European job mobility action plan (2007-2010)

PURPOSE: the purpose of this Communication is to present a further important step in a long line of initiatives, to promote worker mobility. It intends to realise this objective by establishing a “Job Mobility Action Plan” 2007-2010.

BACKGROUND: for the EU to remain competitive and to fulfil the Lisbon Strategy on growth and employment it is vital for workers to be mobile – both between jobs and between regions. To do so the right opportunities must be created to allow workers to move frequently between jobs and to progress in their careers. Worker mobility, however, remains restricted. Individuals face a number of hurdles when moving across internal borders. These can range from legal and administrative obstacles, housing costs, spous employment, portability of pensions, linguistic barriers and accepted qualifications. Worker mobility remains relatively low. Around 2% of working-age citizens from one of the EU-27 currently live and work in another Member State

CONTENT: this Communication, therefore, sets out the “Job Mobility Action Plan 2007 -2010”, the purpose of which is to promote worker mobility. The Action Plan centres around four specific domains. They are:

1) Improving existing legislation and administrative practices:

Under this heading, the Commission will consider whether there is a need to adapt Community legislation on social security coordination and administrative practices. An inventory of current “problems” will be prepared by the Commission followed by a systematic investigation at the beginning of 2008 on the scope and characteristics of recent mobility patterns. Following a consultation process, the Commission will decide whether there is a need to adapt administrative practices or the rules themselves. Within this context, the Commission proposes to strengthen the status and analytical capacity of the Training and Reporting in European Social Security (TRESS) network by proposing to amend Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. Based on this amendment, the revised network will focus on (i) publishing regular reports on the application of social security Regulation within the Member States; (ii) providing expert advice on the evolution of existing regulations and practices to meet the needs of EU migrant workers; and (iii) streamlining administrative practices and administrative cooperation.

2) Supporting national authorities in their attempts to promote mobility:

Member States play an important role in demonstrating the benefits of geographic and job-to-job mobility for the individual and the economy as a whole. Mobility should be encouraged through national employment strategies and lifelong learning schemes that develop vocational skills as well as language and intercultural skills. In order to strengthen national authorities in their attempts to promote mobility the Commission will: (i) encourage the Member States to include geographic and job-to-job mobility as a priority in their national employment and lifelong learning strategies; (ii) encourage regional and local authorities to remove any remaining practical obstacles to mobility and to promote the concept of “fair mobility” by fighting undeclared work and social dumping; (iii) encourage the Member States to learn from good practice; and (iv) support implementation of the “European Qualifications Framework” as well as Europass and the credit transfer in vocational education and training (ECVET).

3) Reinforcing the European Employment Services EURES:

The European Employment Services (EURES) is an important instrument for strengthening the labour market infrastructure at national and EU level. It has been designed to act as a one-stop instrument in order to facilitate the mobility of workers and their families. Thus, the third strand of the 2007-2010 Job Mobility Action Plan is to significantly reinforce the services provided by EURES by (i) enhancing its strategic dimension, by reinforcing its analytical potential as regards mobility flows and changes in the labour market; (ii) enhancing the scope and quality of its services to assist EU mobile workers and their families; and (iii) increasing its operational coverage by reinforcing its relation with other providers of similar services.

4) Fostering an awareness of the advantages of mobility:

Access to improved information on mobility would benefit a number of workers. The fourth strand of the Action Plan, therefore, is to promote awareness-raising activities through the exchange of information and good practice. Practically speaking, this will entail: (i) the Commission organising annual “European Job Days” in order to improve public awareness of workers’ rights and the benefits of mobility; (ii) stepping up information exchange and best practices amongst stakeholders; (iii) launching the “European Job Mobility Partnership” (an initiative hosting a network of stakeholders committed to developing job mobility in the EU); and (iv) earmarking, within the PROGRESS Programme, support for the financing of pilot activities, exchange of good practices, disseminating results on new developments and the emergence of innovative schemes.

To conclude, the Commission will monitor progress of actions outlined in this Communication through studies and surveys conducted at a European, national or regional level – including Eurobarometer surveys on the evolution of citizens’ attitudes and practices relating to job mobility. An interim report on the implementation of this Communication will be published in 2009.