EPSCO Raad heeft taken van de huidige Tsjechische voorzitter op het gebied van werkgelegenheid en sociale zaken afgerond (en)

Yesterday, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Petr Šimerka and Minister for Human Rights and National Minorities Michael Kocáb chaired the meeting of the Employment, Social Policy and Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) in Luxembourg. They thus symbolically rounded off the activities of the Czech Presidency in the area of employment and social affairs.

The meeting was dedicated to the preparation of the European Council to be held on 18 and 19 June, i.e. finding solutions to the impacts of the current crisis on employment. The discussion was based on the main messages of the Employment Summit, whose participants agreed on the necessity to introduce short-term measures to maintain jobs and on the reforms to be introduced in order to prepare the labour market for the post-crisis period. “In this respect, we consider an assessment of the adopted anti-crisis measures from the point of view of their efficiency, as well as the sustainability of public finance to be of key importance”, said Minister Petr Šimerka in his opening speech.

The Conclusions of the Summit were incorporated by the European Commission into concrete measures to be adopted by individual Member States, the Commission itself and the social partners in a “Communication on a shared commitment for employment”. Concrete events should be attuned to changes in the labour markets and the budget situation of each Member State. The communication should mobilise all accessible finances of the Community – the European Social Fund, the European Investment Bank and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund. Agreement on new requirements for drawing money from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund that can be used, for instance, for training employees, for supporting their mobility and for advisory services during their search for employment was successfully negotiated during the Czech Presidency as part of the financing of anti-crisis measures.

Further, the Commission Communication points out proposals for supporting anti-crisis measures with European resources, which are currently being prepared – full financing of projects by the European Social Fund in 2009 and 2010 without obligatory co-financing from national sources and the possibility of setting up a fund that will provide guarantees for small loans, especially to small and medium-sized enterprises, whose access to credit is generally rather limited.

Another key area addressed by the Council was the issue of the inclusion of Roma. The Czech Presidency endorsed the adoption of the Common Basic Principles for Roma Inclusion. This is the first time that the EPSCO Council has discussed this issue. “At a time when the whole of Europe is witnessing a rise in extremism and racism, this initiative is of crucial importance and sends out a clear message about the need to improve the situation of Roma throughout Europe”, stated Human Rights Minister Michael Kocáb.

Council Conclusions

In the field of employment the Council adopted two sets of conclusions on key themes of the Czech Presidency – flexicurity in times of crisis and social services. As regards flexicurity – the concept of balance between a flexible labour market and the security of maintaining one’s place in it – the conclusions highlighted mainly the following aspects:

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  flexibility of businesses as a tool for maintaining employment (flexible working time arrangements)
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  supporting enterprise (cutting costs and red tape)
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  striking a balance between protecting and motivating people within the social protection system
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  harmonising qualifications and skills with labour market requirements.

The Conclusions on social services as a tool for active inclusion, strengthening social cohesion and an area for job opportunities underlined above all:

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  the importance of services for active inclusion of people into society
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  increased demands on social services due to demographic developments
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  the role of social services in job creation
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  the quality, accessibility, efficiency and financial sustainability of services.

The Council adopted conclusions concerning population ageing and prevention of multiple discrimination against elderly men and women. Implementation of these conclusions will allow elderly people to continue to take an active part in the labour market and society, age well and live their lives to the full.

The Ministers also discussed the proposal to extend the regulations for coordination of social security schemes to citizens of third countries. Unfortunately, they did not reach political consensus on this issue and further discussions of this proposal will take place during the Swedish Presidency.

Minister Petr Šimerka also informed the participants about the development in the negotiations on the Anti-discrimination Directive and the Directive on the health of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding.

Minister Michael Kocáb informed the Council about developments in the negotiations on the Directive on the application of the principle of equal treatment between men and women engaged in an activity in a self-employed capacity.

The Commission informed about the application of the interim period for the free movement of workers until 2011. Full implementation of free movement for workers in the EU was one of the main priorities of the Czech Presidency. Therefore, Council President Petr Šimerka warmly welcomed Denmark’s and Belgium’s decisions to open their labour markets to the new EU Member States already from 1 May of this year.

During their working lunch the Ministers discussed, among other things, the future Lisbon Strategy for employment after 2010. The new strategy should primarily be aimed at growth and jobs and should take the differences between the individual countries into consideration, but ensure a certain amount of generality when pursuing objectives. Sufficient information to the public about the necessity of certain reforms should be a significant aspect.

Contact:

Jana Ríhová, Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

Tel.: +420 221 922 249, GSM: +420 725 761 147, E-mail: jana.rihova@mpsv.cz

Contact:

Lejla Abbásová, Spokeswoman of the Minister for Human Rights and National Minorities

Tel.: +420 224 002 066, GSM: 725 805 865, E-mail: abbasova.lejla@vlada.cz