European Union Employment and Social Policies
Due to the unequal results across countries regarding the European Employment Strategy, in 2005, efforts focused on National Plans of Action (NPAs) to boost job creation, improve quality, and enhance coordination of labor market policies.
The European Employment Observatory (established 1982), working with national governments and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, compiled information on employment policies through two networks: MISEP and SYSTEM. Programs like Europass and EURES also facilitate the social mobility of workers.
Specific EU Employment Policies (2007-2013)
The EU established specific strategies and measures to promote job creation and the free movement of workers within the EU for the 2007-2013 period. Key initiatives included:
- The European Social Fund (ESF): A cornerstone of EU employment policy, its primary aim is to support the European Employment Strategy, ensuring coherence and complementarity of actions that improve labor market functioning and human resource development across the EU. The ESF ultimately contributes to strengthening the Community’s economic and social cohesion by enhancing employment and job opportunities. Its objectives include achieving full employment, increasing productivity and competitiveness, and fostering social inclusion. Key priorities involve investment in human capital and the promotion of partnerships.
- European Regional Development Fund (ERDF): Another EU mechanism promoting employment. Its objectives are to foster economic and social cohesion and reduce disparities in development levels among European regions, particularly by supporting the most disadvantaged areas. The ERDF’s scope includes investment in long-term employment creation, infrastructure, measures supporting local and regional development, and technical assistance to SMEs. Funding is directed towards convergence, regional competitiveness, and territorial cooperation.
- Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (PROGRESS): For 2007-2013, PROGRESS aimed to provide specific financial support for employment and social affairs, contributing to the Lisbon Strategy’s objectives. Its scope of action covered employment, social protection and inclusion, working conditions, non-discrimination and diversity, and gender equality. This was achieved through general goals such as disseminating good practices, shaping policies, and raising awareness of EU objectives.
- EURES Program: Notable among employment promotion strategies, EURES aims to create an internal labor market accessible to all EU citizens by facilitating transnational, interregional, and cross-border matching of employment supply and demand, and by exchanging information on living conditions and qualifications within the EU.
- European Globalization Adjustment Fund (EGF): Significant due to the challenges globalization poses to various welfare state models. Its assistance is individual, specific, and time-limited, provided to workers affected by layoffs resulting from profound changes in the international economy. The EGF aims to support the reintegration and retraining of workers to help them find and retain new employment, specifically when job loss is attributable to globalization.
EU Social Policy Coordination
The EU plays a coordinating role in promoting collaboration among Member States for the modernization of social protection systems. The Commission presented a Communication aimed at streamlining the coordination of services and complementing Member States’ policy coordination methods and processes.
The Lisbon European Council conclusions in 2000 highlighted the need for modern social protection regimes and measures to streamline the coordination of economic and employment policies, thereby strengthening the social dimension. This coordination is structured within the framework of the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (BEPGs), multilateral surveillance, and the Stability and Growth Pact. Actions are built upon an Open Method of Coordination (OMC) for social protection.