EU growth and prosperity through EU2020?

Loss of competitiveness and export shares in world markets is the slippery road the member states of the European Union have been embarked on, but it is hardly the highway to growth and prosperity. The EU actually has a comprehensive strategy for economic growth, Europe 2020, but how credible is the commitment of the national leaders if they keep forgetting their own EU2020 master plan, at least without prodding? Just before each EU member state submits its National Reform Programme 2012, here are some Grahnlaw blog posts about relevant conclusions and statements concerning a return to growth, competitiveness and the creation of new jobs: European Council and the quest for growth European Council and Single Market: ambitious enough? EUCO challenge: growth despite budget balancing Breathing life into EU2020 necessary for growth, competitiveness and employment EU2020 from failure to action EU leaders: ”Oops, we forgot our strategy” European Council endorsed Annual Growth Survey 2012 priorities Is the Europe 2020 strategy jinxed? Ralf Grahn EU policy expert, speaker and lecturer

European Council endorsed Annual Growth Survey 2012 priorities

The European Semester was kicked off by the Annual Growth Survey 2012 (AGS) Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final VOL. 1/5 (and the four annexes, Volumes 2-5).


EUCO conclusions

The conclusions of the spring European Council (EUCO) were brief and general in the fourth cornerstone paragraph:

4. For 2012, the European Council endorses the five priorities set out in the Commission's Annual Growth Survey for action taken at the EU and national level to:

– pursue differentiated, growth-friendly, fiscal consolidation,
– restore normal lending to the economy,
– promote growth and competitiveness,
– tackle unemployment and the social consequences of the crisis, and
– modernise public administration.

Synthesis report

When the European Council conclusions endorse the priorities proposed by the Commission, there is - if not a whole mountain - at least a molehill of views and conclusions behind each paragraph to inspire more detailed future policy work.

The Danish presidency prepared a shortcut: Implementation of the European Semester - Synthesis report (22 February 2012, Council document 6662/12).

However, the Synthesis report did not offer links to the various documents. Some readers may need to revisit the original and more detailed contributions submitted to the spring European Council, in order to find out what the five priorities set out in the Commission's Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and its annexes actually mean and require in the form of action.



Ralf Grahn
speaker on EU affairs, especially digital policy and law

P.S. Between the global issues and the national level, with a tenuous hold on democracy, the European Union institutions and the eurozone coteries shape our future. At the same time we see a European online public sphere emerging. Grahnlaw (recently ranked fourth among political blogs in Finland), Grahnblawg (in Swedish) and Eurooppaoikeus (meaning European Law, in Finnish) are among the more than 900 euroblogs aggregated by multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. Are you following the debates which matter for your future? Is your blog already listed on Bloggingportal?

EU leaders: ”Oops, we forgot our strategy”

In its conclusions, the European Council suddenly remembered that it already has a comprehensive strategy for growth, competitiveness and employment: Europe 2020 (EU2020). The heads of state or government need to breathe life into their common strategy, because they frankly admit that their efforts to date are insufficient.


Amnesia

I strongly recommend president Herman Van Rompuy's strategic and elegant Issues Paper, written ahead of the spring European Council, but for some inexplicable reason he evaded the Europe 2020 strategy (EU2020).

The twelve prime ministers who wrote A plan for growth in Europe, calling for more resolute reform policies, as resolutely forgot to mention that the EU already has the EU2020 strategy.


EU2020 resurrected

It took the reply from Commission president José Manuel Barroso to remind these leaders of the existing strategy for this decade:

We have agreed on an ambitious and comprehensive growth and jobs strategy: Europe 2020. Our common ownership of it needs to be more visible to our citizens. They need to know that the EU has a clear strategy for building a better future and that all Member States are working in the same direction. There should be no artificial separation between EU and national growth policies, they reinforce each other.

The conclusions of the European Council (EUCO 4/12) then turned into a strong reminder of the crucial role of the Europe 2020 strategy and of the need to step up efforts significantly:

2. "Europe 2020" is Europe's strategy for jobs and growth and its comprehensive response to the challenges it is facing. In particular, the five targets set out for 2020 remain fully relevant and will continue to guide the action of Member States and the Union to promote employment; improve the conditions for innovation, research and development; meet our climate change and energy objectives; improve education levels and promote social inclusion in particular through the reduction of poverty.

3. However, efforts undertaken to date remain insufficient to meet most of these targets. It is therefore urgent to concentrate on the implementation of reforms, with a particular attention to measures which have a short-term effect on jobs and growth.

Much better. But why did it happen? How credible does the commitment look, when all these reform-minded leaders were happy to forget even the existence of EU2020, their common strategy for a decade of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth?

Will they still remember, having returned home?

Our reading tip for them and their officials is: Progress Report on the Europe 2020 Strategy COM(2011) 815 Annex I.



Ralf Grahn
speaker on EU affairs, especially digital policy and law

P.S. Between the global issues and the national level, with a tenuous hold on democracy, the European Union institutions and the eurozone coteries shape our future. At the same time we see a European online public sphere emerging. Grahnlaw (recently ranked fourth among political blogs in Finland), Grahnblawg (in Swedish) and Eurooppaoikeus (meaning European Law, in Finnish) are among the more than 900 euroblogs aggregated by multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. Are you following the debates which matter for your future? Is your blog already listed on Bloggingportal?

EU2020 from failure to action

The heads of state or government reminded themselves of the comprehensive Europe 2020 growth strategy. In the European Council 1-2 March 2012 conclusions (EUCO 4/12, available in 23 languages) they assessed their own work to date:

3. However, efforts undertaken to date remain insufficient to meet most of these targets. It is therefore urgent to concentrate on the implementation of reforms, with a particular attention to measures which have a short-term effect on jobs and growth.

Insufficient reforms

The EU member states are lagging. Brownie points for honesty, although nothing more than the European Commission said in its second Annual Growth Survey 2012 (AGS), which kicked off the European Semester:

Annual Growth Survey 2012 VOL. 1/5; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (18 pages) 

Progress report on the Europe 2020 strategy VOL. 2/5 - ANNEX I; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (27 pages) 

Macro-economic report VOL. 3/5 - ANNEX II; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (21 pages) 

Draft joint employment report VOL. 4/5 - ANNEX III; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (16 pages) 

Growth-friendly tax policies in member states and better tax coordination in the EU VOL. 5/5 - ANNEX IV; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (13 pages) 

For those who think that the Commission is evil and biased, even the more recent (22 February 2012) synthesis report on the implementation of the European Semester (Council document 6662/12), prepared by the Danish Council presidency, is relatively open about less than brilliant progress (page 3):

The Annual Growth Survey shows that progress has been made in a number of areas, but much remains to be done.

In particular, measures announced or adopted during 2011 must now be implemented rigorously in all Member States. The economic climate makes this difficult, but should be seen as an incentive to further focus efforts, both at the national and the European level.

Returning to growth

Both the Annual Growth Survey 2012 and the Council synthesis report contained advice on further action. Let us here quote key points the Danish report made (pages 3-4):

Commitments regarding the objectives on poverty, education, innovation and green growth, in particular, should not be set aside while not endangering rigorous fiscal consolidation.

- Fiscal consolidation efforts have been undertaken by almost all Member States but further efforts appear necessary and, in several countries, medium-term budgetary frameworks remain to be strengthened. Ad hoc measures regarding VAT systems taken by some Member States have yet to produce results. There has only been limited progress across Europe as regards the shift of taxation away from labour. The coherence of the measures taken and their impact on growth and fiscal consolidation also remain to be analysed.

- Efforts to increase competitiveness are still needed, in particular, to increase competition in the retail, service and infrastructures sector. While the transposition of the Services Directive in Member States is progressing, more support needs to give to enhancing crossborder labour mobility including by revision of the EU rules on mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

- Improving the environment in which businesses, including SMEs, operate is important, in particular the reduction of unjustified administrative and regulatory burdens.

- Promoting employment is a key policy objective in all Member States. Nevertheless, in many countries, more could be done in terms of active labour market policies and to combat labour market segmentation and excessively rigid employment protection legislation, reform unemployment benefit systems to make work pay and enhance employability of vulnerable groups. Youth unemployment remains of critical concern. Progress on the inclusion of young people in the labour market is still insufficient in several countries.

