Verbatim report of proceedings

Wednesday, 13 June 2012 - Strasbourg

16. Towards a job-rich recovery (debate)

  President. – The next item is the Commission statement: Towards a job-rich recovery.

  László Andor, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, a robust and systemic solution must be found – and very soon – to the financial and economic crisis. A major consequence of this crisis is the excessively high unemployment. Unemployment now stands at 10.3% in the 27 Member States of the EU, a level we have not seen since the 1990s. Within the euro area, the level of unemployment is even higher, reaching 11% of the workforce.

To find real solutions to Europe’s current crisis, we need a jobs-centred approach. The employment package that the Commission presented in April shows how employment policies can ensure that job creation drives economic growth. The package also outlines ways to rebalance EU economic governance by strengthening the coordination of employment policies. We need the strong support of the European Parliament on both these issues.

The Commission package seeks to reorient European employment policy along three main lines. First, we support measures to create jobs and boost the demand for labour across the economy. We identified the green economy, information and communication technologies, and the health and care services as the three areas that can generate the most job opportunities and for which a detailed action plan is presented.

We propose concrete demands and interventions to support job creation, such as hiring subsidies for newly created jobs, a budget-neutral tax shift from labour to environmental taxes and greater support for business start-ups, self-employment and last, but not least, the social economy.

Second, the package seeks to make labour markets more dynamic through balanced and fair reforms, notably investment in skills and the removal of obstacles to free movement of workers and worker mobility. We need to secure transitions in the labour market by making sure that transitions pay.

A more dynamic European labour market will help to reduce existing skill shortages and mismatches. This is why we also need to invest in skills and to create new tools to anticipate and monitor skills development at the EU level. The Commission is also committed to improving mobility by removing obstacles, such as those affecting the portability of pensions. We are also proposing to transform the current EURES system into a genuine EU employment tool able to match jobs and jobseekers across borders.

Third, the package aims to strengthen EU governance of employment policies. In particular, we want to reinforce monitoring of Member States’ employment polices so that employment and social concerns do not lag behind economic concerns. We also seek to involve the social partners in the process of implementing reforms and monitoring wage developments at the EU level.

In addition, the package also sets out a stronger link between Member States’ labour market reforms and investment through EU financial instruments and, in particular, the European Social Fund.

Parliament’s support for the package is critical. It will provide an additional political impetus for employment to be considered among the cornerstones of our ‘European growth pact’. I am looking forward to this debate today.

  Csaba Őry, on behalf of the PPE Group. – (HU) Mr President, Commissioner, the Commission recently published the draft employment package. On behalf of the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats), I welcome this draft package, and I would like to begin by stating that we, for our part, support all of it, just as we support the proposal for a decision that was discussed in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs as Parliament’s initial response to this draft employment package.

Over the course of the debate, my colleagues will go into more detail. Let me just highlight some aspects I consider important. Above all else, I welcome the realistic approach with which the Commission has launched the draft package itself. We unfortunately share its opinion concerning the inauspicious signs that cast a shadow on this effort, whether it is youth unemployment or rising unemployment rates, and what I find particularly distressing is what is described in the recently published evaluation of Member States’ National Reform Programmes, namely, that the Member State concepts known to us so far do not seem to be sufficient to ensure the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy.

It is therefore definitely welcome that the Commission intends to provide medium-term policy guidance in this regard and I believe that it has set the priorities in respect of the potentials lying in the green economy, the health and social services sector and information technology correctly. I certainly welcome the proposal to reduce the tax wedge on labour, and would like to point out that the Pension Portability Directive should be adopted as soon as possible, while the barriers to mobility with regard to Romania and Bulgaria should be eliminated; we definitely welcome the growth initiative referred to in the text. Thank you, Commissioner; my colleagues will continue to elaborate the rest of our observations.

  Pervenche Berès, on behalf of the S&D Group. – (FR) Mr President, Commissioner, the European Parliament wanted to organise this debate based on the employment package that you have placed on the Commission’s table and which we feel it is important to talk about here today, in plenary, at a time when the European Council may well mention a growth initiative, alongside other weighty matters which will be on its work table. With regard to that growth initiative, we think that your voice – which says that this growth must create jobs – should be strong, hence the importance of this debate that we are organising today.

When we look at the expectations of Europeans, at the time when the unemployment rate is approaching an historic record, it is not so much stabilising financial markets, but keeping or finding a job that concerns them more than anything. It is this expectation that we must respond to, especially when it comes to the youngest citizens. This hope bumps up against the realities of a social situation that is intensifying by the day. How, indeed, can we fail to foresee the spectre of a lost generation when we know that 5.6 million young people are unemployed, that one young European out of five is looking for work and that the situation may not improve before 2016, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

The European Commission repeats that it will take some time before guidelines produce effects in terms of job creation. However, for this to happen, the guidelines must be the right ones. It is striking to see that in the national reform programmes that the Member States have sent to the Commission, ultimately, their commitment to present their national employment plans has not really been followed up with results. Many have not implemented this proposal.

