Action plan for employment. Essen European Council, December 1994

Mr COATES stated that the major problem was that it was impossible for certain Member States to meet the EMU convergence criteria while creating jobs and he highlighted the need to take action to respond to this challenge. He thus proposed an extension of the European Investment Fund, set up by the Edinburgh European Council. He pointed out that the temporary committee on employment had been created to monitor the implementation of Mr Delors’ White Paper, which aimed to created 15 million jobs by the end of the century. He felt that his report would contribute to this goal. The President-in-Office of the Council called above all for Member States’ employment policies to be strengthened through a common EU policy. Such a policy would bring an ‘added value’ to the national policies and should be coordinated and compatible with the economic and monetary policy. The employment policy should also form part of the European social model. Over the last 50 years productivity had increased much faster than working time had reduced and he therefore called for a reduction in working time. Commissioner FLYNN recalled that EMU was a crucial development in guaranteeing the objective of full employment and the non-speculative climate that would enable the Union to create 3 million jobs. This strategy should allow for synergies between vocational training and education and build bridges with industry. In addition, SMEs should have access to credit and to training for their employees. Finally, a solution needed to found to the delays in the high-tech industry as the qualified workforce in this sector arrived on the market ten years too late. As regards the Cannes Council, the Commissioner stated that it had succeeded in establishing a new balance between the microeconomy and the macroeconomy.