Veronica Lope Fontagné (PPE). – (ES) Mr President, Commissioner, I would first like to congratulate you as the Commission’s proposal on the employment package is very important. It is an ambitious and difficult challenge in the context of the current crisis, but we have to achieve the objective of the Europe 2020 strategy and create new jobs.

To achieve this objective, the job markets need to be reformed so that they are more dynamic and inclusive, with workers trained in appropriate skills so they are more resistant to economic adjustment processes, and make full use of their potential for job creation during growth periods.

Hiring needs to be stimulated through tax incentives that: promote and support self-employment and business start-ups, back innovative sectors with a high potential for job creation, improve the job market situation for the most vulnerable groups, such as young people and women, and fight against informal or non-declared employment.

It is also important to note, however, that despite the high unemployment rate, there are increasingly more vacancies to be filled due to a lack of personnel with the appropriate skills. This gap needs to be filled by better planning for the needs of the job market and encouraging geographical mobility. In this sense, decisive progress needs to be made towards the creation of a European job market.