I would like to retain two proposals from this employment package that you have put on the table that we think are right at the heart of the discussion that we need to have. Firstly, the taboo that you have ended when it comes to the minimum wage. You said that the minimum wage is an important element in the debate for combating poverty and social exclusion, for combating social dumping, and for putting forward the question of aggregate demand, of stimulating internal demand. It is a major topic if we wish to solve the problems of internal imbalances within the European Union.

Next, there is a second proposal that you seem to support, for which you know that Parliament will give you its backing, and that is this idea of a Youth Guarantee, which means that no young person would be without employment, education or training after four months in the labour market. This is a major proposal. If we want to commit to specific proposals that go beyond mere words, we must move forward on this in the coming months in terms of financial perspectives and the conclusions of the next European Council, and we will be by your side to do this.

Thank you, Commissioner, for the process into which, together, we will be able to breathe life so that we may correct a strategy which, for too long, has been one of austerity and which is leading us towards disaster.

  Phil Bennion, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, this employment package makes a lot of very welcome suggestions for Member States to take on board in their policy proposals for getting out of the current crisis. These touch on a number of key areas, including youth employment and unemployment, education, training, skills development and labour movement, to name but a few. It also points to areas of potential growth such as green technology.

However, I think the cornerstone of what the Commission is aiming to achieve in the job-rich recovery is, in my view, a structural change to labour markets. I do not think we should just go out on a limb and make changes without really looking at what we are doing. I think the Commission should carry out an impact assessment on current EU labour market laws and come forward with some reform proposals. I know that there is a lot of fear that such reforms might have a detrimental effect on workforces and social labour rights. These fears are very understandable but, if we do nothing, we fail to address the growing unemployment rates, particularly amongst young people, and the lack of competitiveness that we are seeing in some Member States.

Clearly, we need a sensible, pragmatic and socially responsible balance when we make these reforms, but it is only by making serious structural changes now that we can bring forward and build a solid foundation for growth in the medium to long term. A sustainable and competitive European economy based on real economic performance – not endless public borrowing – is the route to creating jobs and reducing our unemployment rates.

Labour market reform may be necessary, but it is not, in itself, sufficient. That is why I particularly welcome proposals in this employment package to boost entrepreneurship and tackle youth unemployment, in particular, providing opportunities for young people to develop valuable skills. New businesses, of course, are the employers of the future, and we must ensure that the rate of creation of new businesses is maintained. We need to identify and address the barriers to potential entrepreneurs. In the ALDE Group, we will engage positively with you, Commissioner, to bring forward this package.

  Marije Cornelissen, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – (NL) Mr President, having a job is the foremost concern for hundreds of millions of Europeans. As far as I am concerned, creating jobs should therefore be our highest priority. The Commission’s communication ‘Towards a job-rich recovery’ is a step in the right direction. I am really enthusiastic about the idea of a labour market monitoring system, about an important role for employment schemes in the semester and, of course, I am especially enthusiastic about the focus on ‘green’ jobs.

We, the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance, have read the working paper on ‘green’ jobs with great pleasure. We could almost have written it ourselves! One hundred to two hundred thousand additional jobs for every percentage point reduction in our consumption of raw materials; now, that should encourage every government to embrace a sweeping green policy. Still, I do not have much confidence in that actually happening.

Our Union is currently taking a huge leap forward: economic governance, a banking union, fiscal union, political union, but when it comes to the social dimension, it continues to remain relatively easy-going and non-committal. How can we force Member States to pay attention to social issues when we have an excessive deficit procedure, but not an excessive unemployment procedure, and when a budget deficit of more than 3% can lead to sky-high fines, but 50% youth unemployment does not? Where countries are called to account because of excessive labour costs, but not because of wages that are below the poverty line.

We need to move on and we need to move towards greater integration. But now that we are breaking all kinds of taboos anyway, why not break them at the social level, too? Bring on that directive for the European minimum wage, bring on those penalties for excessive unemployment or poverty and bring on that initiative to make 2020 targets binding. I wish you all the best!

  Anthea McIntyre, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, unemployment is a very major concern and I welcome the Commission’s communication on the job-rich recovery, but I totally reject calls for more harmonisation of European employment legislation, any attempts to establish European minimum wages and any calls for the EU to have controls and sanctions in the national labour markets of Member States.

European growth plans do not create jobs; it is businesses and entrepreneurs who create jobs. We must not introduce measures that create unintended consequences and actually stop entrepreneurs and possibly those who are self-employed from growing their businesses and starting to provide employment for others.

SMEs and micro-enterprises currently provide 90 million jobs in the private sector in the EU and they have huge potential for job creation, for growth and for innovation, and we must do all we can to help them rather than hinder them.

  Roger Helmer, on behalf of the EFD Group. – Mr President, during the second World War, the Royal Air Force was very concerned about the losses amongst its heavy bombers, so it sought to protect its air crew, first by putting armour around the pilot and then, when they needed more protection, armour around the navigator and more armour around the bomber. Yet they found that losses continued to go up. They finally realised that they had put so much weight of armour into those bombers that they could scarcely fly. They then removed the armour, the planes flew higher and faster and the loss rate went down.

