Employment: Ministers agree ’10 commandments’ for reform, June 2003

Following a meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council on 2-3 June 2003, Ministers announced they had approved Commission proposals for making the European Employment Strategy (EES) more results-oriented.

The Commission's initiative - first proposed in April 2003 - is intended to make the EES more effective in supporting three political objectives: full employment, quality and productivity at work, and cohesion and an inclusive labour market. It focuses largely on tightening the Employment Guidelines element of the EES, setting 10 priorities:

1. active and preventive measures for the unemployed and the inactive
2. job creation and entrepreneurship
3. address change and promote adaptability and mobility in the labour market
4. promote development of human capital and lifelong learning
5. increase labour supply and promote active ageing
6. gender equality
7. promote the integration of and combat the discrimination of people at a disadvantage in the labour market
8. make work pay through incentives to enhance work attractiveness
9. transform undeclared work into regular employment
10. address regional employment disparities

According to the Commission, setting targets for Member States 'has proven effective in stimulating reforms' over the past five years. The 10 priorities agreed by Employment Ministers - dubbed the '10 commandments' - not only set priorities for action, but also make recommendations for individual Member States, setting out what their specific reform priorities should be. Each Member State is thus encouraged to 'focus on the most serious and urgent problems' facing it.

Member States were said to have 'welcomed the fact that the Employment Guidelines were simplified and made more concrete with quantitative indicators and targets.' Similar recommendations have been made since 2000; the European Employment Strategy was adopted in 1997 when EU leaders agreed to cooperate more closely in efforts to create more and better jobs. In 2000, the Lisbon Strategy aimed to make the EU the world's most dynamic, knowledge-based economy by 2010; 15 million more jobs must be created by that date if the target is to be met - some 5 million have been created since 2000.

Speaking about the new strategy - which is subject to the European Parliament's opinion - Anna Diamantopoulou, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, said: 'Labour market reforms have proved their value. Despite the recent economic downturn, EU labour markets have become more resilient over the five years of the European Employment Strategy. There is evidence of better jobs and more cohesive labour markets. However, the new EU of 25 must still create 22 million more jobs by 2010 in order to achieve the Lisbon prize of full employment. We must therefore persevere in spite of the adverse economic climate. The credibility of the Lisbon strategy is at stake, not least in the eyes of the new Member States which must shortly apply it in full. This new, results-driven strategy will help to keep the pressure on.' A mid-term review of the Guidelines is planned for 2006.

Links:

Council of the European Union:
	03.06.03:	2512nd Council: Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs
European Commission:
	03.06.03:	Anna Diamantopoulou welcomes ministers agreement today to '10 commandments' for employment reform [IP/03/798]
	DG Employment & Social Affairs: European employment strategy
	08.04.03:	European Commission proposes '10 commandments' for employment reform
European Sources Online: Topic Guides
	Employment and labour market policy
European Sources Online: In Focus
	08.04.03:	European Employment Strategy: Five year evaluation, July 2002
	10.09.02:	EU economic and employment policies to become 'more coherent and effective', September 2002

Eric Davies
Researcher
Compiled: Thursday, 5 June 2003

EU ministers approved European Commission proposals concerning the European Employment Strategy (EES) on 2-3 June 2003.