Flynn calls on governments to rise to challenge

Date: 26/10/1995

SOCIAL Affairs Commissioner Pádraig Flynn called on EU governments this week to take full advantage of the opportunities now open to them to translate growth into jobs.

Flynn said the next few weeks would be important to the success of the Union's “paramount task” of reducing unemployment, stressing that governments must be ready to “give a clear answer” as to whether they were prepared to rise to the challenge by the time EU leaders meet at the Madrid summit in December.

The Commissioner said he had reason to “have confidence in winning this fight”, stressing the opportunities opened up by current macro-economic conditions and the progress already made in the structural reform of the EU's labour market.

Flynn's remarks came after this week's meeting in Luxembourg at which finance ministers played down a Commission report suggesting unemployment in the EU could be halved by the year 2000.

His comments reflect a strong belief within the Commission that disputes over forecasts of the potential reduction in unemployment should not be allowed to obscure the progress being made to reform the labour market and the additional measures needed to build on that progress.

Flynn said last weekend's summit of social partners in Florence had “demonstrated a strong consensus that the fight against unemployment is the paramount task for the Union”.

He said the macro-economic conditions for a new period of growth and new jobs were “better than they have been for many years” and progress was being made in structural policies. “Passive labour market policies which date from the 1980s will be replaced by more active measures. It will take some time...but the process of transformation is underway.”

Outlining a series of steps needed to open the door to the labour market for every young person and close the door to long-term unemployment, Flynn said he was convinced the social partners were prepared to support them.

But he added: “The question now is what governments of the member states think. Are they prepared to work in this direction and with these ambitions? The next few weeks will be important for the success of our objectives in the run-up to the summit in Madrid. Will the EU take full advantage of the opportunity, presented by macro-economic stability and progress in structural reform, to translate growth into jobs? In Madrid in December, governments have a chance to give a clear answer.”

Finance ministers are set to join forces with social affairs ministers to draw up a single document for consideration by heads of government in December, based on the Commission's report.

An informal meeting of social affairs ministers in Cordoba this weekend (28/29 October) attended by representatives of the social partners will concentrate solely on the issue.

Coincidentally, 7-9 November marks the third annual Employment Week, which will bring together all the major players in the area of employment policy. The theme this year is 'A working future for Europe'. Participants will look particularly at maintaining a consensus on economic and social issues in the north of Europe, removing barriers to jobs in the south, aiding the transition process in the east and linking social and economic policies to employment growth.

But as the debate over unemployment gathers momentum once more, Socialist MEP Ken Coates has warned that far from creating up to 11 million jobs by 2000, current EU policies threaten to increase unemployment by up to 12 million.

In a letter sent last week to Commissioners, Coates warned the Commission's optimistic assessment of future employment prospects took no account “of devastating potential unemployment if deficit and debt reductions to fulfil the financial convergence criteria for a single currency are not offset by countervailing Union expenditures”.

Coates, co-author with Dr Stuart Holland, of Full Employment for Europe, believes the Commission must increase the scope of the European Investment Fund (EIF), established by the 1992 Edinburgh Summit, if the drive to meet the Maastricht criteria is not to result in a possible 60&percent; increase in EU unemployment.