For decades now, the European Union has been loading regulation on labour markets. It has done so with the best of intentions – to protect workers – but the effect is to create a labour market so overloaded and inflexible that it simply cannot fly. On top of that problem, we are now looking at green jobs. Colleagues ought to know that there are credible studies from several European countries which show that every green job costs two or three or four jobs in the real economy because green energy is so expensive that it actually restricts growth in the rest of the economy and costs jobs. What we need for jobs is, first of all, deregulation and, secondly, to abandon our green aspirations.

  Inês Cristina Zuber, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group. – (PT) Mr President, this package by the European Commission advocates, inter alia, reducing the burden on companies from workers’ social security contributions; that is, it advocates cutting labour costs and decapitalising social security systems, thereby paving the way for its privatisation and the robbery of the workers by these means. Yet into what does the European Commission say that company start-ups should be channelled? Into this new sector of opportunity that they call the social economy and social companies, which means replacing the public services that they ordered shut down, transforming the peoples’ rights into business opportunities.

The European Commission also advocates pegging wages to productivity; a magic formula for loading responsibility for a company’s performance – which, as we know, is based on a range of factors – onto the shoulders of the workers. This package of measures presents us with other pearls of wisdom, such as the need to introduce flexible working hours, the implementation of time banks and the creation of conditions favourable to worker mobility; in other words, they are promoting emigration as a solution to the lack of jobs.

How can anyone applaud a European Commission package promoting job creation when the same package advocates public sector layoffs in several countries. The European Commission may now be attempting to have a social rhetoric, but its policies have exacerbated the recession and, with it, unemployment. We call for an end to the policies of neoliberalism and so-called austerity. Europe needs a recovery that includes public sector investment and increased wages.

  Thomas Mann (PPE). – (DE) Mr President, unemployment in the EU has risen markedly as a result of the enduring crisis. At the same time, the Member States are drifting further and further apart.

What is the master plan for more jobs? Regions need tailored solutions. Across Europe, there is widespread agreement on the way to go: promotion of SMEs, flexicurity, green jobs, recognition of professional qualifications, effective use of regional funds, the Cohesion Fund and the European Social Fund (ESF). We need more mobility to create new jobs, but we also need to secure stable jobs.

Illegal labour must be stopped once and for all by means of stricter controls, which will result in millions of euro in increased revenue for the budgets. Precarious jobs and dumping wages must be prevented in favour of fair pay. The agreements on minimum wages belong in the hands of the parties concerned.

Let us not abandon our young people. In my report on justice between the generations, I called for a European youth guarantee. After four months’ unemployment, we need apprenticeships, additional training and jobs. The European investment pact is intended for all the generations, but this must not be financed by taking on more debt, which would undermine the fiscal pact.

Sustainable growth can only be achieved against the background of reforms implemented in the Member States and balanced budgets. Then, the job-rich recovery that we want and desire will become reality.

  Alejandro Cercas (S&D). – (ES) Mr President, Commissioner, the Commission has finally made an intelligent declaration: there will be no recovery without a job creation strategy. Thank you for initiating this debate and for the stated action plan; you will have all our support.

Your communication is not enough, however, Commissioner. The problem is too serious for the measures announced by the Commission. I will briefly make two comments given that I only have a few seconds. The first is that this communication has to overcome the contradictions between the EU’s public policies. You cannot request, and rightly request, for example, that funds are reused when Member States that have problems do not have funds to cofinance the actions, as other EU policies restrict the spending of this money on training or productive investments. Labour reforms cannot be requested at the same time as applauding labour reforms that destroy jobs. Above all Commissioner, we need a real guarantee from Europe for young people, a European guarantee; do not leave it to the Member States, as those in most difficulty will not be able to do anything. The EU has allocated EUR 100 billion to saving five banks in my country. Use EUR 10 billion, 10 times less, to save five million young Europeans. That would be genuine action.

  Marian Harkin (ALDE). – Mr President, ‘Towards a job-rich recovery’ is certainly an inspiring title for any communication and indeed, the Commissioner’s words were inspiring today when he said that we must ensure that employment and social concerns do not lag behind economic concerns. Now, of course, the challenge is to make those fine words a reality and to ensure that our plans and programmes deliver European added value.

One very important proposal is the creation of a European investment package to be undertaken by all Member States to deliver sustainable jobs. I think this package would send a clear message to citizens that we are seriously attempting to rebalance the current austerity measures or the current austerity approach with the Europe-wide pact for investment and jobs. I know that, when 60% of Irish citizens voted for the Fiscal Treaty, they did so in the expectation, among other things, of a growth and investment pact.

This resolution also calls for upskilling and retraining of workers and one current instrument to achieve that at European level is the European Globalisation Fund. Therefore, I am appealing to Member States not to block its continuation but to work together to ensure that the EGF contributes to European added value by upskilling redundant workers.

  Karima Delli (Verts/ALE). – (FR) Mr President, Commissioner, we are all saying the same thing: the employment situation in Europe is catastrophic. With one quarter of young people under 25 unemployed, there is a lot at stake for the new generation, which refuses to be a lost generation.

The Commission has opened up the way with its employment package, which is designed to create 17 million jobs by 2020. However, it continues to lead us towards disaster by driving through austerity plans which increase unemployment and condemn the most vulnerable to the worst kind of hardships.

