International labour mobility in the EU

8.6.2017

Question for written answer E-003819-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Jérôme Lavrilleux (PPE)

The 2008 global financial crisis and the subsequent eurozone crisis revealed the shortcomings of our economic and monetary area. The eurozone workforce has little mobility in comparison with, for example, American workers, partly owing to the linguistic and cultural differences of the Member States. The reduced mobility of workers and the poor redistribution of revenue, as a result of there being no federal budget or EU unemployment funds, prevent asymmetric shocks from being absorbed. In the light of Article 114(2) TFEU, which makes fiscal harmonisation difficult, the free movement of workers is the lever over which the Commission has a higher level of autonomy. The EU strives to increase the international mobility of EU workers through, among other means, the EURES network, which makes it easier to match supply and demand of labour within the EU.

What initiatives does the Commission intend to take to develop the internal market, address the imbalances in the eurozone and tackle unemployment with a view to achieving the end goal of increasing professional international mobility?