Territorial Employment Pacts in Austria - Joint Use of Opportunities

Austria has a long tradition of local partnerships and regional development but also of segregation between employment policy and regional economic policy. After an initial pilot phase involving four pacts (Salzburg, the Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Vienna) funded by the Commission it quickly integrated the TEPs into its mainstream programmes (NAP and ESF) with the aim of providing them with the necessary institutional support to fulfil their function. Austria has seven fully operational TEPs at provincial level and - in Styria - a number of regional pacts. They have been instrumental in facilitating the implementation of the European employment strategy in Austria.

The review was characterised by a very honest and open debate of the problems and achievements of the TEPs in all the peer countries as well as in Austria and a good number of useful impulses given for the future.

Issues which were discussed during the peer review meeting were the institutional context, the top-down versus bottom-up approach, mainstreaming and devolution, strategic versus operational remit, structure, partners, competition and monopolisation, gender mainstreaming. Of particular interest to the peer countries was Austria's integration of the TEPs into the NAP and the ESF programme, its approach to gender mainstreaming, its efforts to involve NGOs and educational institutions in future, and devolution. Given the diversity in institutional contexts between the peer countries, a transfer of the Austrian TEP structure (which is never the same even within Austria) was not contemplated by the peer countries. However, the above mentioned practices of the Austrian TEPs were considered transferable by a number of countries.

The peer review meeting on Territorial Employment Pacts in Austria was held in Vienna on 10th and 11th May 2001 in co-operation with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labour. Five countries took part in the review: Belgium, Germany, Finland, Luxembourg and Portugal. A site visit was organised to the "Arbeitsmarktpolitischer Verbund" ("Labour Market Policy Association") in Vienna where the Territorial Employment Pacts in Vienna and Styria, as two different examples of co-operation between the regional and local levels, were presented.

Weblinks

• Territorial Employment Pacts in Austria
  www.pakte.at

Participating independent experts

• Peter HUBER

  Austria
  Austrian Institute of Economic Research
• Alison E. WOODWARD

  Belgium
  Versalius College - Vrije Universiteit Brussel
• Margita LUKKARINEN

  Finland
  COOP Consult
• Hugh MOSLEY

  Germany
  Social Science Research Centre Berlin
• Jean SCHOOS

  Luxembourg
  Jongenheem asbl
• Luis Gomes CENTENO

  Portugal
  Centre Interdisciplinar de Estudos Economicos (CIDEC)