Yet, an exit from the crisis is simple. We must transform our economy ecologically and socially. To that end, we need to develop green, sustainable and non-outsourceable jobs through targeted investments in green, innovative industries. We need to invest in life-long training and in promoting the social and solidarity economy.

In addition, it is necessary to promote decent work, taking into account the objectives of the International Labour Organisation of improving rights and working conditions, and to reaffirm the vital need to increase the minimum wage so as to put an end to the scandal of poor workers and to fight social dumping.

We have the means to end the scourge of unemployment. Yes, it is possible! What, then, is lacking? All that is lacking is the political will. That is your responsibility! Mr Barroso accorded high priority to the issue of youth and youth unemployment in particular. What is the youth unemployment situation now, three years later? There are no specific proposals. There is nothing.

Action needs to be taken and it needs to be taken now.

  Jacek Włosowicz (EFD). – (PL) Mr President, one of the aims of the Europe 2020 strategy is that by the end of 2020, 75% of people between the ages of 20 and 64 will be in work. This, in turn, is meant to contribute to lasting economic growth in the Union. Another aim of the strategy is that by 2020, 17.5 million new jobs will be created. It is an exceptionally ambitious project in view of the situation today in the field of public finance and the economies of individual Member States, and also in view of unemployment across the Union, which instead of falling, is rising – from 9.5% in 2010 to its current value of 10.2%. This means that in the last few years, 6 million jobs have disappeared. Something else which is a cause of concern is the prospect of introducing the climate package, which may lead to a situation in which, in my country of Poland for example, half a million people lose their jobs.

The motion for a European Parliament resolution on ‘Towards a job-rich recovery’ does, of course, contain worthy objectives – among other things, it plans to create jobs by promoting entrepreneurship and self-employment – and another very important matter is that it calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase investment through public procurement. In the current circumstances, ladies and gentlemen, we have to ask a question about the future budgetary framework: is it not the case that reducing the EU budget and, inter alia, spending on cohesion policy, will exacerbate the economic crisis?

  Thomas Händel (GUE/NGL). – (DE) Mr President, Commissioner, I very much like your proposal regarding the productivity-aligned wage policy. When it comes to the minimum wage, however, you have given in to Chancellor Merkel, and I do not believe you when it comes to increasing employment in health care. How are new jobs supposed to emerge there when the Commission has already forced southern and eastern Member States to reduce their hospital capacities by a half? How are jobs supposed to arise in health care when the Commission requires some Member States to reduce their expenditure on health care further in the new country-specific recommendations for the European Semester? I fear that this point in this plan is pure gesture politics, not a real initiative for new jobs. On the contrary, there is already a shortage of drugs and medicines as a result of the austerity measures, and not just in Greece. I feel that if we are constantly designing new rescue packages for the banks, then we must now work for a rescue package for people and, in particular, to secure medical supplies in the crisis countries.

  Danuta Jazłowiecka (PPE). – (PL) Mr President, the speech given by Commissioner Barroso at the presentation of the package contained in the Commission communication on a job-rich recovery in the European Union reminded me of the words of a famous American investor, who said recently that jobs are not created by employers, but by consumers. In working to get the EU on the road to economic growth, we need to remember this. We should therefore also place great emphasis on measures intended to stimulate internal and external demand, giving support to Member States in a variety of ways, including when creating incentives for employers and when increasing support for new enterprises.

We should also give attention to non-standard forms of employment, which often give rise not just to very high segmentation in the labour market – where some workers have extensive rights, and others have none at all – but can also increase the risk of poverty and social exclusion. Therefore, it is important for the Member States to take a responsible approach to linking job flexibility with job security and appropriate remuneration, so as not to cause the emergence and development of groups of working poor.

On the other hand, the Member States should devote a great deal of attention to measures intended to help workers. The Member States should use social investment as a means to activate their citizens and supply them with instruments which will help them react flexibly and proactively to constantly changing economic and social conditions. Priority treatment should also be given to the problems being faced in the labour market by young people. I would like to reiterate how important it is to invest in education and training and to provide young people with the skills required by the labour market. The recently published Commission communication contains many good and necessary measures. I hope that very soon, the Commission will bring forward specific legislative measures which will put these ideas into effect.

  Sylvana Rapti (S&D). – (EL) Mr President, Commissioner, the employment package is a good package; it just needs to reach its target audience in time. We have wasted a full two years. The European Parliament has called consistently for something to be done about employment. If we waste another two years before everything that is said and written is done, I fear it will be too late.

Second point: the labour market – let us be honest – is suffering because long-term policies have failed and now we have the crisis. We need to take account of that because, according to the Eurobarometer survey, the crisis had a massive impact in 2011 alone.

A few simple figures: one in five Europeans and one in two Greeks are afraid of losing their job. A few more figures: five in ten Europeans and eight in ten Greeks are afraid that, if they lose their job, they will be unable to find another job within six months.

This is the reality and I trust and implore you to consider the question of flexibility, the question of elasticity, not only in connection with work, but also when appropriations are being allocated. As we are always talking about competitiveness, we need to understand once and for all:

Firstly, that competitiveness cannot be seen as an issue that relates to each Member State separately; it is an issue that relates to the entire European Union, if we want a strong European Union and a strong euro. Therefore, given that we are constantly hearing about wage cuts, on the one hand, if we want to improve the competitiveness of certain Member States, my thought is this: why not increase wages in Germany, for example, in order to help boost the competitiveness of other States in trouble.