- Dual training and other reforms are under way in education systems, but investment in education and training is affected by fiscal constraints in a number of Member States. Ensuring quality of public spending in these areas is a particular priority.

- Pension system reforms have been undertaken in some Member States and are under way in a number of others, but their impact is often hampered by early retirement opportunities and special schemes that are still in place.

- The number of people at risk of poverty is on the rise, and has not been effectively addressed. More focus on increasing labour market participation of vulnerable groups could help address this concern. Some countries still have to take action to address the interrelated issues of household indebtedness and housing markets.

Naturally, the countries with the greatest problems are the ones to need the fastest and most dramatic reform, although their past record is the least promising. However, given the sorry state of the economy in almost all of the EU member states, the need for structural reform in the European Union as a whole is profound.

The national leaders have spoken wisely. Now they must act.



Ralf Grahn
speaker on EU affairs, especially digital policy and law

P.S. Between the global issues and the national level, with a tenuous hold on democracy, the European Union institutions and the eurozone coteries shape our future. At the same time we see a European online public sphere emerging. Grahnlaw (recently ranked fourth among political blogs in Finland), Grahnblawg (in Swedish) and Eurooppaoikeus (meaning European Law, in Finnish) are among the more than 900 euroblogs aggregated by multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. Are you following the debates which matter for your future? Is your blog already listed on Bloggingportal?

Breathing life into EU2020 necessary for growth, competitiveness and employment

After the European Council (EUCO) summary we noted a few key points in the intergovernmental Treaty on stability, coordination and governance in the economic and monetary union (TSCG, ”fiscal compact”) before discussing that the national leaders condemned themselves to achieve economic growth, enhanced competitiveness and new jobs within tighter budget limits, practically without money.

With growth stalling, Europe's competitiveness seriously eroded and unemployment rising, more than cheerful rhetoric is going to be needed to turn the tide.

What do the heads of state or government propose to do?

We turn to the three remaining cornerstones in European Council 1-2 March 2012 conclusions (EUCO 4/12, available in 23 languages) to take a look at this Houdini act.


Europe 2020

The political leaders remind themselves and others that the European Union has a comprehensive long term strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, Europe 2020 (EU2020):

2. "Europe 2020" is Europe's strategy for jobs and growth and its comprehensive response to the challenges it is facing. In particular, the five targets set out for 2020 remain fully relevant and will continue to guide the action of Member States and the Union to promote employment; improve the conditions for innovation, research and development; meet our climate change and energy objectives; improve education levels and promote social inclusion in particular through the reduction of poverty.

Europe 2020 involves the member state in reform work at EU level with regard to the seven flagship initiatives. The institutions of the European Union and the governments of the member states have jointly agreed on common EU2020 targets. Many of the concrete structural, growth-enhancing reforms need to be carried out in and by the EU member states, by state, regional and local actors, social partners and enterprises. The structural reforms at EU and national level are intended to create synergy effects. The five headline targets have been translated into national targets, which take account of the different situations.

By mid-April (the end of April, at the latest) each EU member state sets out its actions in its national reform programme 2012 (NRP). The European Commission analyses every NRP, as well as the stability or convergence programme of every member state, and issues recommendations.

In the summer, the European Council and the Council (of ministers) are going to conclude the planning circle known as the European Semester by addressing recommendations to all the member states.


Divine inspiration?

There are worrying signs that Europe is sliding more than rising. The loss of international competitiveness and export shares in world markets are root causes of this decline, almost across the board.

Difficult but decisive reforms are needed, but rarely do we see signs of lively national debates centred on the Europe 2020 as a dynamic key to reform policies. Preparing mandatory programmes in the recesses of national ministries of economy, perhaps concerting with the main social partners, leads to paper programmes devoid of life.

The heads of state or government have given themselves a reminder of EU2020, but having returned home from the spring European Council, they have to breathe life into the Europe 2020 strategy process domestically.

They failed during the Lisbon strategy decade, and their EU2020 start has been disappointing, with the results we can see around us.

Especially in the member states lagging behind, divine inspiration looks necessary, but failing that the prime ministers and presidents have to make the Europe 2020 strategy a success in their own countries.

The Europe 2020 reforms concern almost all ministries and levels of government and the social partners, but also individual businesses and citizens. The media need to be woken up, if they don't notice themselves.



Ralf Grahn
speaker on EU affairs, especially digital policy and law

P.S. Between the global issues and the national level, with a tenuous hold on democracy, the European Union institutions and the eurozone coteries shape our future. At the same time we see a European online public sphere emerging. Grahnlaw (recently ranked fourth among political blogs in Finland), Grahnblawg (in Swedish) and Eurooppaoikeus (meaning European Law, in Finnish) are among the more than 900 euroblogs aggregated by multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. Are you following the debates which matter for your future? Is your blog already listed on Bloggingportal?

European Council documentation: Europe 2020 employment (II)

Is there a difference between The Emperor's New Clothes, by Hans Christian Andersen (see Wikipedia), and the conclusions by the European Council?

Yesterday, we saw that the June summit endorsed the country-specific recommendations approved by the Council and invited all Member States to reflect them in their national decisions as regards their budgets and structural reforms and to address the shortcomings revealed by this exercise.

Majestic enough, but no direct link or reference to the substance, what the heads of state or government actually approved, or not.


EPSCO documents

Thanks to a Commission memorandum, we found the relevant Council meetings, first of which the EPSCO configuration:

3099th Council meeting Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs - Employment and Social Policy; Luxembourg, 17 June 2011 (Council document 11574/11)

Some sort of general approval emerged, tempered by ”certain reservations” and a postponement (to the Ecofin Council). The ESPCO Council bequeathed us with four documents (gracefully linked on page 11), which we must read if we want to know what the ministers approved.

Recommendations

Here is our catch:

Recommendations for Council recommendations on the National Reform Programmes 2011 to each Member State - General approach (employment aspects) (21 June 2011, 11851/11; 2 pages)

Outside the circle of Council officials and national experts, the text is almost indecipherable:

Further to the outcome of the Council (EPSCO) reflected in doc. 11819/11, delegations will find hereafter the overall results of the Council session on 17 June. The final texts from EPSCO are included in the documents prepared by the Legal-Linguist Experts. In particular, the solutions found to, or the reservations maintained on the open points listed in doc. 11657/11, Section II, are included in the following documents:

[list of document numbers]

The second document is:

Recommendations for Council recommendations on the National Reform Programmes 2011 to each Member State - General approach (employment aspects) (17 June 2011, 11819/11; 4 pages)

Perhaps more interesting than why and how individual member states demurred, the EPSCO Council informed us that it had reached a general approach – in yet another document:

On June 17, the EPSCO Council held a policy debate on the Country Specific Recommendations in the context of the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The Council reached a general approach on the employment aspects of the Council Recommendations as outlined in doc. 11657/11.

”Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition” - could we be close to unearthing something intelligible for ordinary mortals?

Here we go. All language versions considered, Council search yields 44 references. Let us be content with the English versions:

Recommendations for Council Recommendations on the National Reform Programmes 2011 to each Member State - General approach (Article 148 TFEU) (15 June 2011, 11657/11; 9 pages)

Here, the Council actually offered an introduction to the matter, described the process, listed general (horisontal) open questions, reservations by individual member states and described the next steps. In other words, just a few steps below the European Council we actually find some useful information, although most of all further document references.

The second additional document:

Recommendations for Council Recommendations on the National Reform Programmes 2011 to each Member State - General approach (Article 148 TFEU) (16 June 2011, 11657/11 COR 1)

This corrected document concerns only Spain and Hungary.

NRPs

We return to the EPSCO conclusions, where the Council endorsed the joint EMCO/SPC opinion on the examination of national reform programmes (10664/11) and the pilot version of the employment performance monitor (10666/1/11) [links in the original].

