Solutions for reducing unemployment in Europe to be searched in Riga

On 11-12 June the Board Meeting of the European Network of Public Employment Services will be held in Riga to discuss the topical issues of the reduction of unemployment. The meeting is organised under the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The representatives of the European Commission jointly with the heads of the European Public Employment Services will discuss at the meeting the situation of the employment market of the European Union, the tasks of the European Network of Public Employment Services, its priorities and achievements. The participants of the meeting will also discuss how to promote the operational efficiency of public employment services, mutual cooperation and exchange of experience that are required to carry out structural reforms in employment and to ensure efficient contribution of the employment services to this process.

Best practice examples of inclusive employment will also be studied, including the inclusion of long-term unemployed persons into the labour market, for example, the UK Employment Programme to involve the long-term unemployed persons into the labour market, as well as the cooperation with municipalities in Denmark.

Cooperation with social partners, the development and the accessibility to e-services and other activities to promote employment that are topical in European countries, will be discussed at the meeting.

On 12 June at 11:00, at the National Library of Latvia a press conference will be held where the questions of Latvian and foreign journalists regarding the situation on the labour market and topical issues for reducing unemployment will be answered by Frank-J. Weise, the Chairman of the Board of the European Network of Public Employment Services, and Inese Kalvāne, the Director of the State Employment Agency.

The European Network of Public Employment Services was established in 2014 by the Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on enhanced co-operation between Public Employment Services (PES) for promoting the efficiency of the services provided by public employment services within the framework of the European Employment Strategy. The representatives of EU Member States and the European Commission work within the European Network of Public Employment Services.

The meeting is organised by the State Employment Agency with co-financing provided by the European Commission (EaSi-PROGRESS Programme 2015). The event will take place at the National Library of Latvia.