  Jaroslav Paška (EFD). – (SK) Mr President, the economic stagnation in which the European Union finds itself is forcing us to think about suitable stimuli to revive economic growth. Although I understand the consolidation measures and proposals for the reallocation of the Structural Funds, I cannot help feeling that the Commission is overlooking some of the root causes of the current situation. One of the reasons that European workers are losing their jobs is that our European companies, which we often support through various stimulus measures, are moving production to other parts of the world, and the resulting profits to tax havens. Just look, Commissioner: are there any major European car manufacturers that have not built up their production capacities in China, Brazil, Russia and elsewhere around the world? Do you wonder that their European plants no longer achieve the sales they used to and that their European employees are losing their jobs? And I ask you: do the proceeds from such business end up as tax revenues of the EU, or in the overseas accounts of shareholders or senior managers of these companies? Let us therefore also consider, Commissioner, what sort of economic environment we must be creating in the EU if our traditional European manufacturers are gradually relocating elsewhere in the world to do business.

  Patrick Le Hyaric (GUE/NGL). – (FR) Mr President, Commissioner, there is a fundamental contradiction in your choices. By linking budgetary surveillance, namely, reducing social and public expenditure, while banks are being supported and financial markets satisfied, to the issue of employment, it is as if you wanted to mingle fire and water. Moreover, it prevents economic recovery in the European Union, as the wealth that is created is forever receding.

Employment and work can only be increased if wealth is redistributed. This involves improving workers’ remuneration and pensions and finding a new way of producing wealth through the ecological transformation of production, which would create millions of jobs in Europe.

In addition, it would mean replacing the European stability mechanism, which is, in fact, an austerity mechanism, by a European fund linked to the granting, by the European Central Bank, of a new loan subject to the creation of jobs, training and ecological progress. It would also involve promoting European public services for European public goods in activities relating to water, energy, transport, health, the environment, training and culture, without which what you are promising will not be achievable.

  Regina Bastos (PPE). – (PT) Mr President, Europe has already lost 6 million jobs since 2008. The economy in my country, Portugal, is suffering an unprecedented contraction, and unemployment among men, women and young people is reaching historic levels. According to Bank of Portugal forecasts, the situation will get worse over the next two years. It is in that context that we support and welcome the initiative of the new employment package; our congratulations to you, Commissioner Andor.

Persisting now and always with the basic premise of the need for economic growth, the Member States will really have to focus their efforts on job creation. The means for this should include subsidies for taking on staff by reducing the tax burden on a workforce, which will create new jobs, and support for company start-ups and entrepreneurship, but also for small and medium-sized enterprises that do not lay off workers.

National employment policies must also take into account that the areas with the greatest job creation potential are health care, information and communication technologies, and the ‘green’ economy. As the communication says, there is an urgent need to reduce the gap between the qualifications provided by education and the skills demanded by the job market. Another solution for combating unemployment is worker mobility. It is also crucial to use the Structural Funds to create jobs, and the European Employment Services portal is important as the instrument par excellence for recruitment and job offers in Europe.

Finally, social governance must be on the agenda because the European public is impatiently awaiting concrete results.

  Emer Costello (S&D). – Mr President, I would like to say to the Commissioner that one of the key messages from the recent Irish referendum is that stability and growth are two sides of the same coin. Irish voters endorsed stability, but sent a very clear message in favour of the growth agenda. We now need to make real progress on an investment programme for real, sustainable and quality jobs: a plan which will respect the rights and dignity of workers, promote social justice and fight inequality, in-work poverty and social dumping; a plan which will protect vulnerable workers such as part-time workers, domestic workers and those trapped in the black economy.

Such a plan should also address the need for investment and growth industries such as the green economy and creative industries. It should ensure that finance is made available for SMEs, the backbone of the European economy. We need specific actions to tackle youth unemployment, including a binding European youth guarantee. We also need to adopt a quality charter on internships. Too many young people are on their fourth or fifth unpaid internship with no job in the offing.

Commissioner, the commitment of this Parliament to growth and to jobs is real. We welcome your proposal and we look forward to working with you in the delivery of this proposal.

  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.

  Sergio Gaetano Cofferati (S&D). – (IT) Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in my view, there are two objectives that we must collectively work towards. The first is to create new jobs. We know that the group to target as a priority is young people, and we know that the most important tool is training. An investment in training is an investment in growth and social cohesion.

Yet there is a second major issue, which is less talked about: the regularisation of illegal work or, as it is euphemistically called, informal employment. These people are being exploited. They are working without contracts, without employment rights, and even without citizenship rights, because they often reach us without residence permits or the normal conditions that apply to others. The result on the ground is not only great suffering and exploitation but also a distortion of the labour market.

That is why I believe that the two aspects must be tackled together, giving each its due importance: creating work for young people while regularising work that is already being done outside the law.

