fire from the European Commission for lacking the courage to commit themselves to tough new job creation targets.

The initial reaction from EU member states to the idea of putting precise figures on the number of jobs to be created has been decidedly frosty, with many expressing grave doubts about the wisdom of such an approach.

European Commission President Jacques Santer argues that if member states follow a series of employment creating guidelines drawn up by the Commission, they will be able to create 12 million new jobs and cut unemployment from 10.6&percent; to 7&percent; over five years.

But while most governments have reacted warmly to the idea of guidelines, they are not at all keen on committing themselves to meeting such specific targets. It would be a huge political embarrassment to promise to create the new jobs, only to fail in five years' time.

“You must be very cautious when quantifying. If you say you are going to create 12 million jobs, this is an enormous risk,” said one German employment expert speaking after a meeting of EU social affairs ministers this week where scepticism surfaced about the idea.

This prompted a furious reaction from officials at the Commission to what they see as member states getting cold feet in the final run-up to November's special meeting of European leaders which will be dedicated to the problem of unemployment.

But it is not just Bonn which seems less than thrilled at the thought of making promises it does not know whether it will be able to keep. Observers at this week's meeting said it was hard to find anyone who was keen on the plan.

“As far as we are concerned, the guidelines are very positive. They are very 'New Labour' and could serve as a sort of blueprint for our presidency. But we feel there should be less emphasis on the targets,” said a UK official.

France too has made it clear that it would not like to see the 12 million/7&percent; proposal being viewed as an inflexible figure, while Denmark and Belgium have also expressed reservations about the Commission's targets.

The criticisms voiced by social affairs ministers this week are likely to be echoed by their counterparts from EU finance ministries when they discuss the proposals at a meeting next Monday (13 October).

The job creation guidelines presented by Santer last week were drawn up by Social Affairs Commissioner Pádraig Flynn. They suggest such measures as shifting the burden of taxation away from income, ensuring school leavers and the long-term unemployed are offered jobs or training within six months or a year respectively, improving small businesses' access to credit facilities and boosting labour market flexibility.