The European Employment Strategy after 2010: the challenges and lessons from best practices in the Member States

On 23 November 2009, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (DG EMPL) of the European Commission hosted its autumn seminar of the Mutual Learning Programme. The purpose of the seminar was to bring together Member State officials, social partners and other stakeholders to consider the important issue of the future of the European Employment Strategy (EES).

The employment challenges for the next decade and the lessons of the current European Employment Strategy

Following a welcome by Ms Lenia Samuel, Deputy Director-General, DG EMPL, Professor Iain Begg set the scene for the seminar by presenting the results of a study undertaken by the Centre for European Policy Studies on the employment challenges of the Lisbon Strategy post 2010. He outlined three potential ‘scenarios’ for the EU economy and how this might affect the model for employment policy over the coming years. He went on to present the strengths and weaknesses of the current EES (based on empirical research), followed by a proposal for a more streamlined and coherent approach to the European Employment Guidelines based on four pillars: Labour supply; Labour Demand; Institutions; and Quality.

Representatives from the current and future Presidencies responded to the findings of the CEPS study. Both Mr Thomas Göransson, Swedish Ministry of Employment, and Mr Ignacio Camos Victoria, Spanish Ministry of Labour, highlighted improved governance as being fundamental to the effective implementation of employment policy in the future.

To add to the debate, two Member State perspectives were presented. Mr Flemming Kühn Pedersen, outlined the Danish approach to exiting from the crisis through increased flexibility and redundancy measures, combined with closer monitoring of the labour market. Ms Johanna Poetzsch, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, gave details of some of the employment aspects of Germany’s initiative for sustainable growth based on reduced CO2 emissions and renewable energy.

The need for a target group approach in the post Lisbon context?

The afternoon of the seminar questioned the need for a target group approach in the post-Lisbon context. This question was firstly addressed by Dr Anni Weiler, AWWW GmbH, ArbeitsWelt - Working World. Having presented the situation for people with disabilities, older workers, young people, migrants and women, she went on to advocate a more integrated approach in dealing with disadvantaged individuals. Ms Heidi Lougheed, IBEC and BUSINESSEUROPE Equal Opportunities Network, and Ms Claude Denagtergal, ETUC, contributed to the discussions. Ms Lougheed highlighted some of the pitfalls of excessive targeting, where as Ms Denagtergal stressed the still vulnerable situation of young people, women and the disabled.

At the Member State level, two topics were presented: Mr Tryggvi Hallgrímsson, Icelandic Centre for Gender Equality, presented the employment strategies for promoting gender equality in Iceland. One of his points was that the integration of a gender perspective does not exist as a practiced method of governance. Ms Katrin Höövelson, Estonian State Chancellery, then spoke about Estonia’s approach to attracting highly-skilled migrants. This included measures such as shortening the period of administrative procedures from eight to three months, and introducing a wage criterion as an indicator of qualification level.

Overall conclusions and reactions

Overall conclusions were drawn by Mr Kenneth Walsh, Training and Employment Research Network, and Associate Fellow of the Institute for Employment Studies, University of Sussex, UK. Mr Walsh stressed the importance of learning from the past such that future employment policy is adaptable (to Member State situations), based on consensus, and effectively monitored and benchmarked. Mr Xavier Prats Monné, Director Employment, Lisbon Strategy, DG EMPL, drew the seminar to a close by outlining the European Commission’s plans and stressing that the ‘way forward’ depends on ownership and collaboration with the Member States, social partners and other stakeholders.