  Konstantinos Poupakis (PPE). – (EL) Mr President, Commissioner, unemployment is a leading European problem which is having painful repercussions on social cohesion and the real economy in the Union. Every measurement records an historic high in numerous European countries and, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey, 45% of European citizens are worried about the shortage of jobs. In other words, the European Union faces a massive challenge, with employment now in a state of emergency. Clearly, the insistence on extreme austerity measures in certain countries has resulted in an unprecedented increase in unemployment. In my country, Greece, one in four citizens is already excluded from the labour market, long-term unemployment has topped 55% and youth unemployment is close to 53%, condemning the most promising members of Greek society to inertia or emigration. At the same time, the deregulation of labour relations has not only failed to maintain employment; on the contrary, it is recycling poverty and recession.

Economic governance as a whole therefore needs growth-oriented content. Economic sustainability cannot be sought in isolation from the pulse of society. Furthermore, measures to support employment are an important social investment. Finally, I should like to point out that Member States such as Greece, which is receiving financial support, should not, under any circumstances, be excluded from the procedure to attain the objectives of the EU 2020 strategy. We therefore need a policy mix that will safeguard fiscal restructuring and, at the same time, pave the way for growth with new, viable and high-quality jobs. You are well aware of that, Commissioner, given your particular awareness of the issue, and you are well aware of that Mr President, because you keep a close watch on society and its problems.

  Kinga Göncz (S&D). – (HU) Mr President, the unemployment situation in Europe is alarming. This includes youth unemployment, but also the employment situations of other vulnerable groups of society in addition to young people, such as the elderly, often even people aged 45-50, women, including those who have or wish to have children, as well as people with disabilities and members of various minorities. The draft lists a great many tasks. I would like to highlight only two special issues right now: the first is the role of social enterprises, which provide valuable assistance in mitigating the social consequences of the crisis in health care and social services. These need European-level framework legislation, simplified access to financing, as well as education and training opportunities.

The second is eliminating the deficiencies in the functioning of the internal market. The mutual recognition of qualifications, simplified administration in social security, pension portability and non-discrimination are all needed in order to ensure that the internal labour market is truly functional, while guaranteeing social rights on the basis of free movement and employment.

  Heinz K. Becker (PPE). – (DE) Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European plan to overcome the current challenges does not acknowledge consolidation of European finances or job-rich recovery, as certain populists are trying to make our citizens believe. Of course, we have a responsibility to achieve both objectives. In my opinion, this statement by the Commission takes an important step towards this. I welcome the fact that the potential of the green economy and the service sector is recognised, that the dual system of vocational training is to act as a kind of model for future structures, that the youth guarantee is being realised, that lifelong learning is also being implemented for the increasingly important group of older workers and that the increased use of fund resources is defined very clearly here. In other words, it is now a matter of implementing the measures announced. I recognise all this in the statements by the Commission and by the Commissioner.

However, I should also like to say something about the legitimate goal of avoiding a lost generation. Again, it can only be done via the two pillars and by implementing justice between the generations and solidarity between generations. It goes without saying that this begins with resolving the biggest problem that we currently face, and that is unemployment. However, this naturally leads immediately to the reduction of responsible debt. I do not want us to play these off against each other in the slightest. Instead, we should realise both. That should also be the objective of Parliament’s work.

Catch-the-eye procedure

  Zofija Mazej Kukovič (PPE). – (SL) Mr President, the creation of new jobs is something that is exercising our minds and those of millions of young people that want to get on the labour market. There are many who do not have enough courage to realise their own ideas and there are many who do not know how.

Opportunities for work may be found in support products and health care services, as the Commissioner and the Commission have recommended in their statement.

As an example: a group of young people in Slovenia has invented a mobile phone application for blind and partially sighted people that will help them carry out everyday tasks more easily.

The journey from invention to final user is paved with many difficulties. It requires a lot of perseverance, a lot of financial resources and it is the role of us, as politicians, to make that journey an easier one.

Access to the global market of mobile solutions for people with special needs is certainly a path to new jobs.

  Petru Constantin Luhan (PPE). – (RO) Mr President, we all agree that the future belongs to the younger generation. However, unfortunately, they have been hardest hit at EU level by the economic crisis and the structural problems in the labour market. In some Member States, the situation is alarming, and I think that it is imperative for us to adopt measures immediately to improve their situation, both at EU and national level.

I recommend that Member States focus greater attention on this section of the population and include in the structure of the future strategic frameworks well-financed axes, specifically aimed at youth employment. We must take advantage of every opportunity provided by EU programmes and policies so that we can guarantee Europe’s young people a prosperous future, devoid of uncertainty.

  Elisabeth Schroedter (Verts/ALE). – (DE) Mr President, Commissioner, I welcome the fact that the European Parliament’s report on green jobs has been incorporated into the employment pact. In your document, you foresee 8 million jobs by 2020. That is indeed possible. However, in order to achieve this, the Commission must provide the industrial policy framework, and this must be a long-term framework. Specifically, this means that if we do not have an ambitious directive on energy efficiency, then there will be no demand for construction workers and other workers to insulate buildings. That means you have to work shoulder-to-shoulder with your colleagues, so that we can provide this industrial policy framework. Otherwise – and I will say this to you now – what you have said will remain an unfulfilled prophecy. We cannot afford that in the European Union, because the credibility of this Union is at stake.