Piece of cake to use the links provided:

Examination of the National Reform Programmes 2011 - Joint opinion of the Employment Committee and of the Social Protection Committee = Endorsement (14 June 2011, 10664/11; 8 pages)

The committees have produced a readable, but extremely general text. Not much penetrates deeper than an assortment of newspaper headlines about current employment challenges in European countries, with the possible exception of the social protection and inclusion thoughts. These give us the feeling of the early stages of convergence towards some sort of consensus about common priorities at a European level.

Employment Performance Monitor

Employment Performance Monitor - Endorsement (15 June 2011, 10666/1/11 REV 1; 91 pages)

Few but some experts can be expected to peruse all the 91 pages of the document, but the the pilot version of the Employment Performance Monitor (EPM) could come in handy for those who want to see how their country measures up from a European perspective.

Although ”peer review” is a bit hazy, it has the potential to stimulate progress. Admittedly, more intensive communication and debate could usher in more frequent benefits at the national level, but where do we find these, when the European Council hides the beef beneath several layers of documents and the Brussels press corps keeps shrinking?

***

This was only the beginning. We still have to look at the Ecofin Council and the coordinating General Affairs Council, before we have unearthed what the European Council is ”wearing”, when it tells us of its endorsement.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. The Week in Bloggingportal offers its summary in a lighter vein: Tusk against the EUterus of death.

Sharing informal EU Council meetings (Employment)

Let us look at how informal meetings of the EU Council inform and enlighten citizens, choosing the first example offered this year by the Hungarian presidency and relevant to the competitiveness challenges important to us all. This leads us to the nourishing gathering of employment ministers, relevant in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (EU2020).


Background

Beyond the official Council conclusions reflected on the Consilium website, we noted the informal Council meetings arranged by the presidencies of the Council of the European Union.

The Hungarian presidency programme acted as a GPS navigation device (Wikipedia) offering a clear picture of the main roads and destinations regarding EU efforts to improve competitiveness.

Rereading the first priority of the Strategic framework of the presidency programme 'Growth, jobs and social inclusion' offered me a general roadmap. The following sections of the Operational programme gave more detail about the main challenges for the different Council configurations with regard to European competitiveness: 5. Transport, Telecommunications and Energy (TTE; from page 32), 6. Competitiveness (COMP; from page 37) and 7. Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO; from page 41).


HU news and events

If we want to follow the most recent activities, we can study the homepage of the Hungarian presidency, or we can move on to News and events, where we find press releases ordered chronologically, with the events of today on top.


HU presidency calendar

This time we are interested in information and materials regarding informal meetings of the three Council formations most directly concerned with competitiveness challenges (EU2020): TTE, COMP and EPSCO.

With these limitations, through the Hungarian presidency calendar January – June 2011 we find three relevant informal Council meetings and one just around the corner:

16-18 January EPSCO (employment)
7-8 February TTE (transport)
11-13 April COMP (research and development; industry)
2-3 May TTE (energy)

Nowadays, the formal Council meetings are arranged in Brussels or Luxembourg, but the informal meetings offer the rotating presidencies opportunities to act as hosts to ministers, officials and journalists, as well as to make the presidency visible to the home crowd.


Employment ministers

I decided to look for information based on the specific dates of the informal Council gatherings. There must be more to life than meetings, so the item to turn up on top 'Gala dinner at the Museum of Fine Arts', shared the culinary delights on 17 January 2011 with us EU citizens, in detail equal to an EU legislative act.

If you scroll deep enough, you find that the ministers and state secretaries for Employment were going to discuss in the framework of two workshops: youth employment, and employment friendly growth-recovery and more and better jobs.

We are able to share in on one related document: the Menu of the gala dinner.

After the event, we find the press release 'EU ministers discuss employment in Gödöllö', much less detailed than the culinary exposition.

The summary offered some generalities about the Europe 2020 goal of raising the employment level to 75 per cent, the Commission's flagship initiative Youth in Motion, contributions by the other members of the presidency trio, the use of the European Social Fund (ESF) and other structural funds to improve employment, as well as discussions with the social partners and non-governmental organisations.

The menu excepted, I found no illuminating documents, with a bearing on the workshops or employment issues generally, shared through the web pages of the informal meeting of employment ministers.

Those who remember the Hungarian media law wonder if this is balanced enough reporting.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Joe Litobarski has littered his basket with comments about blogging versus Facebook, opening and shutting down his new Facebook comment system within a few hours due to critical comments. Interesting questions for all and sundry.

EU General Affairs Council: Feeding the cuckoos?

Have you ever followed the hectic life of small birds, unwittingly having become foster parents for a gluttonous young cuckoo?

Hectic and unrewarding, the life of these unsung heroes.

How about having two of these rapacious strangers, instead of only one, as in nature?

Why do I think about the thankless task of these desperate and overworked foster parents, when I turn to the visible output from the General Affairs Council of the European Union?


More than foreign affairs

Although the European Union is much, much more than foreign affairs, the coordinating General Affairs Council (GAC) is still dominated by foreign ministers, for whom it is a sideshow.

At the same time, the foreign ministers face the enormous challenge to shape the European Union into an effictive and influential actor in world affairs, in all fields of external action. Enough of a challenge to keep the foreign ministers busy for a decade or more, I would think, even if they concentrated on this main job.


GAC role

Currently the GAC does not fulfil the expectations created by the Lisbon Treaty, which gave it a permanent and important treaty based position.

The GAC was entrusted with the vital role to coordinate Council work (other configurations). It is also the task of the General Affairs Council to prepare and to ensure the follow-up of the European Council.

The bulk of real EU powers and resources concerns about two dozen policy areas of internal action, so the challenge looks daunting enough, but consistency has been left to the foreign policy divas, as a diversion.

In addition, the spring European Council is supposed to be the crowning moment for economic governance and economic reforms for growth and employment, guiding the work towards Europe 2020 (EU2020) goals.


Treaty aims vs delivery

The principles of as much openess as possible and as much closeness to the citizen as possible are laid down in Article 1 of the Treaty on European Union.

The enhanced role and tasks of the GAC were established by Article 16(6) TEU.

Article 16(6) TEU finally separated the GAC from its then dominant Siamese twin, the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC).

In the name of openness and closeness, the GAC could and should become an important stage in public discourse just ahead of the European Council (as well as after), but what has happened?

Make your own assessment of how the aims and potential have come to fruition. Reflect on the gap between expectations, potential and delivery:

3079th Council meeting General Affairs; Brussels, 21 March 2011 (Council document 7932/11)


Concrete conclusions

Instead of reasoned proposals and supporting materials, we get these inane ”conclusions”, with regard to the issues on the agenda of the European Council:

The Council took stock of the humanitarian situation in Libya and neighbouring countries.

The Council took stock of the EU's response to the humanitarian crisis in Japan.

The Council examined draft conclusions for the European Council meeting to be held on 24 and 25 March.

This is parody, pure and simple.

The rest of the text concerning economic policy is in essence an agenda, since it presents only the issues to be dealt with at the European Council (page 8-9).

The only redeeming feature would have been the report from the presidency on progress in implementation of the European Semester submitted to the European Council (doc. 7745/11), if the link in the original had actually worked.

If the GAC actually said something worthwhile, its tasks would be a bit more rewarding than feeding the cuckoos.


European Semester: implementation

Going back, the document reference is useful, though. If we substitute the broken link by Council search, we find the presidency report in 22 official EU languages, including English:

Implementation of the European Semester - Synthesis report; Brussels, 16 March 2011 (document 7745/11; 21 pages)



Ralf Grahn



P.S. The web pages of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union are one of the important sources of day to day information about EU events, including ones less visible than formal Council meetings.

EU Joint Employment Report (JER) heading for spring summit

Ahead of the EU's economic and social summit, the European Council 24 and 25 March 2011, we return to the EPSCO Council, where ministers for employment and social affairs adopted the following general conclusions:

3073rd Council meeting Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs: Employment and Social Policy; Brussels, 7 March 2011 (Council document 7360/11; 20 pages)


EPSCO on employment

On page 9 of the general conclusions the EPSCO Council put the Joint Employment Report (JER) into perspective, joint meaning Commission and Council:

The Council adopted the joint employment report (7396/11) along with the conclusions on it. The JER reviews the current employment situation in Europe and the implementation of the employment guidelines adopted in October 2010. This year, it is more forward-looking than in earlier years, additionally taking into account the early state of implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy.

