Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-05-05-Speech-2-241"
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"en.20090505.23.2-241"2
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"Madam President, we are all aware that we are continuing to suffer from one of the most severe financial and economic crises for many years. The Union and the Member States have taken a wide range of measures both to try to mitigate the effects of this crisis, and also to address some of its root causes, while also taking into account the pressing need to better prepare ourselves for the future in order to face the challenges of the global economy.
The case for upgrading skills, which is endorsed by all stakeholders, is not just about formal qualifications, but also about promoting areas such as communication skills amongst young people.
The issue of financing the acquisition of higher skills cannot be overlooked, especially in a time of crisis. It requires commitment not only from the public authorities, but also from employers and from workers and job-seekers themselves. At EU level, there is a need to explore further the possibilities of using the European Social Fund. As far as employers are concerned, their own interest in developing skills is self-evident, as firms which fail to invest in skills upgrading are two and a half times more likely to go out of business than those that do.
The workshop in Stockholm on increasing access to employment focused on how to get the newly unemployed and the inactive into – or back into – jobs as quickly as possible. The newly-unemployed should not be allowed to become long-term unemployed. It is particularly important to ensure that social protection systems serve as a springboard into new jobs, and not just as passive safety nets. A need for incentives to actively seek employment cannot be overlooked. A flexicurity approach should contribute to making transitions pay, not least by providing the necessary element of security.
During this workshop in Stockholm, it was also stressed that the short-term measures should not be allowed to prejudice the longer term. Early retirement schemes are a poor solution to providing more jobs for the young, as they lower overall participation rates, and are inevitably accompanied by higher social security costs.
At EU level, the possible use of the European Social Fund for funding active inclusion measures was identified, as was the possibility of enabling older workers to stay in employment by reducing their social security contributions.
At the last workshop, which took place in Prague last week, the need to maintain employment and to improve an environment friendly to entrepreneurship and job creation was emphasised. The temporary short-term working arrangements can be beneficial, but their financial sustainability needs to be ensured. However, we must guard against the trend to protectionism, which can only harm the Union as a whole.
We also need to use active measures to promote mobility and again, in this context, the increased flexibility of our labour markets has a key role to play. Despite the impact of the crisis, there are still a substantial number of vacancies in Europe, but there is a lack of coordination both within and between the Member States. Often, people are in the wrong place, or lack the right skills, or a combination of both.
It is clear from these workshops that the present crisis is not just cyclical, but structural. Profound changes are going to be needed to face stiff competition in a globalised economy and to safeguard long-term employment in the EU. However, in many instances, these changes are actually about continuing initiatives or even accelerating the overdue reforms which have been pursued for many years in the context of the European employment strategy.
Apart from the efforts to maintain current jobs, we must also create a favourable environment for investors and businesses to invest and create new jobs. We cannot keep all existing jobs: the crisis requires structural change and people will lose jobs. But we must offer the unemployed a chance to improve their skills and employability, and to quickly find a new job which has been created somewhere else.
Let me also briefly touch upon some other topics which you will discuss here today during your Social agenda debate. I congratulate Mr Silva Peneda, in particular, on his extensive and far-reaching report which covers a wide range of issues, and which calls specifically for an ambitious social policy agenda.
We are also aware that the current difficulties are not simply about figures on balance sheets, or amending economic forecasts. They have a real impact on people: on their livelihoods, on their families, and on their standards of living. Most directly affected are those who have already lost their jobs as a result, or the many more who risk losing their jobs over the months to come.
Mr Peneda’s report underlines the need for job creation and flexibility in the workplace as part of Europe’s broader social policy. It also recognises the importance of developing new skills, of lifelong learning and of promoting university-business cooperation. These are all key aspects which will also be taken up as part of our agenda for this week’s Summit.
This wide-ranging report is complemented by that of Ms Lambert on how to include people who are frequently excluded from the labour market. This week’s summit will certainly need to take into account this important goal. We cannot and will not seek to push job creation for a few. Our objective – even more so in the current difficult climate – is to adopt an inclusive approach to employment policy.
The Czech Presidency supports the long-term employment targets of the European Union and has repeatedly emphasised the need to better motivate people to seek employment and to improve their employability. We all probably agree that it is better if people earn their living themselves and are free instead of being dependent on the social protection system. This is why we need to reduce the segmentation of our labour markets.
The Global Adjustment Fund provides support for workers made redundant as a result of globalisation. I am pleased that there is agreement between Parliament and the Council on amending the Fund, and I am grateful to Ms Stauner for her work on this. By introducing greater flexibility in how the Fund is used and by reducing the number of redundancies from 1 000 to 500, it will become an ever more effective instrument for helping to tackle the effects of the economic down-turn.
Let me conclude by saying that the most urgent need now is to ensure that the many ideas which have emerged from preparatory workshops, and which will shape the debate at this week’s Employment Summit, are translated into action. As I said at the outset, we are looking for a concrete outcome which will benefit society as a whole, as well as European citizens.
We cannot hope to resolve the effects of the current crisis in a single meeting, but we should focus on specific recommendations and initiatives which will together play a role in mitigating the effects of the crisis and help us emerge from it even stronger.
The Spring European Council agreed that an Employment Summit should be held in order to allow for an exchange of experiences on the extent to which the recovery measures taken have succeeded in supporting employment and creating new jobs and more jobs. The Summit will take place in Prague this Thursday.
The mandate given to the Presidency was clear. We need to examine issues such as maintaining employment levels through flexicurity and mobility, creating a favourable environment for investments and job creation by businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, upgrading skills and anticipating labour market needs. We must also look at strengthening and restructuring the labour market so as to prepare it for the future. Our objective is to ensure that the Summit is not just an opportunity to talk, but that it produces concrete outcomes and recommendations which will benefit society as a whole.
The participants will include the social troika at the level of the prime ministers and employment ministers of the current Czech Presidency and of the forthcoming Swedish and Spanish Presidencies. The social partners will be represented by the presidents and general secretaries of Business Europe and the European Trade Union Confederation, together with the representatives of small and medium-sized undertakings and public-sector employers. The European Commission will be represented by President Barroso and Commissioner Špidla.
The chairs of the Employment Committee, the Social Protection Committee and the Economic Policy Committee will also be present. Representatives of the European Parliament have, of course, been invited as well. It is also my understanding that the President of the European Parliament, Mr Pöttering, is going to attend.
In order to help prepare for the Summit, three workshops have been organised in the countries of the three participating delegations: in Madrid, in Stockholm and in Prague. These workshops have especially addressed the issues of upgrading skills, increasing access to employment, and how to maintain employment, create jobs and promote mobility.
These workshops have enabled us to focus, with the social partners, on the key areas of concern. We were pleased that the representative of the European Parliament attended the preparatory workshops – namely Mr Andersson, chair of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.
The workshop on skills upgrading, which took place in Madrid, highlighted that skills are the key to preparing for the future. In the short term, skills increase both productivity and mobility. In the longer term, they pave the way to recovery, increase competitiveness and are crucial for reducing exclusion and promoting greater social equality."@en1
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