  Jan Kozłowski (PPE). – (PL) Mr President, I think that job creation is the most important way to solve Europe’s most acute problems: poverty and unemployment, particularly among young people. It is also the only way to return to a path of growth. We need to invest in promoting enterprise, and we also need to eliminate the bureaucratic and legislative barriers hindering development of the small and medium-sized enterprise sector – and it is this sector which accounts for 70% of all jobs. Another problem is the way in which education is not related to employment. It is surprising that, in spite of the continued high unemployment, we are not seeing a fall in the number of jobs available. Young people, often with a tertiary education, do not hold the qualifications being sought by employers, neither do they have the know-how needed to start their own business. I think these matters call for new measures at every level: local, regional, national and European.

  Evelyn Regner (S&D). – (DE) Mr President, Commissioner, I would like to make an observation, having listened to the debate in this Chamber. This subject is one for which the Chamber deserves to be full. The unemployed of Europe deserve that.

The Treaty establishing the European Union lays down our employment objective, and there are so many reasons for taking a serious approach to this subject. I would therefore simply like to make an observation: in the last plenary debate, you said something about youth unemployment that is incredibly important and which is relevant here; that is, that it is necessary to keep the bigger picture in mind, which is demand-oriented macro-economic policy. After all, the unemployed cannot solve the problem of unemployment on their own. In line with this, we must bear in mind our economic policy and, in particular, the multiannual financial framework and, accordingly, make available the resources that are due to the unemployed of Europe.

(Applause)

End of the catch-the-eye procedure

  László Andor, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, let me first of all thank you and the honourable Members for this very rich discussion, which has been extremely constructive for me, too, and which sent very clear and concrete messages to the Commission about the employment package and also the way forward – namely, that we do not only have to produce a good document but we also have to take care of the implementation.

That is what we are working on, on many issues, and not just on youth – where I am sure you are aware of the action the Commission has already taken – but also with regard to wider employment policies. In that spirit, I will be meeting the social partners working group next week and will seek its cooperation on all the different aspects of the employment package.

First of all, let me highlight the importance of many remarks concerning the wider context of employment policy, because you cannot detach employment from the wider economic landscape. One third of unemployment across the EU is a consequence of the crisis and, in some Member States, it is about one half, or even more.

So if we want to produce results in terms of job creation, we are strongly bound to the crisis response to the financial crisis, the financial sector, how to deal with public debt, how to deal with the private financial sector. The sooner there are proper solutions in those areas, the sooner we will have a better macro-economic environment in which to address employment policies too. It is also true that without this, we still have to go forward and find more direct solutions for job creation and to help the unemployed people.

When we speak about the wider context, it is important to point to the question of investment and the situation in the real economy. I fully share the views expressed by Ms Harkin on the importance of investment, and on the importance of industrial policy by Ms Schroedter and Mr Paška. The Commission is working on reinforced industrial policy and, indeed, the human capital dimension of industrial policy, the capacity of regenerated industry in Europe to create and sustain jobs, is absolutely fundamental.

The employment package should be seen as a building block of a new economic paradigm. If you look at how wages or the role of demand is put forward in the employment package, or to give another example, the role of employment governance in the EU with the involvement of the social partners, I believe these open up new opportunities and the capacity to focus better on all levels and more efficiently on job creation and quality jobs.

Many of you – I do not need to list all the names – underlined the importance of helping young people, and we had a separate discussion on this last time here in Strasbourg.

I can tell you there is a lot of action taking place. I was in Italy last week where Structural Funds have been substantially reallocated in order to benefit young people just in Sicily, which is one region. The size of the reallocation exercise is close to half a billion euro, and this is not for the entire country but just for one of the regions where the situation is most serious.

At the same time, we in the eight Member States where youth unemployment is the worst are working on reallocation.

The recent ongoing work to prepare the youth guarantee, on which I had the views of Ms Berès and others, should indeed produce a result in close coordination with the Council before the end of this year. We will have opportunities to see whether our concrete solutions can match, to produce the best and most effective outcome.

Also before the end of this year, as envisaged in the employment package, we should produce the quality framework, on which there is ongoing consultation with all the stakeholders.

The role of enterprise and micro-finance was rightly stressed by Mr Bennion and Ms McIntyre. This, too, is indeed a possible direction that is often forgotten because the young generation may not be aware of the real opportunities in countries – let me mention Italy again – where the previous generation was successful in running SMEs. This knowledge does not necessarily transfer to the new generation.

Once again, this is a task for human capital building. Once again, the task is to spread the knowledge of enterprise and to support micro and small enterprises directly through better access to finance.

Within the world of enterprise, I think there was rightly an emphasis on the role of social enterprise. Ms Göncz, for example, stressed this in the context of social inclusion.

I fully agree with making progress in this area in close cooperation with Michel Barnier, who spoke before me in the Chamber. Our DGs also work with the representatives of the Member States. Last week, there was a seminar in Brussels for Member State representatives to promote social enterprise and the social economy in the general context in all Member States; this also has a capacity for including disadvantaged groups in the labour market, such as people with a disability.