The page summarises the main findings of the JER and the principal EPSCO greetings to the spring European Council.


Joint Employment Report (JER)

The Joint Employment Report is part of the first European Semester. It adds flesh to the bones of the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), during the run-up to the spring European Council.

The latest JER version (document 7396/11; dated 8 March 2001, as adopted by the EPSCO Council, is more detailed than the general conclusions (26 pages). (A short while ago, five language versions had appeared on the Council website.)

The pages 2 to 5 of the Joint Employment Report are dedicated to the main messages. Despite the economic jargon and the abundance of good causes, concrete measures in the EU member states can make a difference for firms and jobseekers.

One of the purposes of the JER is to provide guidance for the final versions of the National Reform Programmes (NPR), due in April 2011, which aim to put the Europe 2020 Strategy (EU2020) into practice in the EU member states.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. On the Bloggingportal.eu Blog, you can follow and participate in the second day of live blogging from the EU Competitiveness Council and tweeting under #Eupilot by @europasionaria and @ronpatz in the Justus Lipsius Building in Brussels.

EU Council (EPSCO): EU2020 and March European Council

How did the ministers for employment and social affairs in the EPSCO Council prepare the upcoming spring meeting of the European Council 24 to 25 March?

Here is a brief description of the subject matter (page 7):

The Council held a policy debate on issues relevant to the annual growth survey (AGS) and to the European Semester, namely the joint employment report (JER) and guidelines for the employment policies of the member states, and on items linked to the Europe 2020 strategy, i.e. the ”European platform against poverty and social exclusion” and the main messages of the report on the social dimension of the strategy. The results of this debate and the joint employment report are to be submitted to the European Council 24/25 March as part of EPSCO's Council contribution.

If you continue reading the conclusions of the EPSCO Council configuration, the summary of the debate on the introductory pages 7-8 starts with a few commonplaces, in:

3073rd Council meeting Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs: Employment and Social Policy; Brussels, 7 March 2011 (Council document 7360/11; 20 pages)

Later the issues are treated one by one, among them:

Joint Employment Report (JER) - conclusions
Guidelines for the employment policies of the member states
European platform against poverty and social exclusion – conclusions
Social dimension of the Europe 2020 strategy
Preparation of the tripartite Social Summit

Look for(ward to) separate posts.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Regardless if you side with the copyright (intellectual property rights) owners or the business and citizen users, Christian Engström, Pirate MEP is a Euroblog worth following, in English and Swedish.

Baker's dozen of Grahnlaw & Co. on EU affairs

As a fan of the Crustum bakery and cafeterias in Helsinki, here is a baker's dozen to offer you the latest entries on my three unilingual (EN, FI, SV) blogs and the trilingual one, at a glance:

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: EU2020-strategia: Energia 2020

Grahnlaw: EU Council (TTE) more open and transparent (Will it last?)

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: Energy for Europe

Grahnblawg: Energi i EU: Sverige informerar

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: Förny(else)bar energi i Europeiska unionen

Grahnlaw: EU third energy package into force

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) inaugurated

Grahnlaw: Renewable energy materials: EU progress towards 2020 target

Eurooppaoikeus: EU:n työllisyys ja sosiaalipolitiikka: Suomi tiedotti (EPSCO)

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: EU:n työllisyys ja sosiaalipolitiikka: Neuvosto tiedotti (EPSCO)

Eurooppaoikeus: EU:n työllisyys ja sosiaalipolitiikka: Unkari tiedotti (EPSCO)

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: EU:n työllisyys ja sosiaalipolitiikka: Ruotsi tiedotti (EPSCO)

Grahnlaw: PM Reinfeldt on Sweden in the EU



Ralf Grahn


P.S. Are you interested in European values? How about the economy, business, politics, policies or law in the EU?

Civilised blog comments relevant to the topic are welcome on my blogs.

The multilingual comment policy means that you can write in one of the following languages: ES DA DE EN FR IT NL PT FI SV NO (even if my possible replies are in English, Finnish or Swedish depending on the blog and the post).

You can also find me on Twitter @RalfGrahn and Facebook.

Europe 2020 flagship initiative Youth on the move (EU Commission Work Programme 2010)

Can anything be done to reduce idleness and frustration, improve the functioning of jobs markets, and to give young people better skills to start an independent life and a productive career?



According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, in May 2010, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 19.9% in the euro area and 20.5% in the EU27. The lowest rate was observed in the Netherlands (8.1%), and the highest rates in Spain (40.5%), Estonia (39.8% in the first quarter of 2010) and Latvia (39.7% in the first quarter of 2010).

The youth unemployment rates are roughly twice as high as for the population as a whole, both in the European Union and in the individual countries.

Obviously, the financial and economic crises have taken their toll by barring recruitment, but in a Europe already facing the demographic challenges of an ageing population, something is seriously wrong with the markets for labour market entrants.



Europe 2020 strategy




The blog post Europe 2020 strategy: Flagship initiative Youth on the move looked at how the European Commission outlined its flagship initiative to improve employability and employment for young EU citizens through education and training, in the communication:



Europe 2020 - A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth; Brussels, 3.3.2010 COM(2010) 2020 final



Commission Work Programme



In section 2 of the Commission’s Work Programme (CWP) for 2010, Tackling the crisis and sustaining Europe’s social market economy, the flagship initiative is briefly outlined (page 5):

“Youth on the move” (strategic initiative 12): This initiative will set out priorities to enhance the performance of education systems, to reinforce the attractiveness of Europe's higher education system and to open more mobility programmes to young people. The younger generation has been particularly hit by the crisis. A communication on “youth employment” (strategic initiative 13) will be a policy response to increase job opportunities for young people, promote apprenticeships and training, and improve transition from education into work.

Source:



Commission Work Programme 2010 - Time to act, Volume I; Brussels, 31.3.2010 COM(2010) 135 final



CWP Annexes

In the CWP Annexes strategic initiative 12, the flagship initiative Youth on the move, is promised in the third quarter of 2010. The main components of this non-legislative initiative are sketched in the following manner in Annex I (page 3):

The Communication will set out a strategy to integrate EU and national mobility, university and researchers programmes, to modernise higher education, to promote entrepreneurship through mobility of young professionals, and to promote the recognition of informal learning. It will announce further initiatives, covering both policy and programme related elements, which will be brought forward in coming years. This framework will include a European entrepreneur exchange programme - "ERASMUS for young entrepreneurs".

With regard to strategic initiative 13, the non-legislative communication on Youth and Employment is promised in the fourth quarter of 2010 (page 3):

The Communication will look at ways of strengthening policy to overcome the impact of the crisis on young people. It will explore how to ease transitions from education and training work. The document will also address how to ensure a better link between policy priorities and EU funds, especially the European Social Fund. The Communication will announce a set of new initiatives including the promotion of youth geographical mobility (EURES), a mobilisation of the business sector to recruit youth, and announce increased direct support to innovative projects through PROGRESS, the Lifelong Learning and Youth in Action Programmes.

Source:



Commission Work Programme 2010 - Time to act, Volume II Annexes; Brussels, 31.3.2010 COM(2010) 135 final


In this series of blog entries we will continue to look at how Europe is going to respond to the challenge of its dysfunctional jobs markets, especially with regard to young people, in the context of the Europe 2020 flagship initiative Youth on the move.




Ralf Grahn

Europe 2020 strategy: Flagship initiative Youth on the move

Education is at the heart of the Europe 2020 flagship initiative Youth on the move, which aims at improved employability and employment for young EU citizens.



Context



The Europe 2020 strategy puts forward three priorities for growth (smart, sustainable and inclusive), and five headline targets (employment, innovation, climate and energy, education and inclusion).



The Commission has promised and the European Council has called for concrete action in the form of seven flagship initiatives.



Flagship initiative Youth on the move

We are now taking a look at how the European Commission has sketched the flagship initiative Youth on the move, in its policy proposal:



Communication from the Commission: Europe 2020 - A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth; Brussels, 3.3.2010 COM(2010) 2020 final

The executive summary of the Europe 2020 strategy offers a brief description of what the flagship initiative is about (page 5):

– "Youth on the move" to enhance the performance of education systems and to facilitate the entry of young people to the labour market.

Education, mobility and employment

On page 13, the Commission outlines how the flagship initiative Youth on the move aims to improve education (employability), increase mobility in education and training, and facilitate job market entry for young people. Action is foreseen at EU level and at national level:

The aim is to enhance the performance and international attractiveness of Europe's higher education institutions and raise the overall quality of all levels of education and training in the EU, combining both excellence and equity, by promoting student mobility and trainees' mobility, and improve the employment situation of young people.

At EU level, the Commission will work:

– To integrate and enhance the EU's mobility, university and researchers' programmes (such as Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus, Tempus and Marie Curie) and link them up with national programmes and resources;

– To step up the modernisation agenda of higher education (curricula, governance and financing) including by benchmarking university performance and educational outcomes in a global context;

– To explore ways of promoting entrepreneurship through mobility programmes for young professionals;

– To promote the recognition of non-formal and informal learning;

– To launch a Youth employment framework outlining policies aimed at reducing youth unemployment rates: this should promote, with Member States and social partners, young people's entry into the labour market through apprenticeships, stages or other work experience, including a scheme ("Your first EURES job") aimed at increasing job opportunities for young people by favouring mobility across the EU.

At national level, Member States will need:

– To ensure efficient investment in education and training systems at all levels (pre-school to tertiary);

– To improve educational outcomes, addressing each segment (pre-school, primary, secondary, vocational and tertiary) within an integrated approach, encompassing key competences and aiming at reducing early school leaving;

– To enhance the openness and relevance of education systems by building national qualification frameworks and better gearing learning outcomes towards labour market needs.

– To improve young people's entry into the labour market through integrated action covering i.a guidance, counselling and apprenticeships.

In the overview annex, the flagship initiative Youth on the move is placed under Smart growth and Education (page 32).



Headline target: Education




The European Council meeting 17 June 2010 finalised the headline targets (document EUCO 13/10). The adopted headline targets guide the preparation of the flagship initiatives (and the national reform programmes, NRPs). The approved education target of the Europe 2020 strategy for jobs and growth aims at (in Annex I, page 12 of the conclusions):

- improving education levels, in particular by aiming to reduce school drop-out rates to less than 10% and by increasing the share of 30-34 years old having completed tertiary or equivalent education to at least 40%; [The European Council emphasises the competence of Member States to define and implement quantitative targets in the field of education.]

Youth on the move: To be continued

I intend to look at the preparation and communication of the Europe 2020 flagship initiative Youth on the move in series of blog entries.




Ralf Grahn

Background note Europe 2020 strategy (European Council 17 June 2010)

The previous blog post referred to the European Commission’s proposal on the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

This entry takes the strategy one step further, by guiding readers to the first decisions taken by the European Council.



Spring European Council



The Spring European Council 25 to 26 March 2010 already endorsed main elements of the new strategy for growth and jobs (document EUCO 7/10).

In accordance with the Commission proposal, the European Council agreed on setting five headline targets, shared objectives for the member states and the EU for the coming decade (point 5(b), page 2):

1. Employment
2. Research and development (R&D)
3. Energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
4. Education levels
5. Social inclusion and poverty reduction


We remind our readers of the conclusions regarding the first three headline targets, more or less finally fixed by the European Council.



1 Employment

With regard to the headline target for employment, the European Council concluded:

aiming to bring to 75% the employment rate for women and men aged 20-64, including through the greater participation of youth, older workers and low skilled workers and the better integration of legal migrants;

2 Research and development (R&D)

The European Council’s conclusion on R&D:

improving the conditions for research and development, in particular with the aim of bringing combined public and private investment levels in this sector to 3% of GDP; the Commission will elaborate an indicator reflecting R&D and innovation intensity;

3 Energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions


With regard to the difficult question of global action against climate change, the European Council reiterated its past 20/20/20 commitments, as well as its conditional willingness to commit itself to a 30 per cent reduction:

reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% compared to 1990 levels; increasing the share of renewables in final energy consumption to 20%; and moving towards a 20% increase in energy efficiency;
the EU is committed to take a decision to move to a 30% reduction by 2020 compared to 1990 levels as its conditional offer with a view to a global and comprehensive agreement for the period beyond 2012, provided that other developed countries commit themselves to comparable emission reductions and that developing countries contribute adequately according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities;

In the next blog post we look at the headline targets expressly marked for continued discussion in June.




Ralf Grahn

European Union: Pinning high hopes on small businesses

Today the Commission launches the first European SME Week. In its press release European SME week to boost entrepreneurship in difficult times (6 May 2009; IP/09/704) the Commission pins high hopes on the small and medium-sized enterprises as drivers of growth and job creation.



The press release (including the links) ─ available in 22 languages ─ is valuable for those, who want a quick overview of the European Union’s activities to promote entrepreneurship.


Ralf Grahn

European Union: Employment Committee

The treaty based advisory Employment Committee promotes coordination between EC (EU) member states on employment and labour market policies.

Does ‘management and labour’ have a specific meaning in this context? Often used in Eurojargon, but what are the social partners?

***


Current TEC

The headline of this post starts with ‘European Union’, which can be defended if you look at the EU as a Greek Temple, with three pillars. More exactly, the subject matter belongs to the Community pillar (first pillar), but few readers seem to be that exact in their web searches. The term ‘European Community’ seems to have fallen into disuse, save for official documents and a few brave lawyers. I try to use the EU and the EC terms in a pragmatic manner, depending on the context.

The current Article 130 (ex Article 109s) of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) concludes the Title VIII Employment by establishing a sector committee.

The Employment Committee works in an advisory capacity.

Whereas most of the Employment Title speaks about employment (policies) or refers to the employment aims, Article 130 TEC picks up the term ‘labour markets’ mentioned in Article 125 TEC.

The Employment Committee promotes coordination between member states on employment and labour market policies.

The Employment Committee consults management and labour, known as the social partners in Eurospeak.

There is the customary proviso that the Employment Committee works ‘without prejudice to Article 207’, referring to the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States (Coreper), the last stop before the Ministers meet in the Council.

The intergovernmental nature of the Employment Committee is illustrated not only by the wording that it is established to ‘promote coordination between Member States’ or by the fact that the Committee is appointed by the Council, but also by the preponderance of member states’ representatives. Each member state appoints two members (as does the Commission).
The existing Article 130 TEC (in the latest consolidated version of the treaties, OJ 29.12.2006 C 321 E/103):


Article 130 TEC

The Council, after consulting the European Parliament, shall establish an Employment Committee with advisory status to promote coordination between Member States on employment and labour market policies. The tasks of the Committee shall be:

— to monitor the employment situation and employment policies in the Member States and the Community,

— without prejudice to Article 207, to formulate opinions at the request of either the Council or the Commission or on its own initiative, and to contribute to the preparation of the Council proceedings referred to in Article 128.

In fulfilling its mandate, the Committee shall consult management and labour.

Each Member State and the Commission shall appoint two members of the Committee.

***


Original Lisbon Treaty (ToL)


The Treaty of Lisbon (ToL) is still on its rocky road to possible entry into force. Agreed and signed between 27 member state governments, it has by now been approved by the national parliaments in 25 member states ahead of the original target date for entry into force (1 January 2009). Among the parliamentary ratifiers, only the holder of the next Council Presidency, the Czech Republic, looks certain to miss the agreed target date.

In addition, Ireland is pondering its European future following the negative outcome of the 12 June 2008 referendum. (For some updated references to the Irish debate, you can read yesterday’s post ‘Ireland and Lisbon Treaty’.)

Anyway, in some instances the Lisbon Treaty is the most up-to-date manifestation of what the member state governments want the treaties to say.

On the other hand, the treaty reform process, at least since the Treaty of Nice, has been focused on so called institutional innovations. With a few notable exceptions, most areas of Community policy have only been updated and adjusted technically to the different reform treaty versions: the draft Constitution, the Constitutional Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty.

The changes to the Title on employment in the Lisbon Treaty are minimal. Article 2, point 111 deleted a few words from Article 125 TEC and the following point (112) concerned the common commercial policy.

Consequently, Article 126 TEC and the following ones underwent only horizontal or technical amendments (OJ 17.12.2007 C 306/79). In Article 130 TEC the word ‘Community’ is replaced by ‘Union’, as elsewhere in the Treaty of Lisbon. Another horizontal amendment is that the clarifying words ‘acting by a simple majority’ are inserted after ‘The Council’ according to Article 2, point 4 ToL, but the procedure remains the same.

***

Renumbering

The Table of equivalences of the original Treaty of Lisbon tells us that Title VIII Employment was to be renumbered Title IX and that Article 130 TEC and TFEU (ToL) was to be renumbered Article 150 TFEU in the consolidated version of the amending treaties (OJ 17.12.2007 C 306/214).


***


Consolidated Lisbon Treaty



Article 150 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) takes over the contents of the existing Article 130 TEC with the minimal change in terminology and the renumbering noted above.

As a consequence, the consolidated TFEU, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, OJ 9.5.2008 C 115/113, looks like this:

TITLE IX
EMPLOYMENT

Article 150 TFEU
(ex Article 130 TEC)

The Council, acting by a simple majority after consulting the European Parliament, shall establish an Employment Committee with advisory status to promote coordination between Member States on employment and labour market policies. The tasks of the Committee shall be:

— to monitor the employment situation and employment policies in the Member States and the Union,

— without prejudice to Article 240, to formulate opinions at the request of either the Council or the Commission or on its own initiative, and to contribute to the preparation of the Council proceedings referred to in Article 148.

In fulfilling its mandate, the Committee shall consult management and labour.

Each Member State and the Commission shall appoint two members of the Committee.

***

Management and labour

The English version of the treaties refers to consulting ‘management and labour’. We look at the wording of the sentence, first in English:

In fulfilling its mandate, the Committee shall consult management and labour.

Management and labour seem to be given more exact contours, when we turn to the German version:
Bei der Erfüllung seines Auftrags hört der Ausschuss die Sozialpartner.

The French words, likewise, gives management and labour a more precise meaning than the English treaty text:

Dans l'accomplissement de son mandat, le comité consulte les partenaires sociaux.

The Sapnish treaty text catches another nuance of the parties or partners to be consulted:

Para llevar a cabo su mandato, el Comité deberá consultar a los interlocutores sociales.

The Finnish treaty text uses (almost) the same terminology as the German and the French, although the customary term evokes contracting parties (collective agreements) as much as partners in a dialogue:

Tehtäväänsä toteuttaessaan komitea kuulee työmarkkinaosapuolia.

The Swedish text uses the term ’arbetsmarknadens parter’ identical with the Finnish concept:

Kommittén ska när den utför sitt uppdrag höra arbetsmarknadens parter.

We can conclude that the drafters of the treaties have had organised employers and organised labour in mind and that national systems of collective bargaining and traditions of dialogue between management and employee interests are reflected in the various terms used. Anyway, the English version seems to be less exact than the other language versions. (The Title Social policy is imbued with references to the social partners.)

The subparagraph does not specify the level of consultations, which means that the wording does not exclude consultations at European or national level.

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Social partners

The Europa Glossary outlines the meaning of ‘social partners’ in the following way (although it leans heavily on Article 138 TEC, in the current Title XI Social policy, education, vocational training and youth):

Social partners
The glossary is being updated given the recent signing of the Treaty of Lisbon.
The Commission is required to consult various social partners when it wishes to submit proposals in this field (article 138 of the EC Treaty). This social dialogue occurs via the three main cross-industry organisations representing the social partners at European level:
the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC);
the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (BUSINESSEUROPE);
the European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation (CEEP).

In addition to these three European cross-industry organisations, there are many other socio-professional groups representing specific or sectoral interests.
It is the Commission's task to promote consultation of the social partners and take any relevant measures to facilitate their dialogue by ensuring balanced support for the parties.
Before submitting proposals in the field of social policy, the Commission consults the social partners on the possible direction of EU action.
The social partners also play an important role in the European Economic and Social Committee, where they sit alongside other representatives of civil society.

***

Employment Committee – Council decision

Not to forget secondary legislation, the Committee was established by the Council decision of 24 January 2000 establishing the Employment Committee (OJ 4.2.2000 L 29/21).

The decision reiterates the treaty provisions, but adds some specifications to the Committee’s tasks.

***

Employment Committee activity

The European Commission, Employment and Social Affairs, offers an introductory web page on the Employment Committee with links to its activities:

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_strategy/emco_en.htm





Ralf Grahn

EU employment: Incentive measures and pilot projects

Even if there is no independent European Community (European Union) employment policy, the Treaty establishing the European Community offers the EC (EU) some scope for supporting action, labeled as incentive measures.



***


Current TEC

The current Article 129 (ex Article 109r) of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC), under the Title VIII Employment, offers the Community some scope of action in the area of employment policy.

Harmonisation of member states’ laws and regulations is excluded out of hand (paragraph 2).

Using the co-decision procedure, the Council may adopt incentive measures.

The incentive measures are ancillary to the employment policies of the member states: designed to encourage cooperation between member states and to support their action.

This supporting role is underlined by the description of allowed actions, such as promoting exchange of information and best practices, offering analysis and advice and through experimental pilot projects.

The existing Article 129 TEC (in the latest consolidated version of the treaties, OJ 29.12.2006 C 321 E/103):

Article 129 TEC

The Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, may adopt incentive measures designed to encourage cooperation between Member States and to support their action in the field of employment through initiatives aimed at developing exchanges of information and best practices, providing comparative analysis and advice as well as promoting innovative approaches and evaluating experiences, in particular by recourse to pilot projects.

Those measures shall not include harmonisation of the laws and regulations of the Member States.


***


Original Lisbon Treaty


The Treaty of Lisbon (ToL) is still on its rocky road to possible entry into force, but in some instances it is the most up-to-date manifestation of what the member state governments want the treaties to say.

On the other hand, the treaty reform process, at least since the Treaty of Nice, has been focused on so called institutional innovations. With a few notable exceptions, most areas of Community policy have only been updated and adjusted technically to the different reform treaty versions: the draft Constitution, the Constitutional Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty.

The changes to the Title on employment in the Lisbon Treaty are minimal. Article 2, point 111 deleted a few words from Article 125 TEC and the following point (112) concerned the common commercial policy.

Consequently, Article 126 TEC and the following ones underwent only horizontal or technical amendments (OJ 17.12.2007 C 306/79). In Article 129 TEC, as in a number of provisions, ‘the procedure referred to in Article 251’ (without using the customary term ‘co-decision’) is mercifully renamed ‘the ordinary legislative procedure’, which means that the European Parliament is named as co-legislator.


***

Renumbering

The Table of equivalences of the original Treaty of Lisbon tells us that Title VIII Employment was to be renumbered Title IX and that Article 129 TEC and TFEU (ToL) was to be renumbered Article 149 TFEU in the consolidated version of the amending treaties (OJ 17.12.2007 C 306/214).


***


Consolidated Lisbon Treaty



Article 149 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) takes over the contents of the existing Article 129 TEC with the minimal change in terminology and the renumbering noted above.

As a consequence, the consolidated TFEU, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, OJ 9.5.2008 C 115/113, looks like this:

TITLE IX
EMPLOYMENT

Article 149 TFEU
(ex Article 129 TEC)

The European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, may adopt incentive measures designed to encourage cooperation between Member States and to support their action in the field of employment through initiatives aimed at developing exchanges of information and best practices, providing comparative analysis and advice as well as promoting innovative approaches and evaluating experiences, in particular by recourse to pilot projects.

Those measures shall not include harmonisation of the laws and regulations of the Member States.

***

Incentive measures and pilot projects

Incentive measures and pilot projects are key terms, but it is not easy to find clear definitions of them. The terms have to be interpreted in the context of each treaty Article where they appear.

The pragmatic solution is to look at what the European Community (European Union) has seen fit to approve through legal acts and budget decisions in each policy area, in this case the employment area.

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities offers information on its activities:

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=23&langId=en


Incentive measures (examples)

In addition to Article 149 TFEU presented above, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union mentions incentive measures in a few other policy areas where the EU’s powers are weak.
Article 19(1) TFEU (Article 13 TEC) mentions action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (requiring unanimous Council decision). But adopting the basic principles of Union incentive measures to support
action taken by the Member States in order to contribute to the achievement of these objectives is possible through the ordinary legislative procedure, pursuant to Article 19(2) TFEU.

Article 165 TFEU (Article 149 TEC) concerns education and sporting issues, where the fourth paragraph allows the adoption of incentive measures, as always with the proviso ‘excluding any harmonisation of the laws and regulations of the Member States’.

The European Union’s contribution to the flowering of the cultures of the member states includes the option to use incentive measures, in Article 167 TFEU (Article 151 TEC).

Incentive measures may also be adopted, if they are designed to protect and improve human health and in particular to combat the major cross-border health scourges, measures concerning monitoring, early warning of and combating serious cross-border threats to health, and measures which have as their direct objective the protection of public health regarding tobacco and the abuse of alcohol, according to Article 168 TFEU (Article 152 TEC).


***


Pilot projects

Article 149 seems to be the only TFEU provision employing the term pilot project.

The Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management (OJ 14.6.2006 C 139) mentions pilot projects in a few instances, without adding much to our understanding of the meaning of the term.

The Commission’s annual draft budget takes into account (c) the possibilities for starting up new policies through pilot projects and/or new preparatory actions or continuing multiannual actions which are coming to an end (point 32).

The Commission’s financial programming identifies for annual actions (pilot projects, preparatory actions, Agencies) and actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission multiannual estimates and (for pilot projects and preparatory actions) the margins left under the authorised ceilings (point 46).

In Annex II (point D) on interinstitutional collaboration both arms of the budgetary authority (the Council and the European Parliament) undertake to inform the Commission by mid-June of their intentions with regard to amendments which create new preparatory actions/pilot projects or prolong existing ones.


***

As a last resort, Article 263 TFEU (Article 230 TEC) lets the Court of Justice of the European Union review the legality of legal acts and other acts of the institutions.


Ralf Grahn

EU employment: Policy coordination and guidelines

The economic recession and the financial crisis threaten the EC (EU) goal of a high level of employment. The focus has shifted from the more or less coordinated national financial rescue packages to efforts to act coherently in the face of the downturn. How European is the response going to be and how much substance will it have?

At the treaty level there are fairly well-oiled procedures in place for the coordination of economic policies and employment policies, but how will the routines adapt to the deteriorating situation?

The European Council and the Council are the main European Union level players coordinating member states’ employment policies. Soft instruments – conclusions, guidelines, recommendations and reports – are used. The member states prepare national plans and annual employment reports. The Commission acts mainly in a supporting role, collating and cajoling.


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Current TEC



The current Article 128 (ex Article 109q) of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC), under the Title VIII Employment, sets out the choreography for the coordination of member states’ employment policies.

At the summit of these intergovernmental proceedings is the annual spring (March) European Council, dedicated to economic policy and reform issues. The European Council adopts conclusions based on a joint report by the Council and the Commission.

The Council then, after consultations, draws up employment guidelines consistent with the broad economic policy guidelines (BPEGs) for the member states.

Each member state presents an annual report on implementation.

The national reports are examined by the Council, which may make recommendations to the member state.

The Council and the Commission prepare a joint report on the employment situation and the implementation of the employment guidelines.

The existing Article 126 TEC (in the latest consolidated version of the treaties, OJ 29.12.2006 C 321 E/102–103):

Article 128 TEC

1. The European Council shall each year consider the employment situation in the Community and adopt conclusions thereon, on the basis of a joint annual report by the Council and the Commission.

2. On the basis of the conclusions of the European Council, the Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Employment Committee referred to in Article 130, shall each year draw up guidelines which the Member States shall take into account in their employment policies. These guidelines shall be consistent with the broad guidelines adopted pursuant to Article 99(2).

3. Each Member State shall provide the Council and the Commission with an annual report on the principal measures taken to implement its employment policy in the light of the guidelines for employment as referred to in paragraph 2.

4. The Council, on the basis of the reports referred to in paragraph 3 and having received the views of the Employment Committee, shall each year carry out an examination of the implementation of the employment policies of the Member States in the light of the guidelines for employment. The Council, acting by a qualified majority on a recommendation from the Commission, may, if it considers it appropriate in the light of that examination, make recommendations to Member States.

5. On the basis of the results of that examination, the Council and the Commission shall make a joint annual report to the European Council on the employment situation in the Community and on the implementation of the guidelines for employment.


***


Original Lisbon Treaty


The Treaty of Lisbon (ToL) is still on its rocky road to possible entry into force, but in many instances it is the most up-to-date manifestation of what the member state governments want the treaties to say.

But the treaty reform process, at least since the Treaty of Nice, has been focused on so called institutional innovations. With a few notable exceptions, most areas of Community policy have only been updated and adjusted technically to the different reform treaty versions: the draft Constitution, the Constitutional Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty.

Thus, the changes to the Title on employment in the Lisbon Treaty are minimal. Article 2, point 111 deleted a few words from Article 125 TEC and the following point (112) concerned the common commercial policy.

Consequently, Article 126 TEC and the following ones underwent only horizontal or technical amendments (OJ 17.12.2007 C 306/79). In Article 128 the ‘Community’ was replaced by the ‘Union’ and the referrals to other treaty provisions adjusted.



***

Renumbering

The Table of equivalences of the original Treaty of Lisbon tells us that Title VIII Employment was to be renumbered Title IX and that Article 128 TEC and TFEU (ToL) was to be renumbered Article 148 TFEU in the consolidated version of the amending treaties (OJ 17.12.2007 C 306/214).


***


Consolidated Lisbon Treaty



Article 148 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) takes over the contents of the existing Article 128 TEC with the minimal change in terminology and the renumbering noted above.

As a consequence, the consolidated TFEU, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, OJ 9.5.2008 C 115/112, looks like this:

TITLE IX
EMPLOYMENT

Article 148 TFEU
(ex Article 128 TEC)

1. The European Council shall each year consider the employment situation in the Union and adopt conclusions thereon, on the basis of a joint annual report by the Council and the Commission.

2. On the basis of the conclusions of the European Council, the Council, on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Employment Committee referred to in Article 150, shall each year draw up guidelines which the Member States shall take into account in their employment policies. These guidelines shall be consistent with the broad guidelines adopted pursuant to Article 121(2).

3. Each Member State shall provide the Council and the Commission with an annual report on the principal measures taken to implement its employment policy in the light of the guidelines for employment as referred to in paragraph 2.

4. The Council, on the basis of the reports referred to in paragraph 3 and having received the views of the Employment Committee, shall each year carry out an examination of the implementation of the employment policies of the Member States in the light of the guidelines for employment. The Council, on a recommendation from the Commission, may, if it considers it appropriate in the light of that examination, make recommendations to Member States.

5. On the basis of the results of that examination, the Council and the Commission shall make a joint annual report to the European Council on the employment situation in the Union and on the implementation of the guidelines for employment.

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Employment policy coordination

Readers interested in the practical side of the European employment strategy can start with the Introduction and the links offered by the European Commission’s DG Employment and Social Affairs:

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_strategy/index_en.htm

Roughly, European Community (European Union) action could be described as a mandatory planning, implementing and evaluating exercise using soft tools like open coordination, ‘best practices’ etc.

Even if the TEC partly reflects different sector views, the practical approach has evolved into a more holistic one knitting together economic, employment, innovation as well as research and education policy issues under the relaunched Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs.

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European Council Conclusions

The economic and employment guidelines (BEPGs and Employment Guidelines), the main focus of the spring European Council, have been integrated and subsumed under the relaunched Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs, but essentially adopted without change for a second three year period (2008–2010) last spring.

The first ten pages of the revised Presidency Conclusions of the European Council 13–14 March 2008, including the references to the National Reform Programmes and the Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs, are available as a gateway to understanding the system and the state of play (Council document 7652/1/08 REV 1):

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/99410.pdf

Cf. Article 128(1) TEC and Article 148(1) TFEU.

Legally, the Council preparing and following up is one Community institution, but a number of Council formations participate directly in the process or at least want to make their views known: ECOFIN, EPSCO, the Competitiveness Council, Education/Training and Youth.

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Joint employment report

The European Council Conclusions are based on the joint annual report by the Council and the Commission, mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 5 of Article 128 TEC and Article 148 TFEU.

The Joint Employment Report 2007/2008 (Council document 7169/08; 16 pages) is a bit more specific than the European Council Conclusions. This latest version is available at:

http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st07/st07169.en08.pdf

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Council employment guidelines

After consulting the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Employment Committee, the Council adopts annual employment guidelines, based on the European Council Conclusions and a proposal by the Commission. (Cf. paragraph 2 of Article 128 TEC and Article 148 TFEU.)

The Council decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States (Council document of 7 July 2008 10614/2/08 REV 2; 24 pages) is accessible at:

http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st10/st10614-re02.en08.pdf

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National employment reports – National Reform Programmes – Lisbon strategy

Each member state delivers a national employment report annually, as laid out in paragraph 3 of Article 128 TEC and Article 148 TFEU.

At this point in time, the Commission web site has on offer the page Member States’ autumn 2007 reports on the implementation of their National Reform Programmes, with links to the national employment reports. In practice, they are both reporting and planning documents, where the planning part constitutes a development with regard to the treaty provision:

http://ec.europa.eu/growthandjobs/national-dimension/member-states-autumn-2007-reports/index_en.htm

The 2008 round of (Lisbon strategy) progress reports is well advanced, so the interested reader might find more up-to-date information on the National Reform Programmes by checking national government sites. (English translations are or will be available in many member states.)

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Country-specific recommendations

The examination of the national employment reports is a mandatory part of the annual employment coordination cycle, but the Council has the option to issue recommendations to member states. Cf. paragraph 4 of Article 128 TEC and Article 148 TFEU.
Ahead of the spring European Council, the Council addressed the following Country-specific Integrated Recommendations to the European Council (4 March 2008, document 7275/08; 58 pages):

http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st07/st07275.en08.pdf

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Employment in Europe 2008 Report

A separate exercise, but with a wealth of background information, is the Commission’s annual employment report Employment in Europe.

On 18 November 2008 the Commission published its twentieth annual Employment in Europe 2008 Report (292 pages), accessible through:

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=sv&catId=89&newsId=415

According to the Commission, the Employment in Europe 2008 Report addresses topics that are high on the European Union's employment policy agenda. It gives a comprehensive overview of the employment situation in the EU, as well as an analysis of key labour market issues, including immigration, post-enlargement intra-EU labour mobility, quality of work and the link between education and employment.

For a quick overview, read the Commission’s MEMO/08/719 Employment in Europe:

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/719&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

At the publication of the 2008 Employment in Europe Report the Commission highlighted labour immigration into the European Union and mobility of the workforce within the EU, so these questions were reflected in the media reports.



Ralf Grahn

EU employment: European Community powers

Powers not conferred upon (attributed to) the European Community (EC) belong to the member states, and Community action shall anyway clear the tests of subsidiarity and proportionality, but in the case of the aim of a high level of employment the high contracting parties have decided to further underline their leading role by limiting the scope for EC action.

In this post we look at the basic structure of member state and European Community (European Union) competences concerning employment. Later posts can then turn to the concrete EC (EU) actions intended under the Title Employment in the existing Treaty establishing the European Community and the Treaty of Lisbon (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union).



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Current TEC



The current Article 127 (ex Article 109p) of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC), under the Title VIII Employment, essentially reiterates both the general employment aim – a high level of employment – and the restricted role of the European Community (European Union) in achieving this objective following from other treaty provisions.

The European Community (EC) shall contribute to a high level of employment, but the employment policies are ‘owned’ by the member states.

The EC encourages cooperation between member states.

The EC – if necessary – complements member states’ action.

Not content with the expression of conferred or attributed powers and the principles of subsidiarity and necessity (proportionality) in Article 5 TEC, the high contracting parties remind us in Article 127(1) TEC that the competences of the member states shall be respected.

Article 127(2) TEC sets out the horizontal character of employment-related policies, although the objective of a high level of employment with a fairly weak expression shall be ‘taken into consideration’ when EC policies and activities are formulated and implemented.


The existing Article 126 TEC (in the latest consolidated version of the treaties, OJ 29.12.2006 C 321 E/102):

Article 127 TEC

1. The Community shall contribute to a high level of employment by encouraging cooperation between Member States and by supporting and, if necessary, complementing their action. In doing so, the competences of the Member States shall be respected.

2. The objective of a high level of employment shall be taken into consideration in the formulation and implementation of Community policies and activities.

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Original Lisbon Treaty


The Treaty of Lisbon (ToL) is still on its rocky road to possible entry into force, but in many instances it is the most up-to-date manifestation of what the member state governments want the treaties to say.

But the treaty reform process, at least since the Treaty of Nice, has been focused on so called institutional innovations. With a few notable exceptions, most areas of Community policy have only been updated and adjusted technically to the different reform treaty versions: the draft Constitution, the Constitutional Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty.

Thus, the changes to the Title on employment in the Lisbon Treaty are minimal. Article 2, point 111 deleted a few words from Article 125 TEC and the following point (112) concerned the common commercial policy.

Consequently, Article 126 TEC and the following ones underwent only horizontal or technical amendments (OJ 17.12.2007 C 306/79). In both paragraphs of Article 127 the ‘Community’ was replaced by the ‘Union’.



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Renumbering

The Table of equivalences of the original Treaty of Lisbon tells us that Title VIII Employment was to be renumbered Title IX and that Article 127 TEC and TFEU (ToL) was to be renumbered Article 147 TFEU in the consolidated version of the amending treaties (OJ 17.12.2007 C 306/214).


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Consolidated Lisbon Treaty



Article 147 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) takes over the contents of the existing Article 127 TEC with the minimal change in terminology and the renumbering noted above.

As a consequence, the consolidated TFEU, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, OJ 9.5.2008 C 115/112, looks like this:

TITLE IX
EMPLOYMENT

Article 147 TFEU
(ex Article 127 TEC)

1. The Union shall contribute to a high level of employment by encouraging cooperation between Member States and by supporting and, if necessary, complementing their action. In doing so, the competences of the Member States shall be respected.

2. The objective of a high level of employment shall be taken into consideration in the formulation and implementation of Union policies and activities.

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Employment policy coordination

Readers interested in the practical side of the European employment strategy can start with the Introduction and the links offered by the European Commission’s DG Employment and Social Affairs:

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/employment_strategy/index_en.htm

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Integrated guidelines – Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs

The economic and employment guidelines (BEPGs and Employment Guidelines), the main focus of the spring European Council, have been integrated and subsumed under the relaunched Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs, but essentially adopted without change for a second three year period (2008–2010) last spring.

The first ten pages of the revised Presidency Conclusions of the European Council 13–14 March 2008, including the references to the National Reform Programmes and the Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs, are available as a gateway to understanding the system and the state of play (Council document 7652/1/08 REV 1):

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/99410.pdf

(The following stage, for someone digging deeper, would be to look for formal adoption by the Council in its ECOFIN and EPSCO formations.)

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Employment in Europe 2008 Report

A wealth of information is contained in the Commission’s annual employment reports.

On 18 November 2008 the Commission published its twentieth annual employment report, Employment in Europe 2008 (292 pages), accessible through:

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=sv&catId=89&newsId=415

According to the Commission, the Employment in Europe 2008 Report addresses topics that are high on the European Union's employment policy agenda. It gives a comprehensive overview of the employment situation in the EU, as well as an analysis of key labour market issues, including immigration, post-enlargement intra-EU labour mobility, quality of work and the link between education and employment.

For a quick overview, read the Commission’s MEMO/08/719 Employment in Europe:

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/719&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

At the publication of the 2008 Employment in Europe Report the Commission highlighted labour immigration into the European Union and mobility of the workforce within the EU, so these questions were reflected in the media reports.



Ralf Grahn