Finally, to support all these measures, whether for youth or for the social economy, we cannot avoid the question of the financial instruments. There is an ongoing debate in Parliament and in the Council on the next MFF. We should not focus just on the current reallocations. We should also focus on secure funding for the financial instruments that can directly help the people. This is primarily the European Social Fund, which needs its secure minimum share, as you saw in the Commission’s proposal. And I could not agree more with Ms Harkin concerning the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). I think discontinuing the EGF would be really problematic and I hope I can rely on the support of this House in the struggle to save the EGF for the future.

  President. – I have received one motion for a resolution⁽¹⁾tabled in accordance with Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure.

The debate is closed.

The vote will take place tomorrow, Thursday, 14 June, at 12.00.

Written statements (Rule 149)

  Minodora Cliveti (S&D), in writing. – With EU unemployment hitting record levels and forecasts of a dramatic economic outlook for the months ahead, we, as socialists, should come up with a set of concrete measures to boost jobs for the citizens of Europe.

The EU needs a dynamic and inclusive European labour market and we need investments for job creation, mainstreaming of the ILO’s decent work agenda, protection of labour law in SMEs, combating of illegal work and forced self-employment, and minimum wages to fight in-work poverty and social dumping. Moreover, we should continue to fight to obtain some other important aspects which are essential for the wealth of the citizens like: solidarity in taxation systems, coordinated collective bargaining as a factor for social cohesion, and the fight against in-work poverty through living wages.

To accelerate job creation, we need proposals towards a European Investment Plan, a coherent European industrial strategy and investment in public services, based on new sources of revenue, including a financial transaction tax and eurobonds, giving priority to investments that promote a sustainable economy, quality jobs and social justice.

Finally, I appreciate that the EC sent a strong message to governments to lift restrictions on labour market access for workers from Bulgaria and Romania.

  George Sabin Cutaş (S&D), in writing. – (RO) Referring in its communication of 19 April on employment to the importance of the minimum wage and decent working conditions, the Commission distances itself from the austerity strategy and deregulation of the labour market which certain European states continue to pursue. The austerity meted out to workers, as we have regrettably seen in Greece and Spain, has only had disastrous results, causing unemployment and poverty. The proposal tabled by the European executive can also be improved by introducing more specific aspects with a political direction. The European Union needs to draft urgently a common investment plan in which priority will be given to investments generating high-quality jobs and to those made in the education, health or research sectors. In order to support these investments, Member States have no other option but to show their solidarity. The financial transaction tax and pooling part of the public debt are a must in order to prevent a repeat of the tragic story of a Europe torn asunder.

  Monika Smolková (S&D), in writing. – (SK) The draft resolution of the EP – Towards an Economic Recovery –is highly specific and describes all aspects and problems of unemployment and the possibility for economic development and growth. The problem is that we are describing the problems very precisely; we know about them and are even proposing solutions, but it is taking us a long time to implement the solutions in practice. If we want to solve unemployment, we cannot continuously come up with solutions on our own initiative; rather, the Commission should propose across-the-board legislation that would allow us to address the areas of education, employment, support, mobility, productivity, and the use of unused funds from the Structural Funds. Joint assistance to States whose economies are in trouble is necessary, but it is very difficult to explain in, for example, my country, Slovakia, where the minimum wage is EUR 327, that we must help, say, Spain, where the minimum wage is twice that of Slovakia. Therefore, the measures for economic growth must be adopted rapidly and applied in the individual Member States.

  Jutta Steinruck (S&D), in writing. – (DE) I expect the European Commission to finally learn the lessons of the crisis. There are some good ideas, but there is a lack of commitment. I welcome proposals such as support for start-ups, the overdue consultation paper on the quality framework for internships, or the youth initiative to give young people some career prospects. However, well-intentioned proposals do not reduce youth unemployment. Improving the quality of work and strong codetermination must remain key elements of European policy. I reject the idea of the uniform contract of employment, which is another attempt to erode protection from termination of employment. I also take a highly critical view of a new tripartite pay monitoring committee at European level. The EU Treaty excludes the possibility of intervening in wage setting. It must stay that way. Along with the trade unions, we in the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament would warn against using the crisis to undermine the autonomy of the social partners.

  Marina Yannakoudakis (ECR), in writing. – I am perplexed by the title of the Commission’s report: ‘Towards a jobs-rich recovery’. I ask the Commission: is there such a thing as a jobs-poor recovery? Governments, not least the European Commission, cannot create jobs. They can only create the conditions which allow jobs to be generated. And it is patently obvious that the EU is not doing this. By diverting energy towards ‘creating a jobs-rich recovery’, the EU is heading towards a ‘jobs-poor spiral’. It should focus its effort on cutting red tape and on strengthening the single market. Only when it is easier for companies across the EU to do business shall we shall see a turnaround in the recent shocking EU unemployment figures. The Commission must learn that regulation is a barrier to growth and jobs, rather than a catalyst. I take, for example, EU rules on the sugar industry, which – because they are so inflexible and applied even more inflexibly – have already cost jobs in my constituency of London and are threatening a further 4 500 highly-skilled jobs across the European Union. The Commission should stop strategising on how to legislate more and focus on how it can legislate less and – with any luck – better.

(